Day Trips & Beyond: October Events Roundup
Over 70 Texas fairs, fests, fetes, and more
By Gerald E. McLeod, 7:00AM, Wed. Oct. 4, 2017
It’s harvest season in Texas with lots of spooky fun festivals and a round of Oktoberfests for your dancing and dining pleasure.
In 1976, local sculptor Mel Fowler and retire postman James Vaughan invited 26 artists from 6 countries to the tiny hamlet north of Austin for Liberty Hill’s International Sculpture Symposium. The result was an internationally recognized collection of concrete, rock, and metal art that still stands today. In honor of the 41st anniversary of the original symposium, local artists and art lovers will gather to raise funds for maintenance and conservation of the Liberty Hill Sculpture Garden. There will be artists working on-site as well as activities for children, a car show, and art vendors.
Oct. 7, Sculpture Garden Festival, Liberty Hill, www.lhsculptures.com.
Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc the Texas coast and the island village of Port Aransas took the brunt of the storm head-on. The Port Aransas Historic Museum and their Farley Boat Works were heavily damaged. You can’t keep a good island town down and this year it will host the Harvey Edition of the Old Town Festival and Wooden Boat Festival on Oct. 20-22. Show your support for the businesses that have reopened or are struggling to regain their footing by joining in the festivities.
Oct. 20-22, Harvey Edition of the Old Town Festival and Wooden Boat Festival, Port Aransas, 361/749-3800, www.portaransasmuseum.org.
Travel Notes:
State Fair of Texas in Dallas is the biggest celebration of fried foods, agriculture, games, blue ribbons, and just plain fun in the state. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience the thrills through Oct. 22. www.bigtex.com.
Climb aboard a full-size simulated International Space Station to get a hands-on adventure that takes guests as close to space as one can get while still on Earth. Journey to Space opens Oct. 21 and runs through May 6, 2018, at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. The traveling exhibit features two massive rotating labs with robotic arms, water rockets and ion engines, and numerous authentic space travel and exploration objects. www.perotmuseum.org.
Organizers of Help Save Sentinel Peak Preserve are raising funds to purchase the 2,500-acre former El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Camp outside of Wimberley on the Devil’s Backbone (RR32). The Sam Houston Area Council is asking $24,500,000 for the scenic property that served as youth camp for 63 years. The goal of the non-profit Sentinel Peak Preserve is to provide controlled public access to the property. www.fb.com/groups/289324974867769
Texas has noted with sadness the passing of Tony Amos, a well-known coastal scientist based in Port Aransas. The founder of Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), Amos died Sept. 4 at age 80. The white-haired spokesperson for the island’s natural residents was a familiar figure in the resort town for 36 years where he rescued stranded marine animals and wrote a lively newspaper column. San Jose and Mustang islands are much better places because of him. Donations may be made in his memory to the Tony F. Amos Endowment for the ARK through the University of Texas Marine Science Institute at www.utmsi.utexas.edu/about/facilities/ark/donate-ark.
Other October Events:
East Texas Poultry Festival
Oct. 5-7, Center, www.shelbycountychamber.com
Gruene Music and Wine Fest
Oct. 5-8, Gruene, www.gruenemusicandwinefest.org
Sand Castle Days
Oct. 5-8. South Padre Island, www.sandcastledays.com
Dia de los Muertos Exhibit
Oct. 5-Nov. 5, The Nave Museum, Victoria, www.navemuseum.com
Boo at the Zoo
Oct. 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28, Austin Zoo, www.austinzoo.org
Oktoberfest
Oct. 6-8, Fredericksburg, www.oktoberfestinfbg.com
Pig Roast
Oct. 6-8, Johnson City, www.jcpigroast.org
Angelina County AirFest
Oct. 7, Diboll, www.visitlufkin.com
Jimmy Webb – The Glen Campbell Years
Oct. 7, The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston, www.thegrand.com
Black Rodeo
Oct. 7, Gladewater, www.realcowboyassociation.com
Fall Native Plant Sale and Festival
Oct. 7, Kerrville, www.riversidenaturecenter.org
Oktoberfest on the Square
Oct. 7, La Grange, www.visitlagrangetx.com
Sculpture Garden Festival
Oct. 7, Liberty Hill, www.lhsculptures.com
Historic Schools Open House Tour
Oct. 7, Stonewall, www.historicschools.org
Lion’s Market Days
Oct. 7, Wimberley, www.shopmarketdays.com
Kerr County Celtic Festival and Hill Country Highland Games
Oct. 7-8, Ingram, www.kerrcountyceltic.com
Cottonwood Art Festival
Oct. 7-8, Richardson, www.cottonwoodartfestival.com
Gulf Coast International Dragon Boat Regatta
Oct. 7-8, Sugar Land, www.texasdragonboat.com
Zoo Boo
Oct. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, San Antonio, www.sazoo.org
Cornfield Maze
Oct. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, Nov. 4-5, Bastrop, www.bartonhillfarms.com
Silobration
Oct. 12-14, Waco, www.magnoliamarket.com/silobration
SeaFair
Oct. 12-15, Rockport, www.rockportseafair.com
Texas Mushroom Festival
Oct. 13, Madisonville, www.madisonvilletexas.us
Texas Photo and Folk Music Festival
Oct. 13-14, Smithville, www.smithvilletx.org
Nightmare on Jail Hill Haunted House
Oct. 13-14, 20-21, Georgetown, www.fb.com/williamsoncountybrownsanta
Fall Sunset Cruises
Oct. 13-14, 27-28, Galveston, www.galvestonhistory.org
Ghosts on the Square Tours
Oct. 13-14, 27-28, Georgetown, www.williamsonmuseum.org
“The Promise”
Oct. 13-14, 20-21, 27-28, Nov. 3-4, Glen Rose, www.thepromiseglenrose.com
Texas Mesquite Art Festival
Oct. 13-15, Fredericksburg, www.texasmesquiteartfestivals.com
Bob Wills Fiddle Festival and Contest
Oct. 13-15, Greenville, www.greenvillechamber.com
Fall Artisan River Walk Show
Oct. 13-15, San Antonio, www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com
Eisenhower Birthday Celebration
Oct. 14, Denison, www.visiteisenhowerbirthplace.com
Davis Mountains Preserve Open Day
Oct. 14, Fort Davis, www.nature.org/texas
Remembrance of the Great Hanging
Oct. 14, Gainesville, www.greathanging1862.com
Filibusterers at the Presidio
Oct. 14, Goliad, www.presidiolabahia.org
Herb and Art Festival
Oct. 14, Lampasas, www.lampasaschamber.org
Grape Day
Oct. 14, Lubbock, www.llanowine.com
Stonewall VFD Fall Fish Fry
Oct. 14, Stonewall, www.stonewalltexas.com
Scarecrow Festival
Oct. 14-15, Chappell Hill, www.chappellhillhistoricalsociety.com
Kerrville Chalk Festival
Oct. 14-15, Kerrville, www.kerrvillechalk.org
Sacred Springs Powwow
Oct. 14-15, San Marcos, www.indigenouscultures.org
Tablerock’s Fright Trail
Oct. 14, 21, 28, Salado, www.tablerock.org
Butcher’s Ball
Oct. 15, Brenham, www.butchersball.com
Christopher McGuire/Allegro Concert
Oct. 15, Fredericksburg, www.fredericksburgmusicclub.com
Texas Rose Festival
Oct. 19-22, Tyler, www.texasrosefestival.com
Brewing Up Texas
Oct. 21-28, San Antonio, www.texancultures.com/brewing_up_texas
Fort Martin Scott Frontier Days
Oct. 20-21, Fredericksburg, www.ftmartinscott.org
Harvest Festival
Oct. 20-21, Needville, www.needvilleharvestfest.org
Bacon Bash Texas
Oct. 21, Cranfills Gap, www.baconbashtexas.com
Walker County Butterfly Festival
Oct. 21, Huntsville, www.huntsvilletexas.com
Shiner Music Festival
Oct. 21, Shiner, www.shinermusicfest.com
CAF Wings Over Houston Airshow
Oct. 21-22, Ellington Airport, Houston, www.wingsoverhouston.com
Speaking of the Dead: Night Ramblings in a Texas Graveyard
Oct. 21-22, Lockhart, www.caldwellcountyhistoricalcommission.org/speakingofthedead.html
Fort Concho Night Tours
Oct. 24, San Angelo, www.fortconcho.com
Los Muertos Bailan Festival
Oct. 27, Edinburg, www.edinburgarts.com/losmuertosbailan
Hogeye Festival
Oct. 27-28, Elgin, www.hogeyefestival.com
Czhilispiel 45
Oct. 27-29, Flatonia, www.flatoniachamber.com
Haunted Zoo
Oct. 27-29, Texas Zoo, Victoria, www.texaszoo.org
Croctoberfest
Oct. 28, 10am-3pm, Angleton, www.crocodileencounter.com
Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest
Oct. 28, Fredericksburg, www.fbgfoodandwinefest.com
Fountainwood Observatory Public Night
Oct. 28, Georgetown, www.southwestern.edu/offices/observatory
Observe the Moon Night
Oct. 28, 7-9pm, Houston, www.levyparkhouston.org
Cowboys of Color Finals Rodeo
Oct. 28, Mesquite, www.cowboysofcolorrodeo.com
Barbecue on the Pedernales at LBJ Ranch
Oct. 28, Stonewall, www.friendsoflbjnationalpark.org
Lubbock Book Festival
Oct. 28, Lubbock, www.lubbockbookfestival.org
Sassafras Festival
Oct. 28, San Augustine, www.sanaugustinetx.com
Texas Country Reporter Festival
Oct. 28, Waxahachie, www.waxahachiecvb.com
Mala Luna Music Festival
Oct. 28-29, San Antonio, www.malalunamusicfestival.com
Kosher Barbecue Championship
Oct. 29, Dallas, www.dallaskosherbbq.com
Gerald McLeod has been traveling around Texas and beyond for his "Day Trips" column for more than 25 years. Keep up to date with his journeys on his archive page.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Gerald E. McLeod, Oct. 5, 2016
Kali Daryl Robinson, Oct. 1, 2014
June 6, 2025
October Events, State Fair of Texas, Tony Amos, Liberty Hill Sculpture Garden, Old Town Festival, Port Aransas, Wooden Boat Festival
