Yes, Austin loves its weirdos. And you don’t have to live in downtown Austin to embrace your inner weird. From Westlake to Lakeway to Steiner Ranch, we’re doing our part to keep our favorite tagline alive and well in the burbs too.
First of all, we should give credit where credit is due. In 2000, the Austin Independent Business Alliance adopted the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan in an effort to promote small businesses. Those three little words stuck like glue and we started seeing the famous bumper stickers. In fact, the slogan was so widely admired, many other cities started adopting it as their slogan too — like Portland. (Of course they did.)
So why are we happy about being weird? Well, the message is a positive one celebrating Austin for having an accepting culture where artistic expression thrives and we embrace progressive growth politically, socially and in culture — especially music. And we love and support our local businesses. This spirit is what keeps our city (and our suburbs) vibrant and eclectic.
