Like Vince Gray before her, Mayor Muriel Bowser is making her way down to Austin for SXSW because it’s spraaang breaaaaaak.
OK, so she’s going down to Austin because the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership will be representing the city during the festival’s techy geek-gasm portion Interactive Week. The budget the city is allocating in their attempt to attract start-ups has dropped to $350,000, but cuts be damned, the Mayor will still spend a long weekend in the Texas capital.
Clearly, she’ll need a few tips on things to do during those hours when she’s not making an appearance in the city-sanctioned We DC house. Conveniently, DCist has covered the festival for the past seven years and has these pieces of advice for the Mayor:
SEE SNOOP DOGG’S KEYNOTE SPEECH: Okay, so his speech is scheduled for March 20th, three days after the Mayor is scheduled to leave Austin. Still, in the event that the hip-hop legend comes to town early, it might behoove Mayor Bowser to spend some time with him. After all, weed is legal here now (well, kind of) and as a marijuana connoisseur, Snoop could probably assist the Mayor in learning the finer points of our new (sort of) pot-friendly landscape. Can you dig it?
STOP IN AT A DIVE-Y BAR: Have you ever seen a $2 beer in any D.C. establishments, Madam Mayor? Yeah, neither have we. Peek in on any local watering hole (we are partial to Beerland) and enjoy a Lone Star or three without feeling like you’re overextending the city’s budget.
SPEND SOME TIME WITH ARTISTS THAT HAVE LEFT D.C.: Attracting STEM talent and gifted developers is important, but retaining artistic talent is also a huge (and overlooked) part of developing our city’s culture. In fact, one of the bands on We DC’s local showcase hasn’t lived within city limits in over seven years. So, maybe Mayor Bowser should spend some time with acts like Kali Uchis, Jukebox the Ghost, Nadastrom, and others that will be at the festival to see what more the city can offer these people that want to make a creative living.
GET TACOS AND BBQ: They do it better than we do. They just do. They do it better than pretty much anyone in the country. Get any tips and secrets that you can, Mayor Bowser!
