Rest in Peace: The ATX Dribbble SXSW Meetup Ice Sculpture 2012—2016

Tomorrow, the sixth annual ATX Dribbble SXSW Meetup will kick-off at 4pm in East Austin, decidedly away from all the craziness.

Sadly, the annual ATX Dribbble SXSW ice sculpture will not be there. A victim of the classic, new ownership, no budget story. We had five good years of hosting a classy parties, but as they say all good things must come to an end.

In memoriamum of our SXSW tradition, here is a quick look back at the last five years.

2012 — Uncle Billys Brews & BBQ. One of the first SXSW events held across the river and away from persons seeking free beers. A thunderstorm rolled in and made everything humid and hot, but our group of roughly 80 designers was small enough that everyone had a roof over their head.

2013 — Scholz Garten. With approximately 500 persons in attendance, I think everyone went home with four different t-shirts from all the sponsors. The crowd drank past the beer budget quickly, but thankfully Dan was there with his credit card, and the party didn’t miss a beat.

2014 — Austin Beer Garden Brewery. I’ll never forget this evening. Initially, we contracted a portion of the brewery, but a big, big storm rolled in and, at the last minute, I negotiated for the use of the whole place for a lower price. And good thing, the rain never let up, but the ice sculpture remained strong.

2015—Mellow Johnny’s. Nice downtown location, but wouldn’t you know it, the first time we purposefully move the event entirely indoors the weather is picture perfect. I blame Lance.

2016—Public School. I guess if you have to go out on top, this one will do just fine. The setting was great, the venue just the right size. It’s a pitty about the food truck, but that didn’t deter most of the crowd enjoying themselves.

Adios, my frosty friend. You were a great attraction — admired and ‘gramed by many — that helped set a local event apart from the rest of SXSW.