Events Calendars & Annual Austin Events

Searchable by date and type of event, the Events Calendar on the Austin Visitors Center website offers a comprehensive and extensive listing of events in Austin, including children and family events, culinary events, film festivals, holiday events, annual event, concerts and music events and theater and dance events.

Hundreds of kites fill the sky at in March at the Zilker Park Kite Festival. This annual event is free to enter and categories include the smallest kite, the largest kite, the highest flying kite and the most creative kite with both adult and children's divisions. Only homebuilt kites are eligible for competition, however you don't have to enter the competition to fly a kite during the festival. Admission is free. Free parking and shuttle rides are available from the state parking garage at 17th and Colorado. Sponsored by the Exchange Club of Austin, concessions are available and proceeds are donated to local children's charities.

In 1963, UT English professor Lloyd Birdwell Jr. started a Winnie the Pooh-inspired picnic dubbed Eeyore's Birthday as a springtime party for his students before final exams. The event has since become an Austin tradition and is held in April every year at Pease Park, with costume contests, relay races, face painting, and other events for adults and children, including drum circles that spontaneously form across Pease Park. Admission is free. Eeyore's is sponsored by a nonprofit officially called the Friends of Forest which raises money through beer sales, T-shirts and temporary tattoos. Food stands are operated by other local nonprofits and staffed by volunteer crews.

Taking place on a Saturday and Sunday in both the Spring (May) and the Fall (September), the old Pecan Street Festival is a family event featuring arts and crafts exhibitors, vendors, music and multicultural performers in the middle of Sixth Street in downtown Austin. Admission is free. Pecan Street refers to original name of Sixth Street. When the street plan for downtown Austin was first laid out, north-south streets were given the names of Texas rivers in the order in which they appeared on the Texas map and the east-west streets were given the names of native trees. Years later, numbers replaced the tree-named streets and what was Pecan Street became today's 6th Street.

Each May and June, tens of thousands of Austinites and visitors from all over the world make the two hour drive from Austin to converge at Quiet Valley Ranch in Kerrville for eighteen consecutive days of traditional folk, bluegrass, acoustic rock, blues, country, jazz, and Americana music. Founded by Rod Kennedy, the Kerrville Folk Festival has run annually since 1972 and is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America. Many visitors camp at the ranch during the festival and almost all the staff are volunteers. One of the most unique aspects of the festival happens after the official shows when fans, volunteers and performers play music by the campfires, sometimes till dawn. In addition to the Folk Festival in the Spring, there is also a Wine and Music Festival over Labor Day weekend.

The Austin Ice Cream Festival raises money for local charities such as the Austin Children's Shelter and the Young Womens Alliance.

Taking place on the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in the early part of September, BatFest is a two-day festival celebrating Austin's famous bat population. An estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats live under the bridge. Featuring arts and crafts, music, food, bat watching, children's activities and education displays, an admission is charged and a portion of proceeds benefits Austin-based nonprofit group Bat Conservation International.

Set in downtown Zilker Park in the middle of September, the Austin City Limits Music Fest is annual three-day music and art festival that has become one of the United States premier rock festivals. Approximately 130 bands on eight stages attract crowds of around 65,000 fans to listen to music including rock, country, folk, indie, Americana, hip-hop, reggae and bluegrass. Named after the public television show Austin City Limits produced at the KLRU studios at the University of Texas since 1977, C3 Presents (formerly Capital Sports & Entertainment) licenses the “Austin City Limits” name for the annual festival. There is usually a brief and competitive pre-sale of discount price three-day passes about six months before the festival. The regular sale starts a few months later with gradual price increases as the Fest gets closer. Single day tickets go on sale about a month before the Fest. Full price for three day passes is around $150 and single day passes are about $80. The best way to get tickets is to sign up for the ACL Fest email list for notifications on ticket sale dates and discounts.

Every Fall since 1991, the Texas Park and Wildlife Department has transformed its headquarters in Austin into an outdoor experience where visitors fish, shoot, kayak, rock climb, mountain bike, see and touch wildlife and learn about outdoor recreation and equipment. Admission is free and there are two full days of hands on activities for children, families and anyone interested in Texas natural resources. There is limited on-site parking and a free shuttle is offered from central Austin.

Sponsored by the Austin Independent School District, the Annual Austin Powwow and American Indian Heritage Festival is the the nation's largest annual school event and largest American Indian annual gathering in Texas. Hundreds of Native American Indian dancers, singers and drummers gather each year in Austin on the first Saturday in November to celebrate American Indian culture. Dancers of all ages in full American Indian regalia compete for prize money and vendors sell traditional American Indian cuisine, including buffalo stew and roasted corn, and wares such as jewelry and pottery. Admission is free.