Join Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s Old Bakery and Emporium for the Third Annual Midsummer Festival on Saturday, June 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Old Bakery and Emporium, 1006 Congress Ave. The Midsummer Festival is free to attend and provides family-friendly fun for all ages.

The festival includes multiple cultural events and activities including traditional Swedish treats from Austin’s own Fika Table, a flower crown-making station, a traditional Swedish Maypole, hair braiding and face painting, an artist talk by local milliner Mamie Raynaud, Mom & Pops Frozen Pops, traditional Swedish meatballs while supplies last, and live music.

In addition to the traditional Swedish festivities, the Old Bakery and Emporium unveils the long-awaited mural by fifth-generation Austinite and artist Ruben Esquivel. This is the first mural painted at the historic Old Bakery and Emporium and visually represents the site's rich culture and history. Ruben Esquivel, a local Austin-born artist of Latino and Indigenous descent, was selected to create the mural through numerous public engagement activities.

The Old Bakery & Emporium was built in 1876 by Swedish immigrant Charles Lundberg. Midsummer, or Midsommar, is a traditional Swedish holiday celebrating the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. The Old Bakery hosts the Midsummer Festival as a tribute to the building’s Swedish-American heritage.

The mural is made possible through the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation's Writing on the Walls program and a partnership with Austin Parks Foundation and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. An 18-month-long community engagement project ensured the mural project’s success. 

“As part of the Old Bakery and Emporium’s Midsummer Festival, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation is excited to celebrate the mural installation,” said Raasin McIntosh, VP of Active Urbanism, Downtown Austin Alliance. “The Foundation is honored to work with the Old Bakery Emporium to bring a mural to life honoring the rich history of the area. Writing on the Walls is dedicated to creating art in public spaces in downtown Austin, and we look forward to celebrating the mural with everyone at the Midsummer event.” 

Writing on the Walls is an annual series of collaborative public art installations and events launched by the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation in March 2020. This series enhances and improves public spaces for the community while empowering Austinites and encouraging social engagement.

About Downtown Austin Alliance 

The Downtown Austin Alliance (Downtown Alliance) works with key downtown stakeholders—property owners, residents, business owners, community organizations and government officials—to advance our collective vision for the future of downtown Austin. The Downtown Alliance is engaged in dozens of projects and issues that contribute to the safety, cleanliness and appeal of downtown Austin to residents, employees and visitors. As a full-time advocate for downtown, the Downtown Alliance is actively engaged in planning decisions that impact the area. We also advance downtown's vision through direct services supporting safety and cleanliness. For more information, please visit downtownaustin.com. 

About Austin Parks Foundation

For 31 years, Austin Parks Foundation (APF) has been connecting people and parks. APF is dedicated to partnering with our community to enhance people’s lives by improving our public parks, trails and green spaces through volunteerism, innovative programming, advocacy and financial support. Our goal is to improve Austin’s parks by building community through our parks with people at the forefront of our work. 

APF has invested over $80 million in Austin parks since its inception in 1992, and our annual flagship volunteer event, It’s My Park Day, results in an average of $650,000 in volunteer labor each year. APF also fosters unique partnerships, is a presenting partner and beneficiary of the Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Metropolitan Park, and empowers neighbors all over the city to create a parks system that serves their needs. For more information, please visit austinparks.org.

About Writing on the Walls 

Writing on the Walls is an annual series of collaborative public art installations and events, launched by the Downtown Austin Alliance in March 2020 when local, national, and international artists simultaneously created two new landmarks in downtown Austin. The series not only fosters a creative environment to enhance and improve public spaces for the community, but also empowers Austinites and encourages social engagement through community-driven initiatives that celebrate the spirit of the city. The Downtown Alliance is seeking new walls downtown and on transit corridors to help create opportunities for art and expression in the community. Learn more about Writing on the Walls.