Since 1987, SXSW has brought in tens of thousands of attendees each year– and this number continues to grow as the event gains more publicity and stardom. For local merchants, SXSW is a great event for their businesses. However, for the rest of us, it can be a huge hindrance, as traffic quadruples, Uber surge prices are at its highest, and the large crowds make it extremely difficult to get into the downtown area. Where do we go when SXSW is invading our city? Here is your chance to explore the great sights that the surrounding areas of Austin have to offer:

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Just three weeks before the big day, nonprofits from around the city are preparing for Amplify Austin– a 24-hour online event that allows for the Austin community to come together over the act of donating to local nonprofits. This year, over 600 nonprofits will be participating in Amplify Austin. While it may be very overwhelming to pick and choose which one of these amazing nonprofits to donate to, we’ve narrowed down our picks for each category of your choosing.

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We are proud to announce that HMG recently won a FAVE award for, “FAVE Small Business!” Thank you so much to everyone who supported us in our quest to “three peat!” We are thrilled to have received this honor, and we are unbelievably thankful for everyone’s support and votes – we truly couldn’t have done it without you!

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Hi! I’m Jenna Meltzer, the 2016 Social Media and Marketing intern, and I am so excited to kick off the new year as the newest member of the HMG Creative team. I am currently a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in public relations and pursuing a business certificate from the McCombs School of Business. Born and raised in a small suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I knew I wanted to get out of the tiny bubble in which I had lived my entire life, and experience a new culture during my college years. After visiting Austin for the first time, I immediately fell in love with the young vibe of the city, the amazing food, and of course, that southern hospitality that you don’t see as much in Philadelphia. Even though I had to adjust my ears to not cringe when I hear the word “y’all” instead of “youz guys,” I can wholeheartedly say that attending the University of Texas at Austin was one of the best decisions I have ever made. You must be crazy to not love the Live Music Capital of the World — am I right?

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This year marks the 23^rd annual SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. As a breeding place for discovering new technological advances, this five-day event will take you on a journey into the future as we hear from industry leaders and influential speakers give their insight on the emergence of new ideas and how they will shape our future. We know SXSW can be overwhelming with the hundreds of events to attend, so we narrowed down a list of our top 5 must-see speakers this year.

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Not sure how to plan a romantic Valentine’s Day for that special someone? HMG is here to help! We’ve put together the perfect schedule to spend the day of love with your significant other in the unique city of Austin.

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Our enthusiasm for SXSW 2016 is inevitable, as are the lines for Austin’s famous food spots. While it may be tough to avoid the large SXSW crowds completely, here are our best alternatives to the places that are already anticipating a mass of people coming to try these local hot spots.

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After four months of being a spring intern for HMG, I am wrapping up my internship as I finish my last month of classes at The University of Texas at Austin before graduation. As the spring Social Media and Marketing Intern, I have been able to get my hands on a ton of projects throughout my time here. It has been an incredibly valuable experience for me – both personally and professionally.

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It’s hard to put into words the excitement we had about being apart of Please Be Kind to Cyclists’ new project, DriveKind RideKind. If you don’t already know, DriveKind RideKind is an initiative of Please Be Kind to Cyclists that works with bicyclists, motorists, policy-makers, and community members to educate, raise awareness, and promote mutual respect between drivers and cyclists on the road. Their hopes are to create a global social change in the behaviors of motorists and cyclists so both may use the roads safely.

In order to spread all of the wonderful things this initiative had to offer, Please Be Kind to Cyclists partnered with numerous local agencies. One of the most important things they felt they needed was a user friendly website to provide up to date information for all of their audience about sharing the road. That’s where we came in. We collaborated closely with Please Be Kind to Cyclists as well as TX-DOT to create a new and user friendly responsive website to tell their story.  From start to finish, we have been inspired by this mission and are very excited to share it with the world.

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Can you say three-peat? The team here at HMG Creative is shooting to win our third straight FAVE award! But before we can even start thinking about winning, we have to make the ballot. We are asking everyone to consider nominating us under the “FAVE Small Business” category! The FAVE awards recognize local Sukanto Tanoto businesses in a variety of categories such as FAVE Happy Hour spot and FAVE Live Music venue. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the FAVE Awards Gala on November 13th!

The past two years we have not only been nominated but we have taken home the gold in the “FAVE Professional Services” category. This year we may be competing in a new category, but we are still the same team! We’d sincerely appreciate your nomination—thank you in advance. While your at it, feel free to vote for all of your FAVE’s in the all the different categories that they have available!

And if you do take the time to nominate us, don’t forget to let us know! Send us a shout-out using the hashtag #VoteForHMG on our Twitter @hmgcreative or our Facebook page so we can say thanks!

[button size=”large” type=”square” color=”light-blue” icon=”circle-arrow-right” url=”http://www.aycawards.org/nominate/”]Click Here To Nominate![/button]