GradFest

Welcome! This is GRACS' support page for GradFest 2008. The links to the left contain some information you might find useful.

GradFest will take place the weekend starting Friday, March 28, 2008. For prospective students with GradFest questions, or for current students with any questions, write to gracs@cs.utexas.edu.

This page lists the schedule for events organized by GRACS. For department-organized events, see the department schedule.

Activities: Thursday March 27th

Activities: Friday March 28th

Students can choose from the following activities:

1. Downtown on 6th Street

2. Alamo Drafthouse

3. Mini Golf

4. Live music at Emo's:Austin is the capital of live music. So come listen to some live music! Taking the stage will be: Voxtrot / Yellow Fever / Ringo Deathstarr / Hollywood Gossip

Activities: Saturday March 29th

For activity 1 and activity 2, students can choose from the following list:

1. Zilker Park: Austin's home for hiking, running and field sports. Home of the annual kite festival and Austin City Limits. We'll be playing soccer and disc golf and organizing hikes around the park. (map)

2. Barton Springs: Where Austinites go to escape the heat. Barton Springs is a three acre outdoor pool fed by underground springs which keep the water a cool 68 degrees year-round. Come for some sun and swimming. Town Lake. (map)

3. Explore some unique Austin stores: (map)

   1. Amy's Ice Cream: A local Austin establishment. Enjoy standards like Vanilla and Dark Chocolate or try something new like Pumpkin Cheesecake or Cantaloupe. During the summer, Amy's on Burnet shows movies outside.
   2. Waterloo Records:
   3. Whole Foods: Yes, it's a supermarket, and maybe you have a Whole Foods in your hometown, but this is the flagship Whole Foods. Gelato, barbecue and sushi. And check out the walk-in beer fridge.
   4. Book People

4. Tour the Capitol and Mount Bonnell: Take a tour of the largest state capitol building in the country. Made from granite quarried in Texas, the Texas State Capitol building has a distinct pink color.

   Mount Bonnell is a prominent point near downtown Austin with beautiful views of Austin, Lake Austin and the Hill Country.

5. Yellow Bike Project: Home to Lance Armstrong and where the eastern prairie meets the Texas Hill Country, Austin is a mecca for bike riders. It's the perfect place for road or mountain biking, and the compact urban center and strong alternative lifestyle make Austin commuter and fixed-gear friendly.

   Come to the Yellow Bike Project to learn how to fix bikes and build bikes for the community.

6. UT Baseball: UT is home to some excellent collegiate sports team. And while football season is over, and we probably can't afford to get basketball tickets, we definitely can enjoy some Spring ball. Hook 'em Horns!

7. Broken Spoke: A traditional Honky Tonk or country dance hall. Learn the Texas two-step and listen to some country music.

8. Bowling:

9. Wildflower Center: It's spring and the wildflowers are in bloom. Catch the display at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center.

In case of rain, we have an alternate list of activities:

1. Harry Ransom Center: A book lover's paradise. Check out a Gutenberg bible, the Jack Kerouac's original "scroll" of On the Road, and galley proofs of Ulysses.

2. Alamo Drafthouse:

3. Billards:

4. Karaoke:

GradFest Site

The department also maintains a website with relevant information about GradFest for prospective students. This site includes information such as schedule of events, sign-up forms to meet with faculty members, financial information, etc. Click here to access the GradFest site. Please write to gracs@cs.utexas.edu to request a password for this site in case you have not received it already.

Additionally you can visit a list of topics on which we can answer questions.

Department of Computer Sciences | 1 University Station C0500 | Austin, TX 78712-0233 | (512) 471.7316 | (512) 471.8885 (fax)