The Quick Answer
Things to do in Austin this weekend (November 13–15, 2026): the free Texas Book Festival takes over the Capitol Saturday and Sunday, the free Austin Studio Tour opens 309 studios and galleries citywide from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and Creek Show lights up Waterloo Greenway starting Friday ($12). Honky Tonk Fest (Saturday) and the Austin Mac & Cheese Festival (Sunday) are out at Star Hill Ranch in Bee Cave. Texas plays at LSU, so there is no home game. Free extras: the Blue Genie Art Bazaar opens on Airport Blvd and the Wildflower Center is free with one recyclable per person.
Greater Austin coverage: Downtown • Red River • East Austin • Midtown • Mueller • South Shore • Southwest Austin • Del Valle • Bee Cave • Dripping Springs • Georgetown
This is one of my favorite weekends of the Austin year, because the best of it is free and most of it is about the people who make this city interesting. The Texas Book Festival brings more than 250 authors to the Capitol grounds. The Austin Studio Tour — the event that started in East Austin warehouses back in 2003 — opens hundreds of working studios, plus a few bakeries and offices, to anyone who wants to walk in. And Creek Show is back after a year off, on a brand-new stretch of Waller Creek running down to Lady Bird Lake.
Texas is in Baton Rouge on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC), so campus stays calm and the watch parties are everywhere. Forecasts show rain chances Saturday and Sunday, so I've noted which events run rain or shine. Every cost is listed and free events are marked Free.
Editor's Note
We work hard to provide you with accurate and up-to-date information. However, all details are subject to change. Please verify information before heading out.
The Weekend at a Glance
| When | The big one | The free one |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | Creek Show opening night, Waterloo Greenway, 6–10 p.m. | The Nude Party at Central Machine Works, 7–11 p.m. (RSVP) |
| Saturday | Honky Tonk Fest at Star Hill Ranch, 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m. | Texas Book Festival, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., then the Lit Crawl, 7–10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Austin Mac & Cheese Festival, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Austin Studio Tour, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. |
Friday, November 13
Creek Show 2026 (opening night)
Waterloo Greenway, The Confluence, Downtown / Red River | Nightly Nov 13–21, 6–10 p.m. (timed entry 6–8 or 8–10 p.m.) | $12 general admission; kids 5 and under free
Ten light-based installations by local artists along Waller Creek, now on the newly opened southern stretch from Fourth Street to Lady Bird Lake. For the first time every night needs a ticket and reservation, and all proceeds support the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. It is rain or shine and fully ADA accessible. Parking is $5 at the Austin Convention Center garage (601 E 5th St) from 5 to 10 p.m.
📍 703½ E 4th St (at Sabine St), Austin, TX 78701
Tickets & time slots →Austin Studio Tour Eve: The Nude Party with Valley Flower
Central Machine Works, East Austin | Fri, 7–11 p.m. | Free with RSVP
The kickoff party for the Austin Studio Tour, hosted by tour producer Almost Real Things during Central Machine Works' seven-year anniversary weekend. A free East Side show the night before 300-plus studios open their doors.
📍 4824 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702
RSVP →Urban Cowboy Night in Georgetown
Downtown Georgetown | Fri, 8–10 p.m. | Free general admission; $50 VIP
The Georgetown Beard Club's fifth annual fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Central and South Texas: live music, raffles and a mechanical bull. VIP includes a meet-and-greet with Eddy “Dew” Westbrook, the inspiration for Bud in Urban Cowboy.
📍 101 E 7th St, Georgetown, TX
Event details →Family Campout at Dripping Springs Ranch Park
Dripping Springs Ranch Park, Dripping Springs | Fri 4 p.m. – Sat 10 a.m. | $35 per family (up to four campers)
An overnight for families with a Creepy Crawlers night program and a Drippin' in the Dark star party. Dripping Springs is an International Dark Sky Community, so the stargazing is the real thing.
📍 1042 Event Center Dr, Dripping Springs, TX
Register →DroneArt Show: Harry Potter
Circuit of The Americas, Del Valle / Southeast Austin | Fri–Sat, 7:30–9:30 p.m. | $44–$87 listed; check final price at checkout
More than 1,200 illuminated drones flying to the official Harry Potter soundtrack, outdoors at COTA. An all-ages pick if you want a big night out that isn't downtown.
📍 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd, Del Valle, TX 78617
Tickets →Austin Opera: Thaïs
The Long Center, South Shore | Fri 7:30 p.m.; Sun 2 p.m. | Ticketed
Massenet's opera about faith, desire and obsession, sung in French with projected English titles. It runs about 2 hours 45 minutes with intermission, and the company notes a strobe-light advisory.
📍 701 W Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704
Seats & showtimes →All Weekend Long
Texas Recycles Day: free entry at the Wildflower Center
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Southwest Austin / Circle C | Fri–Sun, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free with one plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag per person
H-E-B is covering admission at nature centers statewide in exchange for one recyclable per visitor — so a family of four brings four. Visitors without one pay regular admission. Wild Basin in West Austin is also participating this weekend, with longer hours.
📍 4801 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX 78739
Event details →Blue Genie Art Bazaar (opening weekend)
Blue Genie Art Bazaar, Midtown / Airport Blvd | Fri–Sun, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily | Free admission and parking
Austin's long-running holiday art market opens for the season with handmade art, jewelry, home goods and gifts from more than 200 regional artists. An easy rainy-day stop, and the start of local holiday shopping.
📍 6100 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78752
Event details →Saturday, November 14
Austin Studio Tour 2026 (weekend one)
309 locations citywide; hubs in East Austin | Sat–Sun, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. (again Nov 21–22) | Free; printed guidebook $12
The free, self-guided tour — the event that began as the East Austin Studio Tour in 2003 — now runs citywide, with 815 artists, groups and hosts across 309 locations. Start at a hub, grab a guidebook, then use the website's neighborhood filter to see who is working near you.
📍 Hubs: ART Studios & Gallery, 2324 E Cesar Chavez St and ART Gallery at Canopy, 916 Springdale Rd, Austin
Artist map →31st Texas Book Festival
Texas State Capitol and nearby venues, Downtown | Sat 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free; a few headliner sessions need a ticket that includes a book
The largest book event in Texas, with 250-plus authors including Colson Whitehead and Kate DiCamillo, programming in English and Spanish, signings, cooking demos, family and teen activities, exhibitors and food trucks.
📍 Texas State Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
Schedule & authors →Texas Craft Brewers Festival
Fiesta Gardens, East Austin / Holly | Sat, 2–6:30 p.m. (VIP from noon; last call 6:15 p.m.) | GA $60.87, VIP $108.56, designated driver $23.77 (fees included); strictly 21+
More than 70 Texas breweries pouring over 200 beers on the lakeshore, with food trucks and music. General admission and VIP include a tasting cup and ten 3-ounce samples. Parking is limited, and organizers ask guests not to park on nearby residential streets.
📍 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St, Austin, TX 78702 (enter at Chicon St and Nash Hernandez Sr. Rd)
Tickets →Honky Tonk Fest 2026
Star Hill Ranch, Bee Cave / Hamilton Pool Rd | Sat, 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m. | From $65
Lone Star Beer's second-year festival on a historic Texas main street: Rattlesnake Milk, The Deslondes, Summer Dean, Pat Reedy and six more acts, two-step lessons, hat shaping, Chicken Sh!t Bingo from The Little Longhorn, and food from Iron Burger and Parish BBQ.
📍 15000 Hamilton Pool Rd, Bee Cave, TX 78738
Tickets →Lit Crawl Austin
Red River Cultural District & East Seventh, Downtown | Sat, 7–10 p.m. | Free; 21+ at Sip Haus and The Side Bar, 18+ at Cheer Up Charlies
The Texas Book Festival's after-hours crawl: readings, storytelling, literary trivia and games across three bars. Austin's first poet laureate, Zell Miller III, reads at Sip Haus.
📍 Sip Haus, 715 Red River St • The Side Bar, 602 E 7th St • Cheer Up Charlies, 900 Red River St, Austin
Lit Crawl lineup →Sunday, November 15
Sunday is also day two of the Texas Book Festival (11 a.m.–5 p.m.) and the Austin Studio Tour (11 a.m.–5 p.m.), and Creek Show runs again from 6 p.m. The Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller is also on its usual Sunday schedule, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Branch Park Pavilion. If rain shows up, the Book Festival's indoor sessions and the Studio Tour's studios are your best bets.
Austin Mac & Cheese Festival: Camp Mac & Cheese
Star Hill Ranch, Bee Cave / Hamilton Pool Rd | Sun, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. (VIP from 11, general admission an hour later) | Ticketed
The festival's 10th year: unlimited tastings from 20-plus kitchens — Industry Austin, JABS Burgers, Hattie B's, Tumble 22, Phoebe's Diner, East End Ballroom and more — competing for People's Choice and Judges' Choice belts. Rain or shine.
📍 15000 Hamilton Pool Rd, Bee Cave, TX 78738
Tickets →Getting Around This Weekend
- Downtown around the Capitol: Texas Book Festival road closures began at 9 a.m. Thursday, November 12. The City of Austin recommends CapMetro, bikes or scooters, and posts a closure map on its event page.
- Creek Show: the entrance is at 4th and Sabine. The Austin Convention Center garage (601 E 5th St) charges $5 from 5 to 10 p.m., and spaces are limited, so a rideshare or the train is easier.
- Fiesta Gardens: parking for Saturday's Texas Craft Brewers Festival is limited and first-come. Organizers ask guests to skip residential streets in Holly and use transit, a bike or rideshare.
- Hamilton Pool Road: Star Hill Ranch hosts back-to-back festivals Saturday and Sunday. Expect a slow two-lane drive west of Bee Cave around opening and closing times.
Looking Ahead: November 19–22
- Austin Studio Tour, weekend two — Saturday and Sunday, November 21–22, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Free. If you only make one weekend, the artist map shows who is open when.
- Creek Show's final nights run through Saturday, November 21. The free Community Night on Monday, November 16 is already fully reserved.
- Texas vs. Arkansas at DKR — Saturday, November 21, 2:30 p.m. CT, the Longhorns' last home game of the regular season. Plan around campus and I-35 that afternoon; confirm the kickoff time on texaslonghorns.com.
- The holiday light season starts — Luminations opens at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on Friday, November 20 (5:45–9 p.m., advance tickets required), and Mozart's Festival of Lights returns to Lake Austin Boulevard on Saturday, November 21. The Trail of Lights at Zilker Park follows December 10–23.
My Read: Use the Studio Tour to Scout Neighborhoods
If you're thinking about buying in Austin, the Studio Tour is one of the best free ways to spend an afternoon in a neighborhood without a showing on the calendar. Parking, walking a few blocks between studios and seeing who's out on a Saturday tells you more about a street than a listing photo does. Start in East Austin, where the tour's hubs are, and if you like what you see, compare Windsor Park and Mueller next door.
There's a harder side to it too. One of the tour's organizers told the Austin Chronicle that the shortage of affordable studio space is part of why so many artists now show work in shops, offices and homes, and why more of them are moving farther out. Buying a piece of art or a $12 guidebook directly supports the people who give these neighborhoods their character.
Falling for a neighborhood this weekend?
If a street on the Studio Tour route stays on your mind, tell me which one. I'll pull what's actually sold there recently and walk it with you on a normal weekday, so you can compare a quiet weekday with a busy weekend.
Event details cross-checked with the City of Austin, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Waterloo Greenway, Almost Real Things, Texas Athletics, the Austin Chronicle and each organizer's ticket page on November 13, 2026. Please verify times, prices and ticket availability before heading out, because details change.
Austin Weekend Events FAQ
What's happening in Austin this weekend, November 13–15, 2026?
The 31st Texas Book Festival fills the Capitol grounds Saturday (10 a.m.–5 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.–5 p.m.) for free, and the free Austin Studio Tour opens 309 locations citywide both days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Creek Show opens Friday on Waterloo Greenway (6–10 p.m. nightly through November 21, $12). Out on Hamilton Pool Road, Honky Tonk Fest is Saturday and the Austin Mac & Cheese Festival is Sunday, both at Star Hill Ranch. The Texas Craft Brewers Festival is Saturday at Fiesta Gardens, and the DroneArt Show: Harry Potter flies at COTA Friday and Saturday nights. Texas plays at LSU on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC, so there is no home football game.
What free events are in Austin this weekend?
Free this weekend: the Texas Book Festival at the Texas State Capitol (Saturday and Sunday; a few headliner sessions are ticketed); the Austin Studio Tour (Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.); the Lit Crawl in the Red River District (Saturday, 7–10 p.m., 18+ or 21+ by venue); the Studio Tour Eve concert with The Nude Party at Central Machine Works (Friday, 7–11 p.m., RSVP); Urban Cowboy Night in Georgetown (Friday, 8–10 p.m., free general admission); the Blue Genie Art Bazaar holiday market on Airport Blvd (Friday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m., free admission and parking); and free Wildflower Center admission Friday through Sunday when each visitor brings one plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag.
Are there road closures downtown this weekend?
Yes. The City of Austin began Texas Book Festival road closures around the Capitol at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, and posts a closure map on its event page. The City recommends CapMetro, bikes or scooters. For Creek Show, the Austin Convention Center garage at 601 E 5th St charges $5 from 5 to 10 p.m., and spaces are limited. Parking is also limited at Fiesta Gardens for Saturday's Texas Craft Brewers Festival, so organizers recommend transit, bikes or rideshare.
How does the Austin Studio Tour work?
It is free and self-guided. Studios, galleries and host businesses open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 14–15 and again November 21–22, 2026. The official site lists every participant with a map and neighborhood filters, and printed guidebooks are $12 at the hubs: ART Studios & Gallery, 2324 E Cesar Chavez St, and ART Gallery at Canopy, 916 Springdale Rd.
What should I know about the weather this weekend?
Local forecasts on Thursday, November 12 called for a comfortable Friday and rain chances on Saturday and Sunday. Creek Show and the Austin Mac & Cheese Festival run rain or shine, and the Austin Studio Tour and the Texas Book Festival both have plenty of indoor stops. Check the forecast before heading out.