EXPERIENCE THE FESTIVAL ALONG WITH AUSTIN’S HISTORIC HOTELS AND CULINARY HOT SPOTS
AUSTIN, TX (JULY 10, 2012) – Austin Film Festival (AFF) is excited to announce their new Weekend Getaway Packages, discounted travel packages that encourage visiting festival-goers to experience Austin’s restaurants and historic hotels. Packages range from $725 to $765, and offer a value of 18-19% off regular prices.
Each of the three packages, named for food-centric films, include a Weekend Badge to the 19th Annual Austin Film Festival, October 18 – 25, 2012, special discounted rates at either The Driskill Hotel or The InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel for the first weekend of the Festival, gift certificates to the city’s culinary destinations, and an Austin Film Festival gift bag filled with AFF merchandise. The offer will end August 31, 2012, and there are a limited number available – five per package – so act now to enjoy an Austin weekend full of film, food and comfort.
AFF, which draws both national and international visitors to the city each October, designed the packages to introduce those visitors to new experiences in Austin. The Festival celebrates writers’ and filmmakers’ creative contributions to film through storytelling and features film premieres and screenings, exciting and informative panels with some of the top names in the industry, and numerous parties and other special events. According to Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates, AFF currently contributes in excess of $8 million to the local economy annually.
“We fill over 30,000 theater seats each Festival, and many of those moviegoers are from out of town. We’re thrilled that they get to experience the wonder of The Paramount Theatre and our other great venues, and we wanted to create more opportunities to show visitors all that Austin has to offer,” says AFF Director of Marketing Taylor Cumbie.
THE PACKAGES
Babette’s Feast
Price: $765 ($930 value)
In addition to a Weekend Badge to the 2012 Austin Film Festival, this package includes and two night stay at The Driskill Hotel for Saturday, October 20th and Sunday, October
21st, 2012. Built in 1886, The Driskill remains a landmark of legendary Texas hospitality. Located on Sixth Street in the heart of downtown Austin, the luxurious, historic hotel is convenient to all that the city has to offer including the Texas State Capitol, convention center, opera, symphony, fine dining, shopping, and Austin’s music scene.
It also includes a $50 gift certificate to 2nd Bar + Kitchen. Recently commended in the New York Times Magazine for its irresistible cuisine, 2nd Bar + Kitchen is a dynamic downtown destination where Executive Chef David Bull combines seasonal ingredients and local artisan products to create what he calls “Natural American” cuisine. In 2011, Bon Appétit named it one of the “Top Ten Best New Restaurants.”
Julie & Julia
Price: $725 ($895 value)
Along with a Weekend Badge to AFF, the Julie & Julia Package includes a two-night stay at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel for Saturday, October 20th and Sunday, October 21st, 2012. A pivotal part of the Austin scene for more than 60 years, the Beaux Arts hotel opened in 1924 and was named to memorialize Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas and a beloved Texas Statesman. The hotel has been witness to much Austin history and served as the campaign headquarters for LBJ during his 1937 run for the House of Representatives.
The package also includes gift certificates to Chez Nous, Austin’s neighborhood authentic French bistros since 1982, and Parkside, the gastro pub by chef Shawn Cirkiel, an Austin staple.
Soul Food
Price: $725 ($895 value)
Also featuring a Weekend Badge to the Festival and a two-night stay at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin for Saturday, October 20th and Sunday, October 21st, 2012, the Soul Food Package offers visitors a chance to taste a little bit of Texas with gift certificates to South Texas gourmet legend Ranch 616 and downtown favorite Hickory Street.