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2018 is in full swing and the festivals are already filling my calendar to the brim!
I’m always on the run trying out the trendiest spots in Austin, and sometimes I have to go from coffee to lunch to drinks, to then the festival of the evening. And as much I love eating, I just don’t want my clothes smelling like all the food I consumed, whether I’m heading home afterwards, or going to the next event.
That’s why I use Downy Protect & Refresh Liquid Fabric Conditioner – it protects my favorite festival and event outfits from stretching, fading and fuzz, AND gives them all-day odor protection (like deodorant for your clothes!).
It’s so easy to use, too, you just pour it in the fabric conditioner dispenser in your machine after you add your detergent – no need to wait for the rinse cycle.
Downy Protect & Refresh allows me to continue to wear my favorite festival outfit without worrying. Which is great, since there’s a ton of festivals here in Austin for 2018 – fair food at Rodeo Austin, Austin Food + Wine Festival, fried chicken throwdown, ice cream festival, and all the barbecue you can dream of.
Grab your own bottle of Downy Protect & Refresh, and check out the list below for my favorite Austin Texas festivals to hit up this year.
Table of Contents
FEBRUARY
Austin Oyster Festival
Freshly shucked, grilled, roasted, and fried – oysters will be served all ways at the Austin Oyster Festival. Creole BBQ shrimp, shrimp po’boys, gruyere fritters, and pommes frites will be served too along with Bloody Marys, beer, wine, and spirits while jamming out to Cajun, Bluegrass, and “Newgrass” music.
DATE: February 24, 2018, 12PM – 6PM
LOCATION: Seaholm Power Plant Lawn 800 W Cesar Chavez St Austin, TX 78701
TICKETS: $60 general admission, $115 VIP admission, buy tickets
MARCH
Rodeo Austin
Rodeo Austin’s Fairgrounds is Austin’s largest carnival with shopping and food. Enjoy fair favorites like corndogs, cotton candy, and turkey legs!
DATE: March 10-24, 2018
LOCATION: 9100 Decker Lake Rd
SouthBites Trailer Park at SXSW
SouthBites Trailer Park will be back for its sixth year with another eclectic mix of both Austin food trailers and out-of-town trailers.
DATE: March 9-18, 2018
LOCATION: 604 Driskill St. Austin TX
TICKETS: No SXSW badges required
Austin Lamb Jam
Austin Lamb Jam is b-a-a-a-a-ck for an epic gastronomic experience and culinary competition that brings together 16 of Austin’s most talented chefs to vie for the title of Lamb Jam Austin Champion. Celebrate the 80,000 family operated farms and ranches raising lamb across the nation.
DATE: Sunday, March 25th, 2018
LOCATION: Hotel Van Zandt, 605 Davis Street
TICKETS: $75 general admission, $125 VIP experience, buy tickets
APRIL
TX German Bier Festival
What’s better than celebrating Central Texas Germany heritage with all-you-can-eat sausage, bier tastings, contest stage, bowling, and live music. Local chefs and restaurants will be competing in Austin’s first pretzel competition!
DATE: April 7, 2018
LOCATION: Austin Saengerrunde, 1607 San Jacinto Boulevard
TICKETS: tbd, ticket info
Texas VegFest
Texas VegFest is an educational event by Texas Veg Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Texas VegFest celebrates the health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of a plant-based lifestyle.
Entrance to the event is free to the public. Local and national sponsors and vendors, educational lectures, cooking demonstrations, community outreach, a featured nonprofit, youth activities, fantastic food, craft beer, and live music are just a few of the activities Texas VegFest offers for everyone to enjoy!
DATE: 11am – 6pm, Saturday, April 7th, 2018
LOCATION: Fiesta Gardens
TICKETS: Free, texasvegfest.com
Texas Wine Revolution
It’s rosé all day at the Texas Wine Revolution! If you like rosé, you’re going to love this annual festival that showcases 100% Texas grown rosé wines with 25+ Texas wineries and winemakers. It’s going to be an afternoon of rosé tastings, live music, local food, educational seminars, interactive activities, picture opportunities, and picnic areas on the gorgeous property of Horseshoe Bay Resort.
DATE: 1pm – 5pm, Sunday, April 22, 2018
LOCATION: Horseshoe Bay Resort, 200 Hi Circle N, Horseshoe Bay, Texas, 78657
TICKETS: $50 general admission, $195 VIP weekend events pass, buy tickets
Austin Food + Wine Festival
The ultimate food experience (& my favorite!) in Austin is the Austin Food + Wine Festival. The seventh annual festival
DATE: April 27-29, 2018
LOCATION: Auditorium Shores
TICKETS: $250 weekender passes, $625 for all-in ticket, buy tickets
Live Fire
24 chefs battle the flames at Camp Mabry for Live Fire! highlighting the talent, skill, and commitment to Texas’ star beef cooked over live fire. Live music, curated wine, spirits, and craft brews along with hot-fire cooked beef dishes prepared by celebrated chefs. 2018 is tbd.
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: tbd
TICKETS: tbd
MAY
Pecan Street Festival
This year’s Pecan Street Festival will mark the 78th year since the event began in 1978. Pecan Street Festival is a free two-day arts festival that’s held each spring and fall in downtown Austin’s Six Street Historic District with hundreds of local and national artisans offering handcrafted creations and food vendors.
DATE: May 5th & 6th
LOCATION: 501 Old Pecan St, Austin, TX
TICKETS: Free
Hot Luck Festival
Hot Luck: Live Food & Music is returning for it’s second annual year to honor the soul, sweat and DIY diversity of the food and music world. Hot Luck is hosted by James Beard Award-winner Aaron Franklin, Guerilla Suit principal and Mohawk owner James Moody, and Mike Thelin, co-founder of Feast Portland. A portion of festival proceeds will be donated to The SAFE Alliance for the second year.
DATE: May 24 – 27, 2018
LOCATION: tbd
TICKETS: tbd, hotluckfest.com
Official Drink of Austin
Austin’s favorite bartenders come together to shake and stir things up for a good cause benefitting the Austin Food & Wine Alliance’s Culinary Grant Program. Last year’s winning drink was by Frank with their “Capital City Collins” featuring Old Highborn Texas Dry Gin.
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: tbd
TICKETS: tbd, austinfoodwinealliance.org
JUNE
Fried Chicken Throwdown
Winner winner chicken dinner at the Fourth Annual Fried Chicken Throwdown at Royers Round Top Cafe. Be sure to save time for pie afterward!
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: Royers Round Top Cafe, 105 Main Street, Round Top, Texas
TICKETS: tbd
AUGUST
Quesoff
Quesoff will be back for its 7th year for the ultimate celebration of all things melted cheese – meaty, spicy, veggie & wild card.
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: Mohawk, 912 Red River St
TICKETS: tbd
Austin Ice Cream Festival
It’s impossibly hot during the summers in Austin so the Austin Ice Cream Festival is relief of frosty indulgence and summer fun. I was a judge this past summer and had to eat 10+ ice cream treats including the dog-friendly popsicles!
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse East Segovia Street
TICKETS: tbd, austinicecreamfestival.com
Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Festival
Turn up the heat at Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Festival with hundreds and gallons of hot sauce. This Austin food event features local restaurant tastings, culinary demonstrations, sauces for sale, cookbooks, peppers, and more.
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse East Segovia Street
TICKETS: Free with the donation of three nonperishable food items or a $5 donation to Central Texas Food Bank.
SEPT
Texas Craft Brewers Festival
The Texas Craft Brewers Festival is the state’s largest beer event focused exclusively on Texas-produced craft beer.
DATE: tbd
LOCATION: Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse East Segovia Street
TICKETS: tbd
OCTOBER
Austin City Limits Music Festival
ACL is a music festival but you’ll be stuffing your face between each act. Popular food trucks include Chi’lantro, Mighty Cone, Peached Tortilla, Amy’s Ice Creams, Torchy’s Tacos, and Micklethwait Craft Meats.
DATE: Oct. 5-7 & Oct. 12-14, 2018
LOCATION: Zilker Park
TICKETS: general admission is $100 to $255
Texas Trucklandia Fest
Food trucks from the state come together to battle for $10,000 and you get to make that vote by trying the food.
DATE: October 20, 2018
LOCATION: Austin American-Statesman, 305 South Congress Avenue
TICKETS: tbd, ticket info
NOVEMBER
Texas Monthly BBQ Fest
There are so many incredible barbecue spots in Texas and the ultimate event to try them all is at the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest Weekend. It gets bigger every year with 30+ BBQ joints from around the state from Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ joints in Texas list.
DATE: Nov 2018
LOCATION: The Long Center for the Performing Arts
TICKETS: tbd
Wine and Swine
Hosted by the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, Wine & Swine serves up succulent pork dishes and amazing wines. Austin Food & Wine Alliance is a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas food, wine and spirits community through grants, educational programming and events.
DATE: Nov 2018
LOCATION: tbd
TICKETS: tbd
Austin Mac & Cheese Festival
You’ll want to put on your stretchy pants for the Austin’s Mac & Cheese Festival where Austin’s best chefs and eateries battle it out to see who truly has the best mac & cheese in the city.
DATE: Nov 2018
LOCATION: tbd
TICKETS: tbd
DECEMBER
Trail of Lights
Indulge in Austin’s favorite restaurants at Austin’s Trail of Lights. Food vendors are divided up to Candy Cane Lane, North Pole, Zilker Village, and Zilker Tree. 2017 included Burro Cheese Kitchen, Veracruz, Crepe Crazy, Wholly Cow Burgers, Fancy Fluff, DFG Noodles, and Amy’s Ice Creams.
DATE: December 2018
LOCATION: Zilker Park
TICKETS: General Admission is free for half of the nights at the Austin Trail of Lights
