AUSTIN AREA PROGRAMS

THE 15TH ANNUAL AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL: A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST IN FILM

#16603 Single Course/4 Nights - Dbl $899 + Sgl $299

Fall 2008: October 16-20, 2008

Register at the Elderhostel site

From conception to the big screen, journey through the film business with industry experts at the Austin Film Festival. The Austin Film Festival affords unparalleled access to professional screenwriters, filmmakers and high-level executives. Past attendees and award recipients include Oliver Stone, Sam Elliott, Sandra Bullock, Robert Altman among many others. In meet and greets, roundtables and general panels, industry luminaries share their personal insight into the art and business of storytelling through film. Savor an evening of Texas hospitality at the Film Texas BBQ Supper. Enjoy total access to the festival’s ongoing films, including one private viewing and discussion of a well-known, vintage, Texas-made film.

Walking up to two miles daily over uneven terrain. Hotel shuttle transportation to festival activities.

FROM PULP TO FICTION: THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK AND THE TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL

#16493 Single Course/5 Nights - Dbl $789 + Sgl $262

Fall 2008 : October 28-November 2, 2008

Register at the Elderhostel site

Delve behind the page at the Texas Book Festival with author readings and presentations, panel discussions, book signings and more. Trace the fascinating history of the book as scholars detail the seeds of its development. At the Harry Ransom Center, examine rare books, manuscripts and other artifacts, including the Gutenberg Bible. Local experts share insider tales and insights while a University of Texas scholar discusses William Blake's “Songs of Innocence and Experience,” using an original copy to illustrate the author’s methods of relief etching and book production. Enjoy a papermaking or bookmaking class at San Antonio’s Southwest School of Art & Craft and a narrated visit to the Alamo and its research center.

Walking up to two miles on uneven surfaces daily. Standing up to three hours during the papermaking or bookmaking class.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH HISTORY, MUSIC AND LITERATURE

#17013 Single Course/5 Nights - Dbl $816 + Sgl $274

Spring 2009 : February 8-13, 2009

Program available for registration July 2008

Step into the struggles and contributions of the African-American experience in Texas . Examine the role and motivations of African-Americans in the Texas Revolution. At the LBJ Library, dissect telephone conversations between President Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. on the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. A music scholar brings to life Austin ’s Victory Grill — one of the last remaining original “Chitlin’ Circuit” Juke Joints. At the University of Texas at Austin , view first editions by Harlem Renaissance writers at the Humanities Research Center to learn how they influenced African-American literature. Enjoy a session of live jazz and study the history of Juneteenth at the George Washington Carver Museum .

THE HEART OF TEXAS: AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO AND LBJ COUNTRY

#10459 Single Course/6 Nights - Dbl $908 + Sgl $299

Spring 2009 : February 23-March 1, 2009

Program available for registration July 2008

Challenge the myth of the stereotypical Texan as you explore the powerful history and politics of the Lone Star State . In Austin , get the "low-down" on politics and shenanigans at the state capitol; hear The Story of Texas at the Texas State History Museum . At the LBJ Library and Museum, survey 20th-century history and the life of our 36th president; review the Great Society and Vietnam . Skyscrapers yield to rolling hills for a day at the LBJ Ranch, still a working ranch, and Fredericksburg . In festive, multicultural San Antonio , an overview of the city precedes exploration of America 's oldest Spanish mission complex, the Alamo and River Walk. Expert historians and guided walks through the King William Historic District and La Villita bring alive San Antonio 's old legacies and multi-ethnic traditions. Through stories of Texas ' frontier settlers learn the origins of Texas music; hear Texas Tall Tales and storytelling at its best. A traditional Mexican feast tops off your adventure.

THE LONE STAR STATE, AND AUSTIN MUSEUMS

#13184 Single Course/5 Nights - Dbl $803 + Sgl $274

Spring 2009 : March 29-April 3, 2009

Program available for registration July 2008

Austin : Live Music Capital Of The World
Blues, country, jazz, Tejano, or rock-- Austin has it all. Local experts showcase this city's historical, eclectic music scene. One unscheduled evening offers time to check-out music at any number of Austin 's famous landmark performance venues.

History and Politics of the Lone Star State : Only in Texas
Discover Texas ! Lectures and guided walks at Austin 's domed capitol and historic downtown bring you inside the Lone Star State 's rich and varied history. The myth of the stereotypical Texan proves much more complex and diverse than you imagined.

Austin Museums : Blanton, Bullock and LBJ
Museum staff and historians guide our exploration--first outstanding collections of Renaissance and Baroque art, then Texas history pre-European exploration to early 1970s, and finally the life/career of our 36th President, including the LBJ Ranch.

Full-day field trip to LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, the Texas White House in the heart of the famed Hill Country, and Fredericksburg, a quaint, historic German village where German is still occasionally spoken and old customs are observed. Fredericksburg is home to the Admiral Chester Nimitz (who was born here in 1885) State Historic Site and National Museum of the Pacific War and features life-size and lifelike exhibits from American and Japanese battles during the War in the Pacific

AUSTIN ROAD SCHOLAR PROGRAMS

AUSTIN EXPRESS: RIDIN' THE MUSIC TRAIN

#13559, 4 Nights - Dbl $1,289 + Sgl $480

Fall 2008 : October 8-12, 2008

Register at the Road Scholar site

Rockin', Rollin' and a-wringin' the blues out of a battered guitar is all in a night's work inside Austin city limits. From honky-tonks to blues joints, beer halls to BBQ shacks, Austin isn’t called the "Live Music Capital of the World" for nothing. How's this for a list of Austin alumni (and adopted favorites): Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pinetop Perkins, Joe Ely, Patty Griffin, Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin? With more live music venues per capita than New York City or Los Angeles, Austin has a music venue on every corner and a musician on the make on every stage.

Come to Austin and dig into the blues, country, gospel and more with local musicians and scene-makers at famous watering holes like Threadgill’s, the Continental Club and Stubb’s, as well as churches, recording studios and well-worn, back-street bars where you'll discover rising stars and the secrets of making music — from writing to recording to getting it across live.

Go behind the scenes at a noted Austin music studio to learn about and listen to great Austin music. Trace the development of the scene over the past 100 years and discuss the influence of club owners like Kenneth Threadgill, who helped change Austin's social climate by welcoming rednecks and beatniks, hippies and hillbillies into a single club. Meet club and studio owners and professionals at a prominent recording studio, and hear their very different takes on music while performers detail the demands, joys and frustrations of a musician's life.

And to atone for your sins on (or off) the dance floor, you'll head to a local Baptist Church for a rousing, gospel-infused service on Sunday morning.

During free time explore the city's diverse cultural institutions, such as the LBJ Library & Museum, Blanton Art Museum, Texas State History Museum and the State Capitol. Or just step into a bar, tip your hat back and enjoy some of the best live music you'll ever hear.