Put these Texas festivals and events on your must-visit list for 2023.
We all love festivals and special events, especially when we can bring the whole family. Texas has a slue of them, and Texas Travel Talk is here to deliver. Grab the family and head out to these Texas festivals and events throughout the state.
Stay in the know …
Texas State Parks turns 100 this year! Several, if not all, parks celebrate year-round with other events and fun.
2023 Family-Friendly Texas Festivals And Events
This list will continue to update throughout the year.
May Texas Festivals And Events 2023
• Scarborough Renaissance Festival – Waxahachie
April – May 8, 2023, 10 am to 7 pm.
The 42nd Scarborough Renaissance Festival will again fill the grounds in Waxahachie with live entertainment, vendors, food, and fun for the whole family.
• 37th AnnualTexas Scottish Festival – Decatur, TX
May 5-7, 2023
Texas Scottish Festivals & Highland Games at Wise County Fairgrounds, Decatur, TX.
• Main Street Fest – Grapevine
May 10-21, 2023
39th Main Street Days will be all up and down Main Street with rides for kids, vendors, food, and fun. We love this one!
• Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival
May 26-28, 2023
Held on Memorial Day weekend at Marktplatz, this family-friendly event will feature live music, vendors, food and drink, and a carnival for the kids. Entertainers will be Josh Ward on Friday night and Kyle Park on Saturday night!
June Texas Festivals And Events 2023
Texas Route 66 Festival & Events
June 1-10, 2023
Route 66, the road that shaped America, is celebrating its centennial in 2026. But Amarillo is not waiting that long to get down with the festivities. This year’s festival will be held June 1-10, 2023, and it’s packed with events along the Texas route, including classic car shows, Texas Route 66 bus tours, cattle drives, parades, music festivals, and a grand finale festival on Amarillo’s Route 66 Historic District.
• Puluxy River Fest
June 2-3, 2023, 10 am – 10 pm
Float the river at the Puluxy River Fest as you listen to live music, and don’t forget about the Ccatfish cookoff, fishing tournament, food trucks, & vendors.
• Texas Blueberry Festival – Nacogdoches
Second Saturday in June
Check out the Texas Blueberry Festival in Nacogdoches (East Texas)
- farm fresh blueberries for sale
- blueberry pancake breakfast
- lots of quilts
- pick your own blueberries
- entertainment
- pet parade
- and so much more
Free Admission.
• Denton Juneteenth Celebration 2023
June 16-17, 2023
FREEDOM t-shirts are on sale now to wear during the parade on Saturday. Denton Juneteenth Celebration. The location is Fred Moore Park.
• Luling Watermelon Thump
June 22-25, 2023
Honoring our Veterans since 1954 at the Watermelon Thump Pavillion – live music at the beer garden, kid’s activities, food, market vendors, and the crowning of the thump queen!
Tickets: Free on the 22nd. Weekend $30, $35-$200
July 2023
• 75th McDade Watermelon Festival – Bastrop
July 8, 2023, 11 am (Always the 2nd Saturday in July)
The entire family will enjoy McDade Watermelon Festival and all the events including. The Street Dance kicks off on Friday night from 8-11:30 pm. Saturday morning kicks off at 7 am for the watermelon weigh-in, where locals compete for prize melon status.
Enjoy these events at the festival on Saturday:
- Car show at 8 am – 1 pm
- Parade in Uptown at 10 am
- Concessions, vendors, and live music
- Cornhole & washer pitching tournaments
- Bingo watermelon eating contest and seed spitting contest
- Riding mower rodeo obstacle course
- Sandy area with water misting stations and picnic tables under the big oak trees
- Prize melon action happens at 5 pm with a free melon feast for all—large slices too!
Free Admission.
• Parker County Peach Festival – Weatherford
July 8, 2023, from 8 am to 4 pm
• Float Fest – Gonzales
July 23-24, 2023
Float Fest 2-days of awesome acts.
August 2023
• Hatch Chile Fest – Grand Prairie
August – keep watching for dates
• North Texas Book Festival – Denton
August 12, 2023
September 2023
• Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Festival
September 14-17, 2023
Not hummingbird, but HummerBird Festival, but you can bet believe there will be many hummingbirds fluttering around!
• Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Nascar Cup Series Playoffs Race at the Texas Motor Speedway
September 24, 2023
• State Fair of Texas
September 29 – October 22, 2023
Make plans to see Big Tex at Fair Park.
October 2023
• 49th Texas Renaissance Festival – Houston Area
October 7 through November 26, 2023, + Thanksgiving
TRF – over 500,000 guests every year, and the Nation’s largest festival in Todd Missions, TX (1 hr north of Houston)
• 2023 Solar Eclipse Festival – Fredericksburg
October 13-14, 2023, 12-4 pm
Grapetown Vineyard
Tickets: $10-$50
• Plano International Festival
October 14th, 11 am – 5 pm, Haggard Park
Plano International Festival is the largest, longest-running multicultural event in North Texas.
Admission: Free
• State Fair of Texas – Dallas
through October 22, 2023
• Cibolofest
November 2023
• Cibolo Veterans POW WOW
TBA
• New Braunfels Wurstfest
November 3-12, 2023
Wurstfest will shine its German food, special events, and everything that has to do with celebrating German culture.
I attended the 2021 festival with my mom and grandson – and look what all we got to do – New Braunfels Wurstfest.
Tickets: $18-$20 (2023 TBA)
December 2023
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January 2024
• 29th Annual MLK Grande Parade – Midtown Houston
January
One of the most significant multicultural events in the U.S. in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Location: 1200 Holman St. Celebrating its 29th MLK Grande Parade in Midtown Houston, one of the most significant single-day multicultural events in the U.S.
• Surfside Food and Art Festival
January
Brazosport puts on the Surfside Food and Art Festival at the Stahlman Park Event Center, 2211 Bluewater Highway. Free Event.
• Dinosaurs Live! in McKinney
Through February
Encounter a 46-foot tall T-Rex and ten new life-size animatronic dinosaurs at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary at 1 Nature Place, McKinney.
February 2024
• Jalapeño Festival – Laredo, Texas
February
Jalapeño Festival – a popular recurring event in Laredo is their annual 2-day Jalapeño Festival. It will feature live music, delicious fair foods, and the La Costeña Jalapeño eating contest. Who’s going? Will you enter the contest?
• SPI Kite Fest – South Padre Island
February
SPI Kite Fest is an outdoor event that offers kite shows, food, and family-friendly activities.
• 18th Annual 11th Street Cowboy Mardi Gras – Bandera, Texas
February
11th Street Cowboy Mardi Gras
• Mardi Gras in Galveston
February
The 3rd largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country! Who’s going?
• Mardi Gras – Southeast TX – Beaumont
February
Carnival rides and kid zone, vendors, purse bingo, and Uncle Kracker, among others, live performances. Get tickets at Beaumont Mardi Gras.
• North Texas Auto Show
February
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center – Dallas
• Dinosaurs Live! in McKinney
Through February
Encounter a 46-foot tall T-Rex and ten new life-size animatronic dinosaurs at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary at 1 Nature Place, McKinney.
• Dallas Blooms at Dallas Arboretum
February 25 through April
Dallas Blooms is the largest annual floral festival in the Southwest.
• Texas Independence Day Celebration – Washington
February
Texas Independence Day Celebration celebrates Texas becoming a republic 187 years ago.
March
• Vintage Market Days Denton/Fort Worth
March 24-26, 2023
NRS Event Center & Arena in Decatur
• Texas Dogwood Trails Celebration – Palestine
March 17 – April 1, 2023
See the history of dogwoods and all about the celebrations here – History Blooms At TX Dogwood Trails Celebration
• Tyler County Dogwood Festival – Woodville
March 18-April 1, 2023
Each weekend is a different theme. Check it out at TCDF.
• The Promise Of Passover – Glen Rose
March 31 – April 8, 2023
The Promise in Glen Rose is a one-of-a-kind musical production performed annually at the Texas Amphitheater.
Price Range: $10-$40
• Texas Forever Fest – Plano
March 25, 2023, 11 am to 6 pm
Celebrate food, art, and the people of Texas. Enjoy live music, food trucks, and Texas-themed vendors at Texas Forever Fest at Haggard Park. FREE
Spirits of Texas Tasting is for adults 21+ and requires advance purchase of a $40 ticket.
April
• 10th Annual Main Street Fest – Grand Prairie
April 21-13, 2023
Free parking and admission. Main Street Fest.
• Poteet Strawberry Festival
April 14-16, 2023
Tickets: $5-$30 (buy online); ticket prices at the gate are higher; free parking.
Poteet Strawberry Festival
• Annual Lonestar Crawfish Festival – Austin
April 15, 2023
• Red Poppy Festival – Georgetown
April 28-30, 2023
Georgetown’s annual Red Poppy Festival is for three days of fun, food, art, music, and much red!
• 32nd University of Houston Offshore Industry Crawfish Boil
April 30, 2023
FACT: Parents and Grandparents – Peppa Pig Theme Park is coming to North Richland Hills, TX, sometime in 2024.
FACT: Universal Studios has been approved to build in Frisco, TX, and is scheduled for 2025. The theme park is designed for children up to 11 years old. However, residents near are trying to ban this build.
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Am a vendor looking for festivals,fairs, in and around Kingwood, Lufkin, Marshall, woodlands
Hi Tracy, I hope you find some good ones!
Cibolo veterans Pow Wow november
Lulling watermelon thump june
Sabinal hogfestival march
Cibolofest october
Schertz jubilee july 4th
Great website. Thanks for sharing the various festivals
You are very welcome!