If you’re passing through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) anytime before October 1, take a few moments to check out the new exhibit installed in the pylon display cases between gates 7 and 12. They’re filled with treasures relating to writers, photographers and musicians, all on loan from The Wittliff Collections, which focuses on the cultural legacy of the Southwest’s literary and photographic arts.

Some cool items here, including:

Lonesome Dove set designs and memorabilia;

Manuscript pages from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, No Country for Old Men and from his 2006 novel, The Road, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

A rare 1555 edition of Cabeza de Vaca’s La relación y comentarios, the first written account of travels in the region that is now Texas and northern Mexico.

A vintage camera used by Great Depression documentarian Russell Lee;

And pages from a songbook made by Willie Nelson when he was eleven years old.

(Photo: Pages from Willie Nelson’s first handwritten song book circa 1944, he was eleven years old. Also one of his first vinyl LPs with the hit, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. )

(Photos courtesy Wittliffs Collection and ABIA)

A new exhibit at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport chronicles nearly 50 years of free summer music productions in Austin, Texas and includes photos, costumes, reviews and other items from Zilker Theater Productions.

Highlights include props such as bricks made of fabric, pie made of foam, and hats with mouse traps to secretly propel a bird into the sky.   There are also elaborate costumes designed by Susan Branch, including the “Dreamer Dress” (below) from the Secret Garden.

The Zilker Summer Musical exhibit is on display through August 12, 2008 in the Airside West Gallery located behind the BookPeople bookstore across from Gate 11.

Next time you’re at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, take a moment to check out the new exhibit of black and photographs by Rick Williams.

Titled Working Hands, the images portray the rugged lives of the cowboy, the rough work of the west Texas oil field hand and the intricacies of the workplace for the high-tech worker in Austin.

The collection is on loan from Humanities Texas and is on display through July 28, 2008 in the Airside East Gallery, post-security, behind the Austin Article newsstand across from Gate 8.

Velma Ruth Boyd (1921-2006) of Longview, Texas had a deep passion for hats and, no doubt, a big closet.

Throughout her life she collected more than 300 dress hats, most of which ended up at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Austin, Texas.

Through July 1, 2008, a dazzling selection of Ms. Boyd’s hats is on display in the showcases between Gates 7-12 (post-security) at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Look for the “vermillion red hat with plumes of feathers,…a tan straw hat trimmed in white organza with a wide brim folded and curled back on itself like a mobius strip, and a pink summer straw hat surrounded with pink netting, ribbons and adorned with small faux flowerets.”

Photo courtesy Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

During the music, film and media extravaganza known as the South by Southwest festival, or SXSW, pretty much every venue in Austin, Texas is pressed into service as a showcase for music from around the world.

This year’s festival runs from March 7th to the 16^th. Much of the action is centered in downtown Austin, but some of the coolest events are only open to badge-wearing registrants. (Crashing isn’t that easy; I’ve been trying…)

But out at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, all concerts are free; all the time.

Each weekday throughout the year there are live performances on all four stages inside the terminal. During SXSW, the schedule shifts into high gear.

So weary travelers may be surprised to find themselves being entertained by some of Austin’s best musicians - and hoping for a flight delay.