Event Roundup: What to Look Forward to This Weekend

Happy Friday! There are tons of fun happenings this weekend, including:

Explore art from more than 250 artists in 19 different categories in Memorial Park at Bayou City Art Festival, one of the top outdoor art festivals in the nation. Enjoy live entertainment, food trucks, a craft beer and wine garden, an Active Imagination Zone for kids, and more.

Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park 
Fri., Oct. 10-Sun., Oct. 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day
Memorial Park
$20: adults; $5: children 6-12; children under 5: free
Bayou City Art Festival returns to Memorial Park this weekend. One of the top outdoor art festivals in the nation, Bayou City Art Festival showcases the works of more than 250 artists in 19 different categories. Take a walk through the park and meet the artists and view one-of-a-kind art, prints, jewelry, sculptures, and more. Enjoy live entertainment stages, numerous food trucks, a craft beer and wine garden, a VIP Hospitality Lounge, and entertainment. The Active Imagination Zone features art activities for all ages and includes an interactive area. The festival benefits local nonprofits.

High Water Truck Pull for Special Olympics 
Sat., Oct. 11, 8 a.m.
Bellaire City Hall
$300/team of 12; $30/individual; free participation for Special Olympics athletes
Join the City of Bellaire and Special Olympics Texas for the ultimate tug-of-war challenge! Test your strength and compete for prizes and bragging rights to support Special Olympics Texas area athletes. To participate in the pull, individuals need to be 14+. Register here.

The Texas Renaissance Festival draws more than half a million visitors each year to its 70-acre recreation of a 16th-century European village, including live performances, shops, activities, treats, and more.

Opening Weekend: 51st Annual Texas Renaissance Festival 
Saturdays and Sundays, Sat., Oct. 11-Sun., Nov. 30, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. (no entry after 7 p.m.)
Texas Renaissance Festival grounds, Todd Mission, TX
$20+ (tickets are date-specific); Kids 4 and under are free every day; kids 5-12 are free every Sunday.
It's opening weekend for the 51st Annual Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation’s largest and most acclaimed Renaissance-themed event. The festival draws more than half a million visitors each year to its 70-acre recreation of a 16th-century European village an hour north of Houston, including a variety of live performances, shops and treats, activities, and more. There are eight themed weekends, starting with Oktoberfest this weekend.

Children’s Museum Houston hosts a variety of spooktacular Halloween fun Sept. 27-Oct. 31. 

Pumpkin Party at the Children's BOOseum
Children's Museum Houston
Through Oct. 31, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
$19.95/adults and children; free for children under 1. Dress in costume for $2 off admission through Oct. 24.
All month long, the Children's Museum (the BOOseum) is offering a plethora of spooktacular events and activities all month long. This Saturday, the museum is hosting a Pumpkin Party. Create your own pumpkin masterpieces; dance along to DJ Sally & Jack Skellington; and participate in trick-or-treating throughout the museum.

Barktoberfest is a family- and pet-friendly event including dog costume contests, live music, local vendors, food trucks, a silent auction, adoptable dogs ready to find loving homes, and more. 

Houston Pets Alive! Barktoberfest 
Sat., Oct. 11, 2-6 p.m.
The Powder Keg
Free; reserve tickets here. Walk-ins welcome.
Join Houston Pets Alive! at The Powder Keg for a pawsome family- and pet-friendly festival featuring live music, local vendors, tasty food trucks, adoptable dogs ready to find loving homes, and more. There will be dog costume contests, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin decorating contest, mechanical bull rides, stein-holding contest, doggy park, and a raffle and silent auction. Proceeds support HPA!’s mission to save at-risk pets in Greater Houston.

In preparation for  Día de los Muertos celebrations — in which monarchs and marigolds serve as symbols of remembrance — join MECA and the Houston Botanic Garden for Monarchs & Marigolds, to celebrate our past and honor our future, through music, dance, and visual arts. (Photo: Ramiro Fonseca)

Monarchs & Marigolds 
Sun., Oct. 12, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Houston Botanic Garden
$20/adult, $16/child/student/senior/military
Día de los Muertos is a traditional Latin American holiday that honors and celebrates the lives of family and friends who have gone before us. The common theme throughout the celebration, traditionally held Nov. 1-2, is the belief that the dead return home, visit loved ones, and feast on their favorite foods. In preparation for forthcoming Día de los Muertos celebrations — in which monarchs and marigolds serve as symbols of remembrance — join MECA and the Houston Botanic Garden for Monarchs & Marigolds, as we celebrate our past and honor our future, through music, dance, and visual arts. Learn to make papel picado and paper marigolds, shop with vendors selling authentic Latin American arts and crafts, and enjoy live music and dance performances.

More Events
See our event calendar for more upcoming events and find a roundup of fall festivals here.