61. Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (888) 439-2489
Description: This is a great way to teach children to give thanks on Thanksgiving weekend. Balloons, some up to 80 feet high, depicting popular children’s characters lead the parade, followed by marching bands, floats, dancers, clowns, and trucks filled with toys donated by children along the route. The donations go to the Austin Police Department’s Operation Blue Santa, which gives toys to needy kids at Christmas. The parade is sponsored by Chuy’s, the popular local restaurant.
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 419 Congress Ave.
63. Texas Book Festival
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 477-4055
Description: This very successful celebration of Texas literature (thanks in great part to First Lady Laura Bush) includes book signings, seminars, discussions, and celebrations of literary history.
64. Wurstfest
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (830) 625-9167, (800) 221-4369
Description: Wurstfest is the city’s version of Oktoberfest and attracts tens of thousands of visitors, who eat sausage, drink beer, sing songs, and spend money. Admission fee. Children 12 and younger are free.
65. Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 447-1605
Address: 900 Barton Springs Rd.
Insider Pick:
Description: This annual arts and crafts fair was originally held at the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters but now is housed in the Palmer Events Center. The ’Dillo is long gone, but the spirit of the bazaar lives on as a showplace for local artists and craftspeople, some of them creating fanciful jewelry and whimsical toys. Local musicians also perform nightly at the 2-week event, which begins in mid-Dec and ends Christmas Eve. It is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Admission fee. Children younger than 12 are admitted free.
66. Christmas at the French Legation
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 472-8180
Description: The Daughters of the Texas Republic offer a glimpse of Christmas past as it might have been celebrated in the mid-19th century. The legation was built for Comte Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, France’s charge d’affaires to the Republic of Texas. In addition to Christmas displays, choirs perform Christmas carols and holiday refreshments are offered. Pére Noel, the French Santa Claus, is on hand. The celebration takes place on the first Sun of the month from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission fee.
67. Christmas Music and Theater
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: With its rich and talented arts community, Austin offers a large variety of Christmas musical events. There are the long-standing traditions of the holiday, like the annual performances by the Austin Civic Ballet of The Nutcracker at Bass Concert Hall, (512) 469-SHOW. Handel’s “Messiah” is performed by several musical entities, plus there is the annual “Sing It Yourself Messiah” at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, where the audience can join in with the Austin Civic Chorus. Call (512) 454-TIXS for information and tickets. Local theater and comedy troupes offer a variety of performances. Check the listings in the Austin American-Statesman.
68. Christmas Open House
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (409) 278-3530
Description: Christmas at Winedale is celebrated each year in a different historic home in this wonderful old settlement in Fayette County, east of Austin. Usually held the Sun before Christmas, the celebration features seasonal music and food. The many antiques shops offer one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts. Call for hours. There is a small admission charge.
69. Family Christmas Night
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 255-5805
Description: On the first Sat of the month, the City of Round Rock closes the downtown streets for a family celebration. At the heart of the event is the town’s historic town square where Santa appears to assure Round Rock kids that he knows who has been naughty and who has been nice. The festivities begin at 7 p.m., and admission is free.
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
71. First Night
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512)739-9900
Description: This family friendly celebration is a farewell to the old year and a great way for the whole family to ring in the new. A “celebration of the arts,” it is centered around City Hall on the northern banks of Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) and is a gift by various major corporate donors to the city. There is poetry, dance, mummers and musicians, artwork and clowns, some exhibitions have a Cirque de Soleil feel and even the buildings become canvases for artists. There is an early evening welcoming for the New Year, plus the traditional midnight fireworks and its free!
72. Ice Skating at Whole Foods
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 476-1206
Address: 525 North Lamar Blvd.
Description: The rooftop of the Whole Foods Landmark store and corporate headquarters becomes a winter wonderland during the Christmas holiday, no matter if the temperatures remain balmy. The skating rink offers a wonderful view of the downtown holiday lights.
73. Kwanzaa
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: The Swahili word means “fruits of the harvest,” and Kwanzaa, created in 1966, has proved fruitful as millions of African Americans embrace the celebration’s principles. From Dec 26 to Jan 1, the 7 days of Kwanzaa are dedicated to 7 principles. In recent years African-American leaders in Austin have taken Kwanzaa from a family event to a community celebration. During the festival there are a variety of public events. Check the Austin American-Statesman and local community newspapers for details.
74. The Lighting of the Zilker Park Christmas Tree
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Insider Pick:
Description: This annual event and Austin ritual on the first Sun of the month is a true sign that Christmas is nigh. One the city’s moonlight towers was moved to the park and serves as the main “trunk” of the tree. Thousands of colored Christmas lights are strung from the top of the 165-foot tower to resemble a Christmas tree shape. Tradition calls for children to stand inside the pyramid and whirl around, making the lights blur. Young children are whisked around in their parents’ arms. It is one of those simple holiday traditions that children never forget. Admission to the park is free.
75. Lights of the Blacklands
City: Austin, TX
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (512) 285-5721
Description: The holidays can be stressful, but one of the most relaxing ways to enjoy the season is to take a leisurely evening drive through some of the area’s small towns and view the Christmas decorations. The towns east of Austin in what are called the Blacklands, a reference to the rich blackland prairie soil, suggest a tour beginning in Elgin on US 290 and then on through Coupland, Thrall, Bartlett, and LaGrange. The route is featured on the Elgin City website.