Evening Events at SXSW Interactive · Making New Connections

"I was more than overwhelmed by all the amazing people I met who befriended me and welcomed me to an amazing group of folks. " - Tantek Çelik, tantek.com

One of the unique aspects of the SXSW Interactive Festival is a jam-packed schedule of exciting evening events.

The informal nature of these nighttime activities make them very conducive for brainstorming new ideas, establishing new connections, or just relaxing with interesting people who share similar interests.

Unless otherwise noted, evening events are open only to SXSW Interactive, Gold and Platinum badgeholders. Register today so that you can take part in all this fun!! Be sure to check this page often, as new listings will be added frequently. All evening events are subject to change.

Gear Up for Evening Events in the SXSW Registrant's Lounge
The SXSW Registrant's Lounge, sponsored by DMX, is centrally located near the SXSW Conference activities and headquarters hotel at Brush Square Park for registrant networking and interaction. The SXSW Registrant's Lounge will be open 4:00 - 7:00 pm during each of the 9 days of SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Conference events (Friday March 9 - Saturday March 17, 2007). The SXSW Registrant's Lounge will be the meeting place for SXSW Registrants to network following the daytime activities and before nighttime Interactive events. DMX provides music, video, message on-hold, and scent services to businesses. And if you're an unsigned artist performing at SXSW, don’t forget to check out GETUPLAYED - a new DMX project.

Friday, March 9

Porter Novelli Friday Night Mix at Six
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Six (117 W 4th St)
Start your 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival experience the right way at Friday Night Mix at Six. Hosted by Porter Novelli, this official pre-party provides a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new connections. And, the top floor deck at Six is amazing!

Higher Education Meet-up
7:00 pm
HiLo (301 West 6th St)
Are you involved with new media technology in the educational realm? Then stop by the second installment of the SXSW Interactive Higher Education Meetup. See our listing on Upcoming for more information.

BlogHer Austin Meet-up
8:00 pm onward
Freddie's Place
South 1st St. between Annie and Monroe (1.8 miles from the convention center)
Join BlogHer for a casual meet-up on the back patio of Freddie's, an Austin institution. All are welcome!

Saturday, March 10

Opening Night Happy Hour
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Whiskey Bar (303 W 5th St)
Avenue A | Razorfish hosts the SXSW Interactive opening night Happy Hour. After Saturday panels conclude, join us at the Whiskey Bar for drinks and great music!

Dorkbot
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Brush Square Park (across from the Austin Convention Center)
An open mic and science fair mashup, Dorkbot gathers artists and hackers to do strange things with electricity. Robots, geeks, music, high voltage and beer. Will it blend? Dorkbot-Austin is sponsored by Make Magazine, the International Game Developers Association-Austin and SXSW Interactive.

Fox Interactive Media Pre-Party
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Six (117 W 4th Street)
Fox Interactive Media presents DJ Boris at Six for the opening night party you won't want to miss. Enjoy drinks, food and music with the folks from MySpace.com, IGN.com and more!

frog design SXSW Opening Party
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
401 Guadalupe
Stay tuned to the Evening Events page for complete details on the spectacular blow-out that will officially launch the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. The 2007 SXSW Interactive Opening Party is presented by frog design.

AMODA Digital Showcase
10:00 pm - 2:00 am
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
The Austin Museum of Digital Art presents a hi-tech lounge / art party featuring video projections, digital prints, and interactive installations. The main event will be a Laptop Battle where local electronic musicians engage in competition to musically outperform each other.

BuzzFeed / Ze Frank After Party
10:00 pm - 2:00 am
Molotov Lounge (Corner of 6th and West Ave)
BuzzFeed and Ze Frank host a party featuring a performance by Ze, mic wrecking by Juiceboxx, plenty of drinks, and a roof deck. For all the details click here.

8-bit
10:00 pm - 2:00 am
Scoot Inn (1308 E 4th St @ Novasota)
On Saturday night, everyone who's anyone will be at "8-bit," SXSW Interactive's first annual opening night afterparty, hosted by 30 Boxes, Rocketboom, and Satisfaction (the folks behind Rubyred Labs and Valleyschwag). There will be a bar and a patio, free alcohol, DJ INVIDKLLR and DJ V.I.N.Cent, and several stand-up arcade games for your early 80's amusement. Frogger or Ms. Pac-Man, anyone?

Sunday, March 11

Happy Hour Sponsored by Microsoft Expression Studio
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Platinum Lounge (in the Austin Convention Center)
Join your fellow SXSW attendees for pre-award cocktails and hors d'oeuvres sponsored by Microsoft Expression Studio in the SXSW Platinum Lounge. Show up early and get an exclusive ExpressionSession07 evaluation kit containing evaluation copies of Microsoft's new professional design tools including a fully licensed version of Expression Web and limited edition art by LA-based artist Travis Millard and NYC-based artist Ricky Powell.

SXSW Web Awards Pre-Party
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Brush Square Park (across from the Austin Convention Center)

10th Annual SXSW Web Awards Ceremony - Presented by Adobe
7:30 pm - 8:45 pm
Downtown Hilton Hotel (500 E 4th)
The Web Awards Ceremony is the centerpiece of evening activities at the SXSW Interactive Festival. For the event's ten-year anniversary, popular videoblogger Ze Frank of the Show will serve as host and emcee. The SXSW Web Awards are presented by Adobe.

Web Awards After-Party
9:00 pm
Club de Ville (900 Red River)
The hottest dance party of last year's SXSW Interactive Festival returns with a vengeance in 2007! Hosted by Pluck and Austin Ventures with music by DJ Mel.

Film Baby Party
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Whiskey Bar (303 W 5th St)
Celebrate an incredible year in Indie Film and Independent Media with us at Film Baby's annual SXSW party. The evening will feature liberal pours, projected imagery, one of a kind art, and AMAZING music. Entertainment & Aesthetics: temporary installation by world renown fabric sculptor-architect Soo-Hwa Yuan, music by LA Troubadour Coby Brown, G-4's Zachariah and San Francisco's best, DJ Mancub.

Come Mashup with Us
9:00 pm – 1:00 am
Austin City Limits Studio (2504 B Whitis, Corner of Guadalupe & Dean Keeton)
Whether your medium is words or images, tunes or t-shirts, we've got the party for you! Come join us at the legendary Austin City Limits sound stage for a gig with indie darlings Voxtrot and friends. Forget the flavor of your badge, come mingle across mediums. Powered by the merry folks at Alfred A. Knopf, Blogads, GMD Studios, Lulu, MindCandy and PBS.

CHOW / Consumating / Webshots Party
10:00 pm - 2:00 am
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
Your friends at Chow, Consumating and Webshots bring you two of Austin's best bands, accompanied by delicious cocktails and delightful snacks. Featuring What Made Milwaukee Famous, the Lemurs, and DJ sets by Stay Gold.

Monday, March 12

Nuclear Taco Night
6:00 pm
Brush Square Park (across from the Austin Convention Center)
Now in its 5th year of SXSW Interactive, Nuclear Taco Night is a celebration of masochistic cuisine. Join a loose confederation of geeks to share the tears of joy that only come from experiencing Austin's hottest underground tradition: nuclear tacos.

Austin On Rails Happy Hour
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Buffalo Billiards (201 E 6th St)
Wind down your SXSWi Monday with food and drinks, pool and darts at Buffalo Billiards' Lodge. Join sponsor FiveRuns, Austin On Rails and the rest of the SXSWi developer community to kickoff a great evening on Austin's Sixth Street. For more details about this event, check out our event page on upcoming.org.

Bootstrappers and Beers
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cedar Door (201 Brazos)
Why borrow money to launch your new tech venture when you already possess all the resources for a successful startup? Come grab a beer with members of Bootstrap Austin, the Open Source community for entrepreneurs taking a bootstrap approach to building their companies

Mozilla Firefox & Democracy Player
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Brush Square Park (across from the Austin Convention Center)
Come out and claim your space with Mozilla and Democracy Player. Join us for music, drinks and Texas-style BBQ! Spend the evening with folks from Mozilla and The Democracy Project, including special guest Brendan Eich, CTO of Mozilla and creator of JavaScript. Enjoy live music by The GoStation. Create your own web. Create your own fun. See you there!

The Heather Gold Show at SXSW
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Ritz (320 E 6th St)
Continuous Partial Attention
What is worth our full attention? How do we give it? Each guest, leading indie geeks, musicians, filmmakers and attention cultivators will join Heather at her 11th SXSW appearance for as long as it takes them to drink one beer. FREE. RSVP. Performers / guests include: Lane Becker, Liz Belile, Justin Hall, Ryanne Hodson , Micki Krimmel, Kent Nichols, Derek Powazek and Doug Pray.

20 x 2
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
The Parish (214 E 6th St, above Jazz on 6th)
The premise is deliciously simple: 20 participants, two minutes each, one (vaguely existential) question. The burning query: "What If?" 20 x 2, in its seventh year at SXSW, brings together a handpicked collection of bloggers, designers, musicians and more. Don't miss it.

Futures of the Past: Steampunk Showcase
7:00 pm - 12:00 am
Scholz Garden (1607 San Jacinto)
Experience the future as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells imagined it! We'll have vaudeville acts, live music by White Ghost Shivers, costumed characters, and our "Modern Marvels" showcase of Steampunk interactive artwork. Creative dress encouraged, but not required. Presented by EFF, EFF-Austin and Fish & Richardson.

Drinks with Lifehacker
8:00 pm - 12:00 am
Side Bar (602 E 7th St)
Come drink on Lifehacker and Gawker Media! An open bar, a great outdoor space, Team Lifehacker, and maybe even a guest appearance by Deadspin's Will Leitch.

GOOD Magazine / Creative Commons Party
Empowered by Moli
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
Uncle Flirty's (325 E 6th St)
Party like you give a damn. Join GOOD Magazine and Creative Commons for a celebration of moving things forward. Subscribe to GOOD and support Creative Commons at this event: $20 gets you 6 issues of GOOD, a great interactive night with open bar, and all proceeds go to Creative Commons. With special guest, Creative Commons Chairman, Joi Ito. Music by Filip aka Turbotito + Very Special Guests. Interactive video and visual experience by VJ Phi Phenomenon. Event empowered by Moli. This event is for GOOD subscribers only. Subscribe to GOOD at http://www.goodmagazine.com/choosegood/creativecommons and RSVP here.

PayPal's SXSW Showdown
9:00 pm - 2:00 am
Lucky Lounge (209 A West 5th St)
Don't miss this event to remember in Austin, Texas! Network at one of Austin's swankiest joints with leaders from PayPal, eBay, Unwired Buyer, Open Labs, Jaduka, Chalant Media, and more. Dance to music provided by lengendary Austin DJ/producer Merrick Brown, who will perform a five-hour set that covers everything from disco, rock, soul, electronic, funk and hip-hop. You must RSVP to rsvp@chalantmedia.com and present your SXSW badge or personal VIP invitation for entry. Free giveaways all night.

South by Northwest
10:30 pm - 2:30 am
Iron Cactus (606 Trinity @ 6th St)
Blue Flavor, Bryght and Raincity Studios are proud to present the second annual South by Northwest (SXNW) geek fest party at the Iron Cactus in Downtown Austin. We'll have plenty of free drinks and cool people to meet. This year we have booked virtually the whole venue but please let us know you are coming so we can plan ahead. RSVP via upcoming.org. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 13

AIR Interactive Wrap-Up Party / Dewey Winburne Ceremony
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant (301 San Jacinto Blvd)
Sponsored by Knowbility, AIR Interactive matches volunteer web developers with non-profit arts organizations, musicians and other artists. During the month of Febuary, these developers will have been building sites for the artists -- sites that are media-rich and accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Awards for design and accessibility will be announced at this event. Additionally, the AIR Interactive Wrap-Up Party will host the presentation of the 2007 Dewey Winburne Community Service Award.

fluffertraX Party
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Lucky Lounge (209-A W 5th St)
BowChica Mobile presents the 6th annual fluffertraX Party with a music and video set by dj vanya. Fluffer girls, surprise guests, prizes and more. SXSW participants may prepare in advance, by aiming cellphones at sxsw.bowchica.mobi.

Media Temple Closing Party
8:00 pm
The Foundation (307 W 5th St @ Lavaca)
Stay tuned to the Evening Events page for complete details on the incredible bash that will officially close the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. The 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival Closing Party is presented by Media Temple.

Want to get in on the fun and throw your own party during SXSW Interactive? Contact Katie King at katie@sxsw.com or 512/467-7979 to find out how.