Chinatown Center Austin Chinese New Year Festival. JANUARY/FEBRUARY. . Austin’s Chinatown Center has set a Texas-sized standard for how Chinese New Year’s Celebration should be done! All adults and children are invited to attend this FREE two-day event with family-fun entertainment including the kids’ area, dragon and lion dances, traditional Chinese Dances, martial arts performances and more! Don’t miss out on a celebration that embraces and educates on the wide range of Asian culture. All retail stores and restaurants in the center are open - Chinatown Center is located at 10901 N. Lamar Blvd. at the intersection of Kramer and N. Lamar.
Lunar New Year Festival. FEBRUARY. .
Zilker Park Kite Festival. MARCH. . The oldest continuous kite festival in the USA. Hundreds of kites will dance in the sky the first Sunday in March (10AM to 5PM) Admission is FREE. Everyone is welcome whether they fly a kite or just enjoy the spectacle that must be seen to be believed. Kite flying demonstrations will be held all day and delicious food of all kinds will be prepared fresh at the event. See kite ballet, kite battles, kite buggies and giant kites over 50 feet long. Come compete in both youth and adult kite contests with your homemade kite. Trophies are awarded to the winners. Proceeds from vendor sales go to break the cycle of child abuse. Free parking and shuttles. Come on down to Zilker Park and enjoy “Kite Day”. Zilker Park is in Austin at 2200 Barton Springs Road. Rain date is the following Sunday.
Austin Chocolate Festival. MARCH. The festival will include up to 20 vendors including chocolatiers, bakeries, patisseries, restaurants, hotels, caterers, authors, and resorts. The participating vendors will offer samples to festival guests. Guests will also enjoy and participate in chocolate competitions and demonstrations. It was founded in 2006 and benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Tickets for the Austin Chocolate Festival are available for purchase online in advance at the festival website. For more information, volunteer, vendor or sponsorship opportunities please visit the website.
South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. MARCH. . Beginning before and overlapping the SXSW Music Festival. SXSW Film is a significant industry conference, but also hosts many film showings.
South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival. MARCH. . One of the biggest music festival in the United States, with more than 1,400 performers playing dozens of venues around Austin for four days. The wrist bands are loved by college students here, but be warned that you'll be turned away at the door at many of the venues even with one. You can still get into some of the larger venues without a wristband if you'd simply like to sample a band or two and check out the atmosphere; you can usually pick one "official" venue where you think you'll like all the bands, and then go early and pay the cover. Hardcore music fans usually make a week long calendar and plan to arrive at different venues for different acts.
Wildflower Center Art and Artisans Festival. MARCH. . The annual Wildflower Days celebration begins with the Art and Artisans Festival devoted to arts, crafts and nature. This early spring event features the work of local artists and artisans, all working with a nature theme. You will find watercolors, metalwork, pottery, jewelry, photography, woodwork and more, all lovingly made by hand. Highlights include children's activities in the Little House as well as book signings and special discounts at the store. Then, add some leisure to your arts - dine on tasty cuisine at the Wildflower Cafe and enjoy entertainment provided by local musicians.
SPAMARAMA™ is a fun and irreverent homage to Spam™. APRIL. . It includes a Cookoff, the SPAMALYMPICS™ (Contests, some athletic, some not), SPAMJAM® (Music), Arts/Crafts/Food booths and a Kid's Area. SPAMARAMA™ benefits the Disability Assistance of Central Texas, Inc. It was founded in 1976.
Texas Round-Up & Street Festival APRIL. . The Texas Round-Up 10K, 5K and Family Mile is held annually in Austin, Texas on the last Saturday in April. Race weekend begins with a health and fitness expo showcasing vendors and sponsors. The race is followed by a fitness festival where families can enjoy live music, food, fitness demonstrations and family friendly activities. Many participants spend months training for Texas Round-Up, and for several participants, the Texas Round-Up is their first race, making the events a very special accomplishment and a true celebration of healthy living.
Dragon Boat Festival. APRIL. . Running since 1999 with growing participation and attendance; held centrally on Town Lake. In addition to the friendly, competitive races, the festival will include many other cultural exhibitions, vendors, and kids activities. FREE admission to the public.
Eeyore's Birthday Party. APRIL. . Held on the last Saturday of every April to ring in spring, there are few things that seem so "Austin" as Eeyore's Birthday Party. It is a unique event: a free-form hang-out of several thousand people... sitting, walking, playing music, beating drums, eating, drinking beer, playing games. Be yourself... there are families, dogs, tattoos, costumes, hotties, hippies, gay, straight, black, white, brown, red, tan.... and a statue of Eeyore dressed like the Statue of Liberty. The drum circle is massive and the beat vibrates throughout the central city. It ends when the sun goes down and everyone leaves peacefully. More information can be found at:
Old Pecan Street Festival. MAY & SEPTEMBER. . East Sixth Street (formerly Pecan Street) from Congress to IH-35 and adjacent streets are closed to traffic to host over 240 Arts, Crafts and other vendors. Several music stages offer live music.
Austin Wine Festival. MAY. . A uniquely Austin 3-day Texas wine celebration - RAIN OR SHINE! Wineries from Lampasas to New Braunfels and Fredericksburg to Dripping Springs have bloomed from a pioneering few, into an internationally awarded and recognized wine region... The number 2 wine destination in the nation, second only to Napa! Together they have created the annual Austin Wine Festival, the first of its kind in Texas.
Austin Pride. June. . Austin's single largest LGBT event includes a festival at Republic Square Park and a parade that goes through the Warehouse District.
Austin Bamboo Festival. AUGUST. Phone: 512-477-8672, . Zilker Botanical Garden. This annual event features tours of theTaniguchi Japanese Garden, traditional dances, bamboo crafts and flute music.
Austin City Limits Festival. OCTOBER. . An annual three day outdoor music festival. It brings together more than 130 bands on eight stages, including rock, country, folk, indie, Americana, hip-hop, reggae, and bluegrass, and attracts a crowd of about 65,000 music-lovers each day. A great mix of big names as well as local acts, but be prepared to deal with the heat.
Texas Book Festival has reached national prominence, in part due to support from Honorary Chairperson Laura Bush. OCTOBER.
Austin Film Festival. OCTOBER. . Conference and film showings.
Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off. NOVEMBER. . The annual vegetarian cook-off began in 1989. Our mission is to show a healthy lifestyle can be as familiar as traditional, homemade chili – and a lot more fun! All of the chili is purely vegan (no animal products). The cook-off is open to all entrants. It is open to the public for tasting and mingling; admission enables you to taste ALL the different chili (and includes Zoo Entrance fee)! There will be lots of chili to taste, lots of interesting people to meet, guest speakers, great door prizes, live music, and many educational booths & exhibits. Half of the proceeds benefit the Austin Zoo, a rescue zoo providing sanctuary to displaced animals.
Austin Asian Film Festival. NOVEMBER. . An innovative Asian/Asian-American film festival committed to celebrating the best in independent Asian cinema from across the globe. For five years, our festival has highlighted the complexity and vitality of Asian/Asian-American communities through cutting-edge narrative, documentary and experimental films.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Austin
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Austin - updated May 2024
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Austin Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
