Examiner.com

Austin's big little "everything" festival, SXSW, starts this Friday, March 12. You may think if you don’t have a badge that there’s nothing for you to enjoy at this amazing festival, but there are several free events available to those without badges.

The festival has three parts:

• Interactive: March 12-16
• Film: March 12-16
• Music: March 17-21

There are free events associated with each part.

As part of the Interactive section, the free ScreenBurn Arcade will be open to the public. Called a “hands-on video game play space,” this high-end arcade, featuring the latest video games, products and technologies, will be at the Austin Convention Center on the first floor. 

To add to the film portion, the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center will be hosting several events including “Blacks in Technology,” “Latinos in Technology,” a youth filmmaking workshop, a number of film screenings and more.

When the music portion begins, more free events will kick off. A trio of collectors exhibitions will take place at the convention center: the Austin Record Convention, Texas Guitar Show and Flaststock Poster Show – all free and open to the public.

In addition, the music portion will feature a free concert series March 18-20 at the SXSW Auditorium Shores Stage, including a family-friendly lineup on Saturday, March 20.

Check out details, including specific times and lineups at the SXSW free events page: www.sxsw.com/free.

For more info:
SXSW festival page - www.sxsw.com
SXSW free events - www.sxsw.com/free

Photos by: Marcin Wichary through a Creative Commons attribution license; Austin Convention Center Department