Atx is officially in its spring mode (and my ladies b day).

The major March rush has passed, but the city isn’t slowing down. April is one of the best months to be outside in Austin, and the calendar is filling up with food festivals, live music, patio parties, restaurant openings, brewery events and neighborhood gatherings. For anyone who spent March navigating the SXSW crowds, April offers something different: more opportunities to enjoy Austin without having to fight through downtown.

One of the biggest events on the April calendar is the ABC Kite Fest, returning to Zilker Park on April 3. The annual event brings kite flying, family activities, food and entertainment to the park, creating one of those classic Austin spring afternoons that doesn’t require a concert ticket or a reservation.

The event is particularly popular because it is completely different from the giant festivals that dominate Austin’s calendar.

There is no need to dress up.

There is no complicated itinerary.

You can simply head to Zilker Park, find a spot on the grass and watch the sky fill with kites.

For families, it is one of the city’s best spring traditions. For everyone else, it is an excuse to spend a Sunday afternoon outside.

And April is perfect for that.

The weather is usually warm without the intense summer heat, making outdoor dining and drinking particularly attractive.

That means patio season is officially here.

Across Austin, restaurant patios, brewery beer gardens and rooftop bars are becoming destinations in their own right. Instead of simply eating dinner inside a restaurant, people are increasingly choosing places where they can sit outside for several hours.

This is one of the biggest advantages Austin has over many other cities.

A beautiful spring afternoon can turn a normal lunch into a three-hour event.

Grab tacos.

Order a margarita.

Listen to music.

Hang out.

Order another drink.

And suddenly it’s dinner time.

Austin’s restaurant scene is built for this.

April is also bringing some exciting new additions to the city’s food landscape.

One of the biggest openings to watch is Maie Day, the new steakhouse from the team behind the acclaimed Olamaie. Located at South Congress Hotel, the restaurant is designed around classic steakhouse dining but with the style and attention to ingredients that Austin diners have come to expect from the city’s higher-end restaurants.

The arrival of Maie Day is significant because Austin’s steakhouse scene has become increasingly competitive.

The city already has plenty of places to get a good steak, but modern Austin steakhouses are trying to create a complete experience.

The atmosphere matters.

The cocktails matter.

The sides matter.

The wine list matters.

And increasingly, the patio matters.

South Congress is also an ideal location because visitors can turn a meal at Maie Day into an entire afternoon or evening.

Walk South Congress.

Shop.

Get coffee.

Have dinner.

Grab a drink.

Listen to music.

That is one of the reasons the neighborhood continues to be one of Austin’s biggest tourism destinations.

Another area getting attention this spring is East Austin.

The neighborhood continues to add restaurants, bars and entertainment concepts, and April is a great time to explore it because the outdoor spaces are becoming especially attractive.

East Austin has developed a reputation for being one of the best places in the city to find something new.

You can start with breakfast.

Visit a brewery.

Grab lunch.

Find a cocktail bar.

Listen to live music.

And finish with late-night food.

The neighborhood’s restaurant scene is also becoming increasingly diverse.

Austin’s food culture is no longer defined by a handful of categories.

Barbecue is still huge.

Tacos are still huge.

But the city is also becoming known for Korean food, Japanese food, Caribbean food, Indian food, Vietnamese food, Mediterranean restaurants and other international concepts.

April is a great month to explore that diversity.

One of the restaurants that continues to attract attention is Canje, the Caribbean restaurant from the Emmer & Rye team. Its menu brings flavors from across the Caribbean to East Austin, giving diners something dramatically different from traditional Austin fare.

The restaurant is exactly the kind of place that shows how far the city has come.

Austin used to be known primarily for barbecue, Tex-Mex and burgers.

Now diners can spend an entire weekend eating food from different parts of the world without leaving the city.

That evolution is one of the most interesting stories in Austin’s food scene.

And it isn’t stopping.

New restaurants are still being announced throughout the city.

New chefs are opening their own concepts.

Food trucks are becoming brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Restaurant groups are expanding.

And established chefs are launching second and third concepts.

April is therefore a good month to start paying attention to what’s coming later in the year.

One of the biggest upcoming projects remains Este, the coastal Mexican restaurant on Manor Road from the team behind Suerte.

The restaurant’s seafood-heavy menu is part of a broader trend toward regional Mexican cuisine in Austin.

Instead of treating Mexican food as one category, Austin chefs are increasingly focusing on specific regions and traditions.

That is making the city’s Mexican food scene more interesting than ever.

For locals, that means there is always another restaurant to try.

And April is the perfect month to do it.

The city’s brewery scene is also getting busy.

As temperatures rise, beer gardens become increasingly popular. Breweries throughout Austin are adding outdoor events, live music, food trucks and special releases to their calendars.

A brewery is no longer simply somewhere to go drink beer.

It is becoming an entertainment destination.

You can bring friends.

Bring the dog.

Eat from a food truck.

Listen to a band.

Play games.

And spend the entire afternoon outside.

That is particularly appealing in April before the temperatures become brutal.

The same is true for Austin’s rooftop bars.

Downtown rooftops are entering one of their busiest seasons. Places such as P6, Azul Rooftop, Rules & Regs and other downtown destinations are beginning to attract people looking for views and cocktails without having to deal with the summer heat.

Rooftop season is one of those unofficial Austin seasons that locals understand.

There is a relatively short window when the weather is warm enough to enjoy the view but not so hot that everyone is looking for air conditioning.

April is right in that window.

Live music is also continuing to fill Austin’s calendar.

After SXSW, the city doesn’t suddenly stop being a music city.

If anything, April can be a better month for discovering local musicians because the enormous festival crowds are gone.

Venues throughout Red River, East Austin, South Congress and downtown continue booking local and touring artists.

Smaller shows can be particularly rewarding.

You may not know the band.

You may not have heard the song.

But that’s exactly how Austin’s music culture has always worked.

You go somewhere.

You hear something.

You discover a musician.

And six months later, you realize everyone else has discovered them too.

April also brings the beginning of Austin’s outdoor concert and event season.

Parks, patios, breweries and outdoor venues are increasingly being used for live performances.

That gives residents more choices than simply going to a traditional music venue.

Want to listen to music while drinking beer?

Go to a brewery.

Want live music with dinner?

Find a restaurant with a patio stage.

Want a bigger concert?

Check the major venues.

Want something casual?

Look for a neighborhood event.

Austin has options.

The food scene and music scene increasingly overlap, and that is one of the things that makes the city particularly fun in spring.

You don’t have to choose between dinner and entertainment.

You can have both.

April is also a good month for one of Austin’s favorite traditions: food trucks.

The city’s food-truck parks are getting busier as the weather improves, and new trucks continue appearing around town.

For visitors, food trucks can be one of the easiest ways to experience Austin food without making a reservation.

For locals, they are a chance to discover something new.

And because many trucks specialize in one particular item, the food can be extremely focused.

One truck might do tacos.

Another might specialize in burgers.

Another might make pizza.

Another might serve desserts.

Another might specialize in international food that would be difficult to find elsewhere.

That’s part of what makes Austin’s food-truck scene so good.

It is constantly changing.

April also means Easter, Mother’s Day planning and the beginning of the wedding and event season, which means Austin’s restaurants are increasingly offering brunches, special menus and private events.

Brunch is already a major part of Austin’s weekend culture, but spring makes it even more popular.

Outdoor patios fill.

Mimosas appear.

Breakfast tacos become lunch.

Lunch becomes cocktails.

And suddenly nobody is in a hurry to go home.

That is the April Austin lifestyle.

The biggest difference between April and March is that you don’t need a giant festival as an excuse to enjoy the city.

The city itself is the event.

Go to a restaurant you’ve never tried.

Find a patio.

Visit a brewery.

Walk South Congress.

Explore East Austin.

See a local band.

Grab tacos.

Take the family to the kite festival.

Or simply spend a Saturday afternoon outside with a drink.

Austin is at its best when the weather is good and the calendar is full.

And April is when that combination really starts happening.

The big summer heat hasn’t arrived yet.

The major fall festivals are still months away.

But the restaurants are busy.

The patios are full.

The bars are opening their doors.

The breweries are hosting events.

The music is everywhere.

And new businesses are continuing to arrive.

So if March was Austin’s giant party month, April is Austin’s let’s actually enjoy the city month.

It’s the month to slow down a little, explore somewhere new and take advantage of the weather.

Because by the time summer arrives, you’ll be wishing you had.