Austin's Eeyore’s Birthday Party Celebrates 61st Year

Austin gathers every spring in Pease District Park to celebrate Eeyore’s Birthday Party, one of the city’s longest-running and most recognizable traditions. This free community festival, built around the gloomy Winnie-the-Pooh character, mixes drum circles, costumes, nonprofit fundraising, and old-school Austin eccentricity into one sprawling day in the park.

The 61st annual celebration will be held on Saturday, April 25, at Pease Park, 1100 Kingsbury St. The tradition began in 1964, when UT student Lloyd Birdwell and others in an English class studying A.A. Milne decided to stage an end-of-semester party using Eeyore’s birthday as an excuse. The first gathering was held in Eastwoods Park near campus. It moved to Pease District Park in 1974, and when professor James Ayres stepped away from organizing it in 1979, the UT Young Men’s Christian Association kept the event alive, turning it into the nonprofit fundraiser it is today.

The event is run by the Friends of the Forest Foundation, a volunteer-led nonprofit. Organizers describe it as one of the few remaining free Austin events without a big corporate sponsor, with proceeds going back to Central Texas nonprofits. They say the party has donated more than $273,000 over the years and supported more than 80 nonprofit organizations.

Activities include a children’s area with games and crafts from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., plus kids and adult costume contests, sack races, an egg toss, drum circles, food, drinks, face painting, a maypole, and live music. This year’s music lineup runs from noon to 6 p.m. and includes The Fonts, Indoor Creature, J-Bone and the River Turtles, and Rob and the Nasty Beat. The overall event starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, running until dusk (with a city event page listing through 9 p.m.), and has a rain date of May 2.

There is no parking available at Pease Park during the event, and neighborhood no-parking restrictions are enforced. Free shuttle buses run from near the Texas Capitol, and organizers recommend parking in State Garages E and J for easier access. The shuttles run about every 10 minutes. CapMetro, biking, walking, and approved rideshare drop-off spots are also options.

No outside alcohol is allowed, and bottles, Styrofoam, tents, and hammocks are restricted or prohibited. Dogs are allowed but must stay on a leash. Only non-amplified instruments are permitted. IDs are required to buy or drink alcohol, and smoking, glass, and Styrofoam are prohibited in Austin parks.

Eeyore’s party has survived because it offers something Austin residents worry they are losing: a big public gathering that feels homemade, weird, communal, a little unruly by design, and rooted in the idea that a city can still come together just to be outside, act a little ridiculous, and send money back into the local nonprofit world. For many, it is a reminder of what Austin likes to believe it still is.