⚽GOOOOOALLL! Soccer fever hits Austin; plus more flood relief benefits

Good morning! Our new newsroom meteorologist Mary Wasson, tells us temperatures this weekend will be near normal, with highs in the mid-90s, but feeling closer to 100 degrees with the added humidity 🫠. Though Mary's monitoring weather patterns in the Gulf, we're not likely to see rain in the Austin area this weekend.

Austin summer rules are in effect: If you're going to be outdoors, use sunscreen, take breaks in the shade and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

⛵ Lake Travis partially reopened this week, but Mary reminds us, "The water will be fast-moving and may contain more debris due to recent flooding."

Read on for Austin's Major League Soccer All-Star Game festivities, flood relief benefits with George Strait and Robert Earl Keen, details on Greater Austin Comic Con and much more.

⚽GOOOOOAALLL! Soccer (fútbol?) fever hits Austin

Soccer fever strikes as Austin laces up to host the Major League Soccer All-Star Game, which pits the best MLS players against top talent from Mexico's Liga MX. The game is on Wednesday at Q2 Stadium, but festivities kick off this weekend, with a free Soccer Celebration at Auditorium Shores.

The two-day bash includes fan zones, skill games, autograph sessions with top players and live music. The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. with live music kicking off at 8 p.m. nightly. Grouplove headlines on Saturday and Austin's Sir Woman takes top billing on Sunday.

• 🍔 HTX legend Bun B. teamed up with ATX barbecue heavies La Barbecue on a monster Trill Burger for the game. It will be available at Q2 Stadium and at pop ups around town.

Robert Earl Keen, George Strait announce flood benefits

Kerrville resident Robert Earl Keen has announced plans for a star-studded Applause for the Cause concert at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels on Aug. 28.

Keen was slated to play an event in his hometown on the Fourth of July. “The whole stage got washed away. All the vendor booths got washed away. A lot of the production stuff got washed away. So, it was gone,” he told American-Statesman music writer Mars Salazar on Monday.

Artists tapped for the event include Miranda Lambert, Tyler Childers and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Tickets are $99 for general admission and $200 for reserved seating. They go on sale Friday at noon at whitewaterrocks.com.

Texas legend George Strait is also working on a fundraiser concert/dinner in Boerne. That one is $1000 a head. Email vaquerosdm@gmail.com if you're fancy like that.

Texas chefs unite to comfort Kerrville through food

Our food critic Matthew Odam visited the grounds of Kerrville Folk Festival, where chefs from around the state have staged a massive food relief operation.

Melissa Garza and Joe Rodriguez began feeding families in need and first responders from the kitchen of their restaurant Black Board Bar B Q in Sisterdale hours after the flood ravaged nearby Kerrville. The day after the flood they fed 400 people. In the days that followed, that number tripled. Soon reinforcements, including some of the biggest names in Texas dining, arrived with barbecue smokers in tow.

“It’s a weird thing to be so sad yet to have your heart so full at the same time. That’s the only way I know how to help is through food,” Garza told Matthew.

• Here are a few reflections from Matthew, who camped in Kerrville as a child (while his sister stayed at Camp Mystic). He is the parent of two young girls.
• Austin-area restaurants have raised close to $500,000 for flood relief, and benefits continue. Go eat your hearts out!

Greater Austin Comic Con is this weekend (plus more quick hits)

Anime lovers and cosplay fanatics rejoice! Greater Austin Comic Con is coming to the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park this weekend. The event includes celebrity panels and autograph sessions, offering attendees direct interaction with figures from different pop culture realms. It will also feature creative showcases, with cosplay contests for different age groups, alongside artist sketch battles, makeup demonstrations and more.

More quick hits:

• Sorry if you missed those $70 Labubu "happy meals" from Jewboy Burgers, but our dining and nightlife correspondent Ana Gutierrez has the skinny on when the next pop up will be.
• Here's where you can find those weird little dolls without a burger.
• Wheatsville Co-op is closing their Guadalupe Street location and moving into two Fresh Plus stores. 🦖Don't worry: They are taking the Mangia Pizza dinosaur with them!
• Unreleased Beyoncé music and concert plans were stolen from a car in Atlanta. Who dares mess with the Texas queen?