Things to do / Travel Guide
January
San Antonio River Walk Mud Festival - The Riverwalk is a promenade full of music, food, and drinking and is one of the biggest attractions in San Antonio, but every mid-January the city drains it for maintenance. During this time, each January, the city holds a weeklong celebration, with the Mud Pie Ball, which crowns a Mud King and Mud Queen (the winner's are picked upon their abilities to raise funds for river projects). There is also a pub crawl, a mud parade, and an arts and crafts mud show.
February
Charro Days - Brownsville, on the border with Mexico, holds the longest-running annual fiesta in Texas, having been established in 1938. It is a weeklong, traditional Mexican festival with dancing, parades, and a very kid-friendly activity list.
March
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - This multi-week event is held early every spring in Houston. It is the largest rodeo in the world and draws many country, blues, and rock performers from all over the nation. The event is so large that it uses up the entire Reliant Stadium and Astrodome complexes.
Mardis Gras - Forty-six days before Easter is Mardi Gras. The 10 days that precede it are filled with parades, drinking, and mayhem. While New Orleans is better known for the celebration, significant numbers of people of Cajun decent live in Port Arthur and Galveston (both near Houston), and their large celebrations grow every year.
May
Art Car Weekend - Held in Houston, this event attracts approximately 250,000 spectators with its hot rods, lowriders, and other unique custom cars.
June
Shrimporee - Aransas Pass hosts the “Largest Shrimp Festival in the World” early every June. The festivities include a carnival, a “kidfish” tank, shrimp cook off, petting zoo, arts and crafts, and live entertainment.
July
The Great Texas Mosquito Festival - This festival in Clute, (an hour southeast of Houston) is a huge outdoor festival that pays respect to the biggest pest in Texas. There's plenty of outdoor music, a Haystack Dive, a mosquito calling contest, and a “Mr. & Mrs. Mosquito Legs” contest. A large carnival is held as well. The event is held late every July.
August
Ballunar Liftoff Festival - This odd festival is held late every August at Clear Lake, at the Johnson Space Center, commemorating space flight and ballooning. The festival features over 80 hot air balloons, skydiving demonstrations, and competitions, games, food, and the world's largest hot air balloon.
September
Bayfest - Held in Corpus Christi in late September to early October, Bayfest is a huge festival along the Corpus Christi Bay. There is a large selection of live music, food vendors, games, and activities for kids. Many towns along the coast have similar festivals, but Bayfest is by far the largest, and is a great family-oriented adventure. Bayfest is also a good place to sample all sorts of local cuisine, especially seafood.
October
Czilispiel (pronounced “chilly-speel” or “chilly-shpeel”) - Based in Czech-settled Flatonia, this festival showcases the best chili and barbecue in Texas. In addition to the food, Czilispiel also has many Czech-oriented cultural events.
Texas Renaissance Festival - For six weeks in October you can travel back in time to the 16th century. The Texas Renaissance Festival, on 15 acres in tiny Plantersville (north of Houston), has over 3,000 costumed characters, 300 arts and crafts shops, and over 200 daily performances. The Texas Renaissance Festival runs every weekend in October and November from 9 a.m. until dusk.
November
Wurstfest - Early November is the home of German New Braunfels' ode to sausage. German airline Lufthansa is a major supporter of this Teutonic festival. Kraut, accordions, lederhosen, and, of course, beer and sausage, are in great abundance at this 10-day festival in the beginning of November.
December
Dickens on the Strand - Galveston has hosted Dickens on the Strand for over 30 years now, and it is one of the most popular public festivals in southeast Texas. The Victorian setting of the Strand in downtown Galveston plays host each December to a collection of living tributes to the novels of Charles Dickens. Street vendors, singers, musicians, and other entertainers fill the street with Dickensian enchantment. Kids will delight in making snow angels in the fake snow.
|
|
|