Where to go, what to see

SXSW: Your plan of attack

With over a thousand bands playing— 1,273 to be exact— and countless unofficial day parties, South By Southwest can seem overhwhelming. Music blares from every bar, club and street corner. Fans travel in packs, yelling at one another about the line at Fader and Kanye's planned performance at Vevo Powerstation. (Check Vevo's twitter for Kanye details.)

I've based my selection of day parties on a mix of free stuff, best bands and venues. Here's my tentative plan of attack:

Wednesday March 16th Day show pick:
Yours Truly & Bella Union Party @ French Legation Museum 802 San Marcos Street, No RSVP free tacos & PBR
1:00 Lanterns on the Lake
1:40 Bobby
2:20 Alessi's Ark
3:00 Thousands
3:40 Marques Toliver
4:20 Still Corners
5:00 Vetiver

Back-up party (if it rains)
IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash @ Emo's Annex 12-6pm (No RSVP, no free food/drinks)
12PM: Withered Hand (Absolutely Kosher) - Edinburgh, Scotland
12:20PM: Geographer (Tricycle Records) - San Francisco, CA
12:45PM: Queen Sea Big Shark (Modern Sky) - Beijing, China
1:15PM: Fredrik (The Kora Records) - Malmö, Sweden
1:45PM: Weekend (Slumberland) - San Francisco, CA
2:30PM: Aphasia (White Wabbit) - Taipei, Taiwan
3:00PM: True Widow (End Sounds) - Austin, TX
3:30PM: The Bewitched Hands (Look Mum No Hands/Sony) - Paris, France
4:15PM: Typhoon (Tender Loving Empire) - Portland, OR
5PM: Beach Fossils (Captured Tracks) - Brooklyn, NY
5:30PM: Gold Panda (Ghostly International) - London, UK

Wednesday night showcase pick:
@ Club De Ville
8:00 Devin Therriault
9:00 Porcelain Raft
10:00 The Vaccines
11:00 White Denim
12:00 Tennis
1:00 Yuck

2^nd showcase pick:
@ Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River) Rockfeedback/ Transgressive Showcase
8:00 Marques Toliver
9:00 Summer Camp
10:00 Dry the River
11:00 Liam Finn
12:00 Pulled Apart by Horses
1:00 Pete and the Pirates

Thurs March 17^th
Day show pick:
UNDER THE RADAR PARTY @ Flamingo Cantina 515 E. 6th St.
12:00 PM: Violens (www.violens.net)
12:45 PM: The Dodos (www.dodosmusic.net)
1:35 PM: Yuck (yuckband.blogspot.com)
2:25 PM: Anna Calvi (www.annacalvi.com)
3:15 PM: Lord Huron (www.lordhuron.com)
4:05 PM: The Dears (www.thedears.org)
5:00 PM: Atlas Sound (deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com)
NO RSVP Needed / No free food or drinks

Thursday showcase pick:
@ The Bat Bar
7:15 Sunglasses
8:00 Sweaters
9:00 Nite Jewel
10:00 Oberhofer
11:00 Lord Huron
12:00 Chapel Club
1:00 The Strange Boys

Friday, March 18^th
Day Show Pick:
Under the Radar
12PM: Porcelain Raft
12:45 PM: Hooray for Earth
1:35 PM: Owen Pallett
2:25 PM: Surfer Blood
3:15 PM: Telekinesis
4:05 PM: Menomena
5:00 PM: Okkervil River

Friday Showcase pick:
@Klub Krucial
Lower Dens
No Joy
Puro Instinct
Toro y Moi
Tamaryn
Games
Nite Jewel

Saturday, March 19^th
Day Show pick:
Music for Listeners Party at Red House Pizzeria 1917 Manor Rd
12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. The Long Tangles (Austin, TX)
1:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. Summer Camp(London,United Kingdom).
2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M Young Legionnaire(London,United Kingdom).
3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. Cloud Control( Sydney,Australia)
4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M Sea of Bees(Sacramento,California)
5:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Dinosaur Pile -Up(London,United Kingdom)
6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. The Spinto Band (Wilmington,Delaware)
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Still Corners(London,United Kingdom)

Showcase pick:
@Swan Dive
8:00 Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
9:00 Little Tybee
10:00 Alcoholic Faith Mission
11:00 Freedom or Death
12:00 Golden Ages
1:00 Army Navy

xxxxxxx

I've based my selection of day parties and showcases on a mix of free stuff, best bands and venues. (Note: Official showcases always have a cover fee and never have free stuff.) Here's my tentative plan of attack:

Wednesday night showcase pick:
@ Club De Ville
8:00 Devin Therriault
9:00 Porcelain Raft
10:00 The Vaccines
11:00 White Denim
12:00 Tennis
1:00 Yuck

Thursday showcase pick:
@ The Bat Bar
7:15 Sunglasses
8:00 Sweaters
9:00 Nite Jewel
10:00 Oberhofer
11:00 Lord Huron
12:00 Chapel Club
1:00 The Strange Boys

Friday Showcase pick:
@Klub Krucial
Lower Dens
No Joy
Puro Instinct
Toro y Moi
Tamaryn
Games
Nite Jewel

Showcase pick:
@Swan Dive
8:00 Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
9:00 Little Tybee
10:00 Alcoholic Faith Mission
11:00 Freedom or Death
12:00 Golden Ages
1:00 Army Navy

If you'd like to create your own schedule, use these guidelines. If you're looking for the most amount of free booze/food, check out this spreadhsheet (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=txe-peqWZaCab6veR72udhQ#gid=0) from friends of kiyannaproject.com with parties rated 1-10 on "awesomeness" (i.e. free stuff!). If you wait the straight hard music facts along with RSVP links, try this day party spreadsheet compiled by friends Bradley Short, Amena Sengal and others. For night time showcases, the official schedule is your best resource.

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"Here come the grannies!"

Walk through the Magic Door to experience the world of Bluey in Houston

bluey and bingo's bedroom at camp in houston

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

Bluey is coming to the Galleria this February “for real life” through an immersive event that invites visitors to enter the world of the famous Australian Heeler family. This one-of-a-kind experience brings the Heeler home and backyard to life with intricate details that will delight fans of all ages.

Tickets are on sale now for Bluey x CAMP, the inaugural interactive experience of the combination toy store, party venue, and immersive theater space. This is The Family Experience Company’s first CAMP location in Houston, with the business securing a 7,500-square-foot permanent retail space in the Galleria.

Through “The Magic Door,” a pivoting wall, visitors step into seasonally rotating interactive spaces beginning with a 5,000-square-foot lifesize replica of Bluey’s house.

Visitors can play games made popular by the show, such as grannies and keepy uppy, and bust a move when “dance mode” is activated. The kitchen’s fridge is covered in drawings by the Heeler puppies, while the living room TV plays Bluey.

Families can explore both a pillow fort and a cardboard castle — two-story structures complete with slides — before venturing into a playroom stocked with toys and costumes from the show. In the backyard, a recreation of the Heeler’s large tree is surrounded by charming gnomes. A photo opportunity with Bluey and Bingo tops off the visit.

Beyond the world of Bluey, CAMP offers even more for visitors in its Canteen space, with a splatter room, The Schmutz Bar (a slime creation station), a party room, and a playable truck. Customers can also shop for toys, clothing, and accessories.

Houston joins a list of CAMP’s locations in Dallas, Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Installations change seasonally, with other current features including Paw Patrol, The Little Mermaid, and Encanto.

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

bluey galleria-houston camp bluey x camp