Hill Country Events Update: Fresh Fall Events Across Central Texas
This week I worked through the community calendars again across every area I serve, from Wimberley and New Braunfels to San Marcos and San Antonio,and a fresh batch of fall events has filled in. Several of these are brand new to the site, and a couple are annual favorites worth putting on the calendar now so you do not miss them.
Quick note on the earlier event guides on this blog: they stay up as an archive of the season so far, but this post is the one to bookmark. Everything in it has been rechecked this week, with dates, locations,and official links,so it reflects what is actually coming up right now across the Hill Country.
Fall in Central Texas is really ten different seasons in one: fair season, rodeo season, chili season, jazz season, and then the holidays, which seem to start earlier every year. Pick the couple that fit your family best,and you will find yourself at the heart of a community faster than anywhere else I have ever lived.
Comal County Fair & Rodeo
Billed as the largest county fair in Central Texas,this five-day run at the fairgrounds includes the 31st annual PRCA-sanctioned rodeo, CBR bull riding, livestock shows,a grand march and parade, carnival rides, concerts,and a homestyle salsa tasting contest. Opening night Wednesday is free, and rodeo tickets start around $25. The BBQ Cook-Off runs the weekend before, on September 19,. This is the big rodeo-and-fair weekend that serves everyone in the region around New Braunfels — if you are considering lake or river living near here, it is one of the best weekends of the year to feel the community’s energy.
More DetailsJazz’SAlive
San Antonio’s official free jazz festival, produced by the San Antonio Parks Foundation in partnership with KRTU 91.7 FM, runs two evenings at Civic Park at Hemisfair. Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis headline a program of jazz, soul,and funk across multiple stages, with air-force combos and Texas sidemen filling out the bill. Admission is free, and the crowd runs about 15,000 over the weekend. Bring the family, a blanket,and enjoy the fact that one of the best jazz weekends in Texas does not cost a dime.
More DetailsStars Over Wimberley: Tony Kamel &. Kym Warner, with Pat Byrne
The Stars Over Wimberley benefit concert series, produced by the Wimberley Valley Arts .and Cultural Alliance in partnership with the Wimberley Players, brings Texas songwriters into the intimate hundred-seat playhouse. This date pairs Wood &. Wire’s Tony Kamel with Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Kym Warner of the Greencards,and Ireland-born troubadour Pat Byrne. It is an evening of flat-out great songwriting that also supports a scholarship for Wimberley High School arts and trades graduates. Tickets are $60,and the room is small, so when they are gone, they are gone.
More DetailsWimberley Chili Cook-Off &. Music Fest
The first annual Wimberley Chili Cook-Off and Music Fest at Willow Lake Watering Hole fills a full Saturday with slow-smoked chili, live music,and the Red River Shootout,(OU vs. Texas,on the big screen at 2:30. Gates open at 8 in the morning, chili tasting starts at noon,and winners are announced around 5:30. It is a relaxed, small-town afternoon with the big game, good brisket,and the Hill Country doing what it does best: gathering outside.
More DetailsSan Marcos Harvest Fest
The San Marcos Chamber’s Harvest Fest turns the downtown square into a one-day community celebration with more than 200 artisans, craft vendors,and food booths,and roughly 15,000 guests over the course of the day. Children’s activities, live music,and the fall weather make it one of the easiest, friendliest festivals of the year. Afterwards, the San Marcos River is two blocks away if you want to cool off.
More DetailsLuminaria: Contemporary Arts Festival
San Antonio’s free, after-dark contemporary arts festival moves to Houston Street for 2026, transforminga stretch of downtown into an open-air gallery. More than 150 local, national,and international artists fill the night with monumental light installations, live music, film, digital art, poetry,and theater. It runs 6 PM to midnight, admission is free,and the route is designed to be walked, so it doubles as an art walk under the stars. If you thought downtown San Antonio was just the River Walk,and Luminaria will change your mind.
More DetailsFord Holiday River Parade
The 45th annual Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony officially kicks off the holiday season in San Antonio along the River Walk. This year’s theme is Holiday Wishes Come True,and the Witte Museum, celebrating its 100th birthday in 2026, serves as grand marshal. Illuminated floats glide along the water past more than 100,000 lights, with bands, entertainers,and Santa and Mrs. Claus bringing up the rear. It is a one-hour, ticketed event,and tickets tend to sell fast, so grab them early if this is on your list.
More DetailsMuseum Reach River of Lights
Each December the San Antonio River Authority lights up the Museum Reach stretch of the River Walk, fromthe Pearl south through the locks, with more than 100 underwater lights, thousands of LEDs strung through trees, bridges,and light poles,and a 30-foot musical light show near the River Lock &. Dam. The mid-December kickoff festival is free,and the display runs nightly through early January. It is a beautiful, easy evening walk that shows off a different side of San Antonio.
More DetailsNew Braunfels Renaissance Faire
Two December weekends of medieval merriment at Heritage Village bring jousting, artisan vendors, food,and live entertainment to New Braunfels. It is a family-friendly kind of faire, with costumed performers, kid-friendly activities,and the kind of handmade goods you do not see at a typical market. It also makes a fun bookend to Wurstfest: German heritage through November,and Renaissance revelry rolling into December.
More DetailsSan Marcos Farmers Market
A year-round Saturday tradition on the downtown square, the San Marcos Farmers Market brings together local farmers, ranchers,and makers with fresh produce, baked goods, artisan crafts,and live music. It runs every Saturday from 9 to1 year-round, rain or shine. For anyone scouting the Hill Country lifestyle from out of town, a Saturday morning on this square is one of the quickest ways to see how a Texas community actually lives.
More DetailsMaking the Most of Fall Across the Hill Country
A few notes from my years around here that might help you plan the next couple of months:
- Fair season opens in New Braunfels. The Comal County Fair and Rodeo runs September 23–27 with the PRCA rodeo Thursday through Saturday. It draws the whole region to its fairgrounds, and it is a wonderful, genuinely local way to spend a weekend with kids, gloves, or both.
- September is full of free music. Jazz\u2019SAlive at Hemisfair charges nothing, and the Stars Over Wimberley series, while ticketed, is about as intimate as live music gets in Texas. One is a festival, the other a hundred-seat room,and both belong on the calendar.
- Wimberley does October right. The first annual Chili Cook-Offand Music Fest at Willow Lake on October 10,and the Wimberley Arts Fest the weekend after, make early October one of the town\u2019s liveliest stretches. Come hungry,and plan to stay into the evening.
- San Marcos keeps it neighbors-only. Harvest Fest on October 11 turns the downtown square into a 200-vendor block party,and the Saturday farmers market runs year-round. If you are scouting communities, Saturday and Sunday on the San Marcos square is the fastest education in the region.
- The holidays kick off early in San Antonio. Luminaria lights up downtown on November 14, then the Ford Holiday River Parade on November 27 opens the holiday season in earnest,and the Museum Reach River of Lights glows all December. Any one of the three is worth the drive from the Hill Country; all three make a full season of it.
- Give the kids a Renaissance weekend. The New Braunfels Renaissance Faire over two December weekends at Heritage Village is jousting-and-crowns fun that wears out snow boots.or most family festivals. It books nicely around Wurstfest\u2019s run in November.
“Whether it is a county fair in New Braunfels, free jazz on a San Antonio evening, or a Saturday morning on the square in San Marcos, the Hill Country is full of reasons to get out and meet your neighbors. That is the lifestyle people move here for,and it is the lifestyle I help clients find every day.”
Steve Giannone
If you are thinking about a move to any of these communities, coming to one of these events is the best homework you can do. You will see how the town treats its visitors, its families,and its traditions,and that tells you more than any listing page can. Whenever you want, I am happy to answer questions about the neighborhoods around any of them.
Thinking about a move to the Hill Country? Let us talk.