Eeyore celebrates his 32nd Birthday

One of the annual events that lends credence to the slogan, "Only in Austin" is the affair in Pease Park known as Eeyore's Birthday Party. From its genesis in 1963, the party, perhaps inevitably, came into its own during Austin's "cosmic" 1970s (after the state lowered the drinking age to 18).

Even though the conservative Legislature subsequently raised the age to drink and buy liquor back to 21 (and damn quickly), Eeyore's Birthday Party has survived as one of Austin's first signs of spring, a costumed affair with a distinctly bohemian flavor.

Word usually passes within a certain community a week or so before the party, with local news media competing to be the first to announce the date.

A decade or two ago, the costumes might have included an obscene body part, or revelers might have come as their drug of choice -- a quaalude, for example. Such were the times. If the costumes don't quite achieve that same edge these days, extreme states of undress are still welcome, and the boho spirit remains.

Austin photographer Kenneth David Lockerman of the Black & White Studio shot the photos on this and following web pages during this year's Eeyore's Birthday Party. Reach him at 502 A Oakland Ave., or call (512) 480-8184.