Austin Festivals

There are always fun and exciting events going on. Here are just some of the festivals that take place throughout the year in Austin.

FALL Austin City Limits Music Festival - 2 weekends, 8 stages with over 100 bands, becoming one of the most popular music festivals in the world.

Austin Film Festival - A competition dedicated to recognizing the writer’s contribution to the motion picture industry.

Austin Food & Wine Festival - Features Central Texas wine, food, and local music for everyone’s enjoyment.

Hatch Chile Festival - Two days filled with celebrating this Texas favorite, hatch chiles. Events include cooking contests, food booths, and a carnival filled with activities.

Pecan Street Festival - This bi-annual event features an arts and crafts festival held on historic 6th Street.

Texas Craft Brewers Festival - The largest annual celebration of Texas craft beer that features the best Texas-brewed beer and ale. The event includes live music, beer education classes, food, and beer pairings with local food vendors.

Turkey Trot - An Austin tradition on Thanksgiving Day, the 5 mile race has over 20,000 participants.

WINTER Armadillo Christmas Bazaar - An art fair and music festival rolled into one, it has long been Austin’s favorite scene for holiday shopping.

Austin Marathon - The Ascension Seton Austin Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K fills Austin’s streets with more than 20,000 runners.

Austin Trail of Lights/Zilker Tree - Millions of Christmas lights create a trail leading up to the Zilker Park Christmas tree made of more than one million individual lights.

Holiday Lights at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters - Visitors can expect to be surrounded by more than one million LED lights, some of which have been sculpted into giant iconic objects, music, and hot chocolate.

SPRING Eeyore’s Birthday - A day-long festival in Pease Park that helps raise money for local non-profits. It includes live music, food and drinks, costumes, and of seemless mix of old and new Austin.

Pecan Street Festival - This bi-annual event features an arts and crafts festival held on historic 6th Street.

Reggae Fest - Three day event showcasing Reggae music on the banks of Auditorium Shores.

Rodeo Austin - Two week long rodeo that also features amusement park rides, food, and a concert every night.

South by Southwest (SXSW) - A three week long music, film, and tech convention drawing visitors and contributors from around the world.

Zilker Kite Festival - Hundreds of kites fill the skies of Austin in Zilker Park.

SUMMER Bat Fest - 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge with three stages of live music, arts and crafts, food, and a costume contest.

Blues on the Green - Free concerts held on the grass of Zilker Park through summer attracting two thousand locals picnicing and relaxing.

Hot Sauce Festival - The world’s largest hot sauce festival, held in Fiesta Gardens.

Ice Cream Festival - Games, entertainment, activities, contests, and of course plenty of ice cream from around the world.

ROT Biker Rally - Republic of Texas - Largest motorcycle rally in the state of Texas.

Zilker Summer Musical - High-quality musical theater productions running four nights a week through the summer at Zilker Hillside Theater. Don’t forget a blanket and a picnic!

YEAR ROUND First Thursdays - On the first Thursday of each month, South Congress becomes filled with street vendors, bands, and food vendors for an ecclectic evening. Local stores stay open till 10pm.

Third Thursdays - On the third Thursday of each month, The Blanton Museum stays open till 9pm and has an extended happy hour. Get a glass of wine and pizza for just $5.