31. Chisholm Trail Roundup
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 398-2818
Description: Back in 1840, Lockhart residents fought their way into the history books by defeating the Comanches at the Battle of Plum Creek. Later this small town southeast of Austin became a staging center for cattle being driven north on the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas. Lockhart had a reputation as a wild town, famous for its shoot-outs and feuds. The town history is celebrated with a reenactment of the battle, city tours, and a chili cook-off. The weekend-long festival in late May also includes dances, arts and crafts shows, and live music. Admission for events varies.
32. Festival Institute at Festival Hill
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (409) 249-3129
Description: In the early 1970s, classical pianist James Dick founded the festival at Round Top, the small German settlement east of Austin in Fayette County. Round Top has come to represent the best of the Texas cultural scene, combining great music, historical settings, and a bucolic atmosphere. There are concerts once a month throughout the year at the institute site, but a special midyear series dubbed Summerfest takes place on each weekend in June and the first two weekends of July. Concerts range from the strictly classical to the popular. For a concert schedule write to Festival Institute, P.O. Box 89, Round Top, TX 78954.
33. Juneteenth
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Juneteenth is an original Texas celebration and marks the day that Texas slaves learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. On June 19, 1865, Union commander Major General Gordon Granger took Galveston and announced to Texas slaves that they had been freed 2 years earlier. The day is now marked by festivals of music, barbecues, parades, celebrations of African-American culture, and gospel sings. Check the Austin American-Statesman and community newspapers for details of this yearly event. Juneteenth is now a state holiday.
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
35. Austin Chamber Music Festival
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 454-0026
Description: Imagine a chamber ensemble performing in the Victorian ballroom of the Driskill Hotel, or a music workshop for kids at the Austin Children’s Museum. This 3-week festival celebrating chamber music utilizes a variety of locations around the city, including churches, public spaces indoors and out, and evocative settings like the Driskill’s ballroom.
36. Austin Symphony Orchestra July Fourth Concert and Fireworks
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 476-6064
Description: As Austin grows, the size of the crowd gathering on the shores of Lady Bird Lake to watch the July Fourth concert gets larger and larger. The orchestra sets up on the southern shore of Lady Bird Lake on Auditorium Shores. The grand finale is, of course, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with cannon and fireworks. The music begins at 8:30 p.m., but many families come down earlier and enjoy a family picnic. Parking is a major headache, and after the concert the city’s major thoroughfares out of the downtown area are jammed, making the trip home a slow one. The concert is free.
37. Barton Springs Diving Championships
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 476-9044
Address: 2201 Barton Springs Rd.
Description: Elvis is alive and diving at Barton Springs. At least he was in 1997, when he won the “Most Original” prize in this annual contest. The contest includes best splash, best dive, and most-original dive categories. Participants range in age, and their entry fees help fund environmental exhibits. Local musical groups also perform before and after the diving competition, which takes place on the third Sun of the month. Flyers advertising the event and containing registration forms are widely distributed at Austin’s pools, local grocery stores, and other outlets. Spectators pay an admission charge. Participants pay a registration fee. You can save a few dollars by preregistering.
38. Bastille Day
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 472-8180
Address: 802 San Marcos St.
Description: The legation was the home and office of Comte Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, charge d’affaires to the Republic of Texas. Francophiles and homesick French citizens gather on the Sun closest to July 14 to celebrate the French equivalent of Fourth of July in the US. The food is French, of course, and very good since it is concocted by local chefs. The music also is French, and the dancers, jugglers, and mimes celebrate traditional French culture. Admission fee.
39. Shakespeare at Winedale
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (979) 278-3530
Description: Each summer, University of Texas English literature students gather at historic Winedale to study and perform Shakespeare’s plays. The students perform three plays in the theater barn in the historic settlement, beginning the last week of July and continuing through mid-Aug. Performances are Thurs and Fri at 7:30 p.m. and Sat at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Admission fee. Winedale is about a 90-minute drive east of Austin.
40. Willie Nelson’s July Fourth Picnic
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Willie Nelson is renowned for his concerts, and no one gets shortchanged when he takes to the stage. Over the years, the picnic has changed locations, so it is wise to keep an eye on local music coverage in the media for prices, admission, and ticket numbers. It is an event that is popular, and concertgoers from all over Texas come to hear Willie sing, so book tickets well sin advance.
41. Zilker Summer Musical
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 479-9491
Description: Each summer, for more than 40 years, talented Austin musicians and actors have put on a popular Broadway musical in the open-air hillside “arena” adjacent to Barton Springs in the city’s major downtown park. The musical is free and performances are at 8:30 p.m. Thurs through Sun from mid-July through Aug.
42. Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 454-5766
Insider Pick:
Description: This combination cook-off and foodie fest brings together amateurs, chefs, and commercial salsa makers who try to woo the taste buds of Austin’s hot sauce aficionados. There is a competition, lots of samples, plus music—so what better way to cool off on a hot summer than with some hot sauce. Proceeds benefit the local food bank.
43. Austin Latino Comedy Fiesta
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 472-5470
Address: 713 Congress Ave.
Description: The historic Paramount Theatre is home to this annual comedy festival that celebrates Austin’s Latino culture. Stand-up comics and sketch artists perform at the weekend festival.
44. Bat Fest
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 441-9015
Description: Underneath the bridge lives the 1.5-million-strong colony of Mexican free-tail bats and mid-summer is a great time to watch the swarm fly out at dusk to feast on bugs all around Central Texas. This family friendly festival features all things “batty,” including a “bat wing” eating contest (think chicken) and all manner of bat costumes and bat hats. Admission fee.
45. Fall Creek Grape Stomp
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (915) 379-5361
Description: This Hill Country vineyard has established a national reputation for the quality of its wines. Located on the shores of Lake Buchanan, about 70 miles northwest of Austin, Fall Creek is a popular place to visit while touring the Hill Country. The peace and quiet of the winery is broken by the cheers and hollers of barefooted kids and grown-ups stomping the grapes. The winery opens its doors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that visitors can roll up their jeans, strip off their socks, and jump into vats of red grapes. The experience is free.