FOX 7 Austin helps light up the Capitol's Christmas tree

AUSTIN, Texas - Downtown Austin is magical this time of year.

Elves, stilt walkers, Santa, and even the Grinch wander around Congress Avenue on Saturday evening.

"We love it," said Maritza. "We love how there's all these different activities for the littles, and they had a lot of different photoshoots. We thought the pups were super cool and how they had them up for adoption."

For Austin's 30th annual holiday stroll, there was the first-ever Christmas dog costume competition, emceed by FOX 7 Austin’s Libbi Farrow.

It’s also the perfect excuse to dress man's best friend up, like Buddy the Elf.

(Lauren Rangel)

"It's a classic Christmas movie, and it brings a lot of cheer and laughter, so that's you know why we chose that one," said Amanda Armendariz.

All the cuteness was not to be overshadowed by the cold drizzle.

"Considering the rain, you know, everybody's still out, still happy, that time of year, that time of year where people are still cheery regardless of the weather," said Armendariz. "You never know in Texas. It could be hot, it could be cold one day then sleet."

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The otherwise gloomy weather is actually welcome news to some, like Caitlin and Cam visiting from Australia.

"It's really different to see Christmas in winter and all the markets and festivals and all the nice things going on, it's great," said Cam.

It's also been good for businesses selling hot food.

"We have actually had quite a few people stop by so far, so super excited," said Allie McMillian, owner of La Mapachita Tamaleria. She’s selling tamales and hot cocoa.

"We don't get a lot of winter, so being out here, it's cold, it feels nice," said McMillian. "It definitely feels cheery."

But it's not the start of the holidays without some carols. A couple hundred people joined in on the sing-along just before the tree lighting. FOX 7 Austin had the honor of counting it down and lighting it up.

The tree stays up throughout the holidays.