Things to do

Twisted Texas Tour

Austin's wildest ride with a live band on board the bus. Twisted Texas offers Brunch/Food Tours and Brewery Tours with live music, starting at $64 per person. Tours depart on weekends.

Austin Tours

Offers scenic carriage and van tours as well as ground transportation to several area landmarks including Arboretum, Round Rock, and UT.

Independence Brewery Tour

Austin's local microbrewery, if you're in town on a tour day they are worth the time to see (and sample).

Access ATX Tours

Access ATX Tours offers private Austin city tours and day trips to the Texas Hill Country and San Antonio. Also offers Austin food tours, Texas BBQ Trail Tours, and Wine Tasting/Distillery/Brewery Tours.

TexasWineTours

Offers half and full day tours of the nearby Texas Wine country. Rent a chauffeured sedan, limo or minibus, generally departing between 10AM and noon daily.

Austin Bamboo Festival

August. Zilker Botanical Garden. This annual event features tours of the Taniguchi Japanese Garden, traditional dances, bamboo crafts and flute music.

Segway Tours

Austin Segway Tours enable you to tour downtown Austin on the Segway. Learn to ride a Segway for $50 or tour downtown Austin for $75. Tours depart daily.

Bike Nation Tours and Rentals

Rude Mechanicals

Original pieces are always engaging. Their production values are over the top (10-foot tesla coils on stage), and always make you interested to be watching theater.

Pro Arts Collective

They do everything: theatre, dance, hip-hop, musicals, festivals and more.

Teatro Vivo

Dedicated to producing quality bilingual theatre. Reflects the heart and soul of the Latino reality.

Salvage Vanguard

Original musical pieces in conjunction with the Golden Arm Trio's Graham Reynolds are not to be missed.

Different Stages

One of Austin's oldest repertory companies.

the dirigo group

These critical darlings do original and established work.

Loaded Gun Theory

Original pieces.

Lunar New Year Festival

February.

ABC 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

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 screenings.

South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival

March. Spotlighting cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, SXSWi features five days of presentations and workshops, networking events and special programs.

South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival

March. One of the biggest music festivals 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 lo

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 musician

Texas Round-Up & Street Festival

April. The Texas Round-Up 10K, 5K and Family Mile is held annually in Austin 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 le

Moontower Comedy Festival

April. Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival brings to Austin some of the funniest, wittiest and oddest world-class comics from around the globe. This marathon of side-splitting nights throughout the city is slated to bring over 60 comedians doing everything from stand-up and sketch to improv and musical comedy. National headliners, up-and-comer and local Austin-based comedians ensure that there are options for every type of comedy fan, from die-hards to those just looking for a fun night.

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 Food + Wine Festival

April. 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 Gay Pride

September. Austin's single largest LGBT event includes a festival at Fiesta Gardens park and a parade that goes through the Warehouse District.

Austin City Limits Festival

October. An annual six-day (two weekends of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) 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 and local acts, but be prepared to deal with the heat.

Texas Book Festival

October. Has reached national prominence, in part due to support from Honorary Chairperson Laura Bush.

Austin Film Festival

October. Conference and film showings.

Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off

November. The annual vegetarian cook-off began in 1989. Its 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 and exhibits. Half of the proceeds benefit the A

Austin Jewish Film Festival

Takes place annually in January, presenting a cinematic examination of Jewish life and culture

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Takes place in April, presenting the best in Latino and Indigenous cinema. The Festival presents approximately 100 films with screenings in theaters throughout Austin

All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival

Takes place annually in September. aGLIFF (formerly the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival) is the oldest and largest gay & lesbian film festival in the Southwest and one of the Top 5 Film Festivals of its kind in the nation

Austin Bicycle Film Festival

Takes place annually in September. The Bicycle Film Festival is a celebration of bicycles through film, art and music

Austin Asian American Film Festival

Takes place annually. An innovative Asian/Asian-American film festival committed to celebrating the best in independent Asian cinema from around the globe. The festival highlights the complexity and vitality of Asian/Asian-American communities through cutting-edge narrative, documentary and experimental films.

Refraction Arts

They dabble in multiple mediums. Always interesting.

Town Lake Hike & Bike trail

A big loop around Town Lake, beautiful scenery while getting a good workout. Runs alongside Zilker park. A good place for biking, running, walking, or taking the dog out for a nice run. Relatively easy hike.