https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/travel/2017-10-04/day-trips-and-beyond-october-events-roundup/

Day Trips & Beyond: October Events Roundup

By Gerald E. McLeod, October 4, 2017, 7:00am,

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.