While all Texas festivals mean plenty of food, Texas food festivals REALLY put the spotlight on a local dish or ingredient. From strawberries to spinach, crawfish to corn, Texas specialties take center stage at these food festivals across the Lone Star State. (In the mood for BBQ or chili? Don’t miss our calendars of BBQ Cookoffs and Chili Cookoffs!)
Table of Contents
January Food Festivals
Mission: Texas Citrus Fiesta
Starting in late January and celebrating the citrus harvests of the Rio Grande Valley, since the 1930s this annual event has included the Parade of Oranges and the Product Costume Style Show, with elaborate costumes made of citrus and other local Valley products. The Vaquero Cook-off is another highlight, a barbecue cookoff with additional competitions for Pan de Campo and citrus desserts.
February Food Festivals
Laredo: WBCA Jalapeño Festival
Part of the immense George Washington’s Birthday Celebration, this festival-within-a-festival puts the spotlight on concerts and on all things jalapeño. Two days of concerts draw huge crowds but the daring also stay for the La Costeña Jalapeño Eating Contest.
March Food Festivals
Fulton: Oysterfest
Whether strolling past booths filled with arts and crafts items in search of a lasting souvenir, or joining in on the fun as you try to see how many mouthwatering mollusks can down in one of the many oyster-eating contests or how many oysters you can shuck in a five-minute span, everyone attending this seafood extravaganza will discover a family-friendly festival that is as precious as any pearl.
Irving: Bluebonnet Brew-Off
One of the country’s largest homebrew events, this annual event features beer, mead and cider along with chef-prepared Beer and Food Pairing Luncheon.
April Food Festivals
Lamesa: Chicken Fried Steak Festival
Llano: Llano River Chuck Wagon Cook-Off
Llano: Llano Crawfish Open
Whether you call them crawfish or crawdads, they’re taking center stage at this event which also includes musical performances. Held at Llano’s Robinson City Park on the banks of the Llano River.
Poteet: Poteet Strawberry Festival
Spring: Texas Crawfish Festival
Spring hosts this palate-pleasing festival featuring crawfish and Cajun food–all enjoyed while listening to live country, rock, and zydeco music.
Tatum: Tatum Pecan Pie Festival
May Food Festivals
Crystal Beach: Texas Crab Festival
The biggest draws may be the Crab Legs Contest, Weiner Dog Nationals, Crab Races and eating crab and seafood dishes, but there’s also plenty of fun to be had playing volleyball, participating in the horseshoe tournament, and checking out the arts and crafts vendors. Kiddie activities abound, too.
Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival
Hico: Texas Steak Cookoff and Wine Festival
Kemah: Blessing of the Fleet and Shrimp Gumbo Cook Off
Visit the Kemah Boardwalk to see decorated boats get blessed for the upcoming boating season. There’s a boat parade, awards ceremony, and live entertainment. A gumbo cook-off is held the day before the blessing; all contestants are provided with 5 pounds of “Wild Caught Texas Shrimp” to be used in their contest recipe.
New Braunfels: Wein & Saengerfest
Pasadena: Pasadena Strawberry Festival
The nation’s “currant” berry favorite is the strawberry, and no where are these sweet treats more revered than in Pasadena, dubbed the “Strawberry Capital of the South.” At the Pasadena Strawberry Festival, sightseers with an appetite for history can savor a slice of the “World’s Largest Strawberry Shortcake.” This huge confection spanning nearly 2000 square feet is topped with over a ton of strawberries and has been reproduced each year at the opening ceremony of the Pasadena Strawberry Festival since it won the Guinness Book of World Records title in 2005. After the ceremony, visitors enjoy three days filled with cooking contests, a parade and live musical entertainment.
June Food Festivals
Addison: Taste Addison
Aransas Pass: Shrimporee
The city known as Saltwater Heaven is a little slice of paradise for foodies each June as they enjoy a crustacean-themed vacation in Aransas Pass during Shrimporee. Proud of its distinction as the largest shrimp festival in the state, for more than six decades seafood devotees have enjoyed a virtual menu of cuisine-inspired competitions, carnival rides, children’s activities and live music.
Dallas: Taste of Dallas
Holland: Holland Corn Festival
Jacksonville: Tomato Fest
You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to”…preferences for pronouncing the name of the tasty fruit may differ, but no matter which inflection you favor, Jacksonville’s annual Tomato Fest is seasoned with down-home flavor. Held on the second Saturday in June, the day includes a farmer’s market for those tempted to test their culinary talents, a tomato eating contest for anyone eager to taste victory, a street dance, tennis and fishing tournaments, live entertainment and much more.
Luling: Luling Watermelon Thump
In late June, you can enjoy all things watermelon in this central Texas town, from seed-spitting and watermelon-eating contests to championship melon judging. There’s also an arts and crafts show, carnival, live entertainment, and street dances. A Guinness World Record was set here in 1989 for spitting a watermelon seed almost 69 feet.
Nacogdoches: Texas Blueberry Festival
Ripe with entertainment for the entire family, a blueberry pancake breakfast, a pie eating contest, a blueberry cupcake contest, and treats at the Blueberry Hill Soda & Sweet Shoppe–that’s just a tiny taste of the taste bud-tempting activities in store for visitors of the Texas Blueberry Festival. Held in June in Nacogdoches, the only state-sanctioned festival honoring America’s second favorite berry even offers free shuttle rides to area farms so foodies can pick their own berries straight from the bush. For those who crave traditional festival events there are classic car and motorcycle shows, a pet parade, a petting zoo, a washer-pitching tournament and arts and crafts booths.
Stockdale: Watermelon Jubilee
Stonewall: Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo
The peach capital of Texas shows off its crop on the third Fri and Sat of June. The local peach pit–spitting record is over 28 feet.
July Food Festivals
Friona: Cheeseburger Festival
Watch teams compete for the title of Cheeseburger Champions!
Hempstead: Hempstead Watermelon Festival
Hempstead hosts its biggest festival on the third Saturday in July, and watermelon is the guest of honor. Highlights include a parade, a Watermelon Queen competition, artists and craftspeople selling gifts, a vintage car show, and a barbecue cook-off.
McDade: McDade Watermelon Festival
The festival includes prizes for the largest watermelon and best watermelon seed spitting, as well as bingo and horseshoe- and washer-pitching competitions. Other activities include a grand parade through downtown McDade, a car show, live music, and food vendors. Festivities conclude with a barbecue dinner and the crowning of the Watermelon Queen.
Weatherford: Parker County Peach Festival
August Food Festivals
DeLeon: DeLeon Peach & Melon Festival and Tractor Pull
Since its start in 1914, a queen and a little miss have been selected to preside over the festival and wave to the crowd that gathers downtown for the street parade.
In keeping with the festival’s melon motif, contestants sign up for the watermelon seed-spitting competition and thump on the rinds of ripe watermelons before bidding on the best fruit during the melon auction.
Fredericksburg: Gillespie County Fair
This event holds the record as the longest-running county fair in the state. The festivities include old-fashioned family fun from carnival rides to a traditional food fair.
September Food Festivals
Addison: Oktoberfest
Adopting the start date of the Munich festivities, the city of Addison gets a jump start on other Oktoberfest celebrations around the state. During the four-day event, Addison Circle Park comes alive with displays of German pride ranging from yodeling competitions to a parade of Deutschland’s most beloved export, the Dachshund. Enjoy plenty of brats, sausages, strudel, pretzels and other German fare.
Austin: Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
Spice up the dog days of summer at The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival with 15,000 fellow foodies at a held every year since 1990 at Austin’s Waterloo Park. If the tongue-scorching sauces at this fiery festival don’t bring you to tears, the generous nature of the event will as it all helps the Central Texas Food Bank. Area restaurants and hot sauce-savvy individuals vie for prizes in the red, green, special variety and pico de gallo categories. Top off your day with smoking sounds from some of the hottest bands in the Live Music Capital of the World.
Bertram: Oatmeal Festival
Originally held in the nearby community of Oatmeal, Bertram now hosts this oatmeal cook-off, fun run parade and more.
Bryan: Texas Reds, Steak & Grape Festival
Wine tastings, steak cook-offs, live music, and a grape stomp are par for the course at this popular Bryan event. The 2-day festival also offers children’s activities and chef demonstrations.
Brady: World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off
Galveston: Galveston Island Shrimp Festival
Get ready for a crustacean-themed sensation as Galveston’s annual ode to its oceanic gifts serves up a virtual gumbo of entertainment for the entire family, complete with a boat show, live music, a 5K fun run, a shrimp gumbo cook-off, a children’s Lil’ Shrimp Parade and much more.
Grapevine: GrapeFest
Grapefest, scheduled this year for September 8-11, offers four days of tastings, tours, cooking demonstrations, and fine dining. You can even take part in the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, the largest consumer-judged wine competition in the United States.
Houston: Texas Hot Sauce Festival
San Antonio: Culinaria Festival Week
October Food Festivals
Bryan: Boonville Days Chuckwagon Cookoff
Cameron: Steak, Stein & Wine Fest
Conroe: Conroe Catfish Festival
For 3 days in mid-October, Conroe throws a big family-friendly party—and catfish are invited. The festival highlights Cajun food; a Go Texan wine and food area; a catfishing (catfish-catching) contest; a kid zone complete with video games, movies, inflatables, and a climbing wall; and live music of the Cajun, zydeco, blues and Texas country varieties.
Cuero: Cuero Turkeyfest
Dallas: State Fair of Texas
Elgin: Hogeye Festival
Called “a time for warm hearts and hot guts,” this family-friendly event celebrates the sausage heritage of Elgin with events like the Hogalicious Dessert Contest, a hog-calling contest, the crowning of King Hog and Queen Sowpreme and a pork barbecue contest.
Floresville: Floresville Peanut Festival
Floydada: Punkin Days
Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest
In late Oct the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest highlights Texas’s top wineries. Along with award-winning vineyards, the event showcases an array of vendors who offer a taste of Texas through spices, salsas, cheeses, and more. Two stages offer musical entertainment, and the whole family finds plenty of just-for-fun activities such as grape-stomping and cork-tossing.
Fredericksburg: Oktoberfest
This Texas Hill Country city becomes an oasis for oompah during a three-day festival held on the 100 block of Main Street. Lads wearing lederhosen and damsels in dirndls twirl to a polka or waltz beat while a bevy of bands perform traditional tunes on two stages. A children’s area will keep the little ones amused as bargain hunters explore booths filled with arts and crafts.
Galveston: Island Oktoberfest
October is the month for oompah in Galveston, which has held its annual Island Oktoberfest for the past quarter of a century. Let your senses go on a European excursion as you enjoy plates filled with bratwurst, sauerkraut and red cabbage washed down with a pint of German beer while the old world sounds of a 13-foot-long Alpenhorn and cowbells ring out at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Entertainment for tots include a pony carousel, face painting and a rock climbing wall, while shoppers can beat the Christmas mall rush at the 1868 Original Church, which houses the arts and crafts booths.
Groves: Groves Pecan Festival
Celebrate the harvesting of pecans from the more than 2,500 pecan trees that were planted in Groves around the turn of the 20th century at the town’s annual celebration. Held in Lyons Park for 4 days in mid-September, the state’s official pecan festival features a carnival, live music, pie-eating and pecan-toss contests, a pet show, a parade, arts and crafts activities, and the crowning of the Pecan Queen.
Madisonville: Texas Mushroom Festival
Madisonville—aka the “Mushroom Capital of Texas”—fetes its beloved fungi on a Saturday in October. Wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, the Shiitake 5K Run/Walk, craft and food vendors, a photo contest, and kids’ activities are all part of the celebration.
Mineola: National Dutch Oven Gathering
San Antonio: Oktoberfest
A rousing chorus of “Ja, ja, ja, ja” can be heard in the King William District each year as the assembled crowd sings the German beer drinking favorite “Du, Du liegst mir im Herzen” along with The Beethoven Maennerchor. Held in the venue’s garden, this annual event features performances by organists and cloggers, which visitors enjoy as they sample authentic German cuisine.
Sulphur Springs: Hopkins County Stew Contest
Over 150 four-person teams compete in this long-running stew cookoff featuring either beef or chicken stew cooked over an open fire. Each team prepares 10 gallons of stew for judges and spectators; cooks also enter their best beans, chili, Dutch oven desserts and more.
Winnie, Texas Rice Festival
Visit Winnie to celebrate the rice harvest. Rice Festival highlights include rice-cooking competitions, pageants, parades, a longhorn show and a horse show, a barbecue cook-off, street dancing, an antique car show, and plenty of rice and Cajun dishes.
November Food Festivals
Austin: Austin Food + Wine Festival
Along with fine dining preparing by area chefs, watch for a hands-on, interactive dinner party, the star-studded Rock Your Taco competition featuring first-time competitors and James Beard Foundation Award nominees and winners; cooking demonstrations; pitmasters and chefs cooking over interactive Fire Pits; samples of signature dishes from local chefs and restaurants; wine, beer and cocktail tastings; live music; book signings; and more.
Crystal City: Crystal City Spinach Festival
Henderson: Heritage Syrup Festival
Each November these echoes of the past are revived at the Heritage Syrup Festival, the only folk life festival in East Texas. This day-long event, held on the second Saturday of November, includes a syrup making demonstration. Experienced syrup makers operate the museum’s antique mule powered equipment to produce old fashioned cane syrup. Also watch artisans hand stitch pieces of cloth into kaleidoscopic-patterned quilts, potters mould mounds of clay into bowls and cups and carvers whittle whimsical objects from blocks of wood.
New Braunfels: Wurstfest
The month of November starts with a bang–and a bratwurst–at Wurstfest, a celebration of sausage, suds, and song held in New Braunfels. During these 10 days in early November, polka the night away, listen to well-known yodelers and accordionists, or dine on schnitzel at Wurstfest. This family-friendly festival is one of the country’s largest German festivals.
Since 1961, Wurstfest has been drawing the attention of merrymakers looking to enjoy the German heritage of this community. Held on the banks of the Comal River in Landa Park (centered in Wursthalle), this festival is consistently rated as one of the top events in the nation. Get ready to polka to the sounds of accordion tunes and to sample the sausage for which this event is known. Come to the event hungry; you’ll find lots of sausage and suds plus plenty of German specialties and sweets.
Port Isabel: World’s Championship Shrimp Cook-Off
Amateur and pro chefs bring their best recipes to compete in this shrimp cookoff; dishes are judges on appearance, aroma, and taste.
December Food Festivals
New Braunfels: Wassailfest
Merchants throughout the downtown area prepare the traditional English holiday drink of wassail and serve it to the evening guests who enjoy live music, horse-and-buggy rides, and a visit from Santa. Look for open houses, caroling, and bell choirs on this special evening of holiday fun.