Festivals
in Houston, TX

(832) 876-5935

Make room in your kitchen cabinet and have cold water ready as you boldly go where many have dared to trod to the Texas Hot Sauce Festival held at the Bayou City Event Center. Hot sauces, salsas, peppers and spices, marinades and rubs, jams/jelly, soup and chili mixes, wing sauces, garlicky, sweet, fruity, peppery, smokey, all things hot and mild are waiting.   

There are hundreds of hot and spicy products to try out from around the country along with plenty of food and cold beverages, ongoing stage entertainment, a "chile-dren" area, retail vendors, arts & crafts, and pepper merchandise. You can enter the Pickle Eating Contest, take part in free give-a-ways from the stage and have free face painting fun. Plenty of cold water, too!

(713) 521-0133

Enter the widest experience of community and find out how energized Houston is about arts and the arts culture at the Bayou City Art Festival, considered one of top 200 Arts Festivals in the world. It has something for everyone including what they call a surprise, fun and learning for kids and a much better feeling about art all while supporting local nonprofits.

Come by Downtown Houston and meet the artists that come from all over the world and take in the joy of experiencing a great vibrant arts community together with a high caliber show, a culturally dynamic environment saddled with great food producing a memorable and spirited good time with family and friends.

(713) 752-0314

Batten down the hatches and prepare yourself for the Buffalo Bayou Regatta, Texas' largest canoe and kayak race open to paddlers ages 12 and up where are all encouraged to take part in a most memorable race along the scenic Buffalo Bayou. People from all over come to compete in this longstanding Houston tradition that begins near San Felipe Street and concludes at Allen's Landing.

Free shuttle service is provided for all participants for the 15-mile exciting race that concludes with festivities, including live zydeco music, food and drinks, and trophies for the top three paddlers in Teams, Recreational Canoe, Recreational Kayak and Unlimited Divisions. The regatta is held annually, so check their website for specific registration details. 

(713) 957-3453

Lace up your running shoes and prepare to join The Houston Marathon, an annual thrilling event held every January with thousands of runners and spectators, making it the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a half marathon and a 5K race and boasts of the first-ever satellite running of the event run simultaneously across the globe. 

The races bring crowds of nearly 500K to view the runners and is currently sponsored by the Chevron Corporation, Aramco and Houston ABB. Course maps, signage, clocks, water, Gatorade and aid stations, along with course entertainment are provided The event supports many charities, including CanCare, Texas Children's Hospital, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

(713) 429-0420

Discover new films every November at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, the only U.S. film festival that features films by and about artists. It's art, for art's sake. 

This is a vibrant multimedia arts event that breaks out of the confines of the movie theater through live music and film performances, outdoor projections, and more.

(832) 649-2096

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Unleash your artistic soul and experience The Houston Fringe Festival, a five-day event in which performers and companies from around the planet present original work in Houston’s East End. The festival features over 100 companies and individual artists each year, showcasing talent from Houston and beyond, supporting both emerging and established performing and visual arts.

The festival encourages everyone to participate and show their talent to the fluid and enthusiastically supportive audience making it a great platform to showcase a super abundance of talent on many levels. Make this the year you enter a new world of creativity and personal masterpiece ambience.

(713) 839-7000

Bask in the sweet sounds of jazz music with the Houston International Jazz as it makes it annual return each year celebrating a remarkable run of music, artists, education and history. The festival, benefitting Jazz Education, Inc., a nonprofit organization, starts the summer off with live music and a host of musicians and bands from all over the world. 

The focus of the festival always seeks to honor the legends, the music and the standards of tradition; shaping the young minds and educating for the future. The Jazz Festival schedule and venue vary from year to year including  Music World, Bayou Music Center and The Mayor’s Scholarship Jazz Brunch Sunday at Wortham Theater Center. Check website for updates.

(832) 667-1000

Find out what all the fuss is about. Join the 2.1 million visitors who pass through the gates each March for the 20-day Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo™. Saddle up and get ready for a wild ride with rodeo champs and entertainment superstars. The event has attracted heavyweights like George Strait, Faith Hill, Beyonce, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.

(713) 526-5377

Treasure the Athenian and Spartan Golden Age at the Annual Houston Greek Festival on the grounds of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral every October. There you will happily discover authentic Greek food, wine, dancing and artifacts which are delicious, fun and deeply informative for the entire family.

After a fulfilling sample of the best of Greek cuisine, you'll visit the Athenian Playground, take a massively inspiring tour of the Cathedral replete with impressive hand painted icons, tons of crafts and gifts that will inspire a rich appreciation of the abounding cultural impact all people make on Houston and the US. Remember to sample the baklava!

(281) 991-9500

Come on over to the Pasadena Strawberry Festival, 106 acres of family fun where things get smoking hot at the sprawling barbecue pits and at the hottest concerts that will keep you moving. This is the home of the World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake, Mud Volleyball, Carnival, BBQ cook off,  specialty acts, main stage entertainers, and plenty of arts & crafts.

Traditionally held in May and at the Pasadena Fairgrounds, the festival also provides Kid's Adventures, a petting zoo, pony rides and even racing pigs! Kick off your summer list of "must-see and do" activities for friends and family alike and make the Pasadena Strawberry Festival your fun-loving go-to for strawberry memories for life. 

(800) 458-3435

Grab your tankard and your favorite Lord and Lady and spirit your way to The Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation's largest Renaissance-themed event, with award-winning food and drink, wine and beer, open weekends and the Friday after Thanksgiving day, September through November. This unique festival experience has been named the #1 Best Cultural Festival by USA Today.

You will step back in time into a 60-acre 16th century European village filled with kings, queens, knights, nobles, peasants and all manner of fantasy creatures. The festival has 21 stages of continuous entertainment by clowns, acrobats, musicians, dancers, magicians and more. Over 500 shoppes feature the work of master artists and craftspeople from around the world.

(281) 343-0218

Celebrate all things Texas at the annual Texian Market Days Festival each October. The day-long living history celebration includes hands-on activities, battle re-enactments, live entertainment, food, craft vendors and more. Held at the 480-acre George Ranch Historical Park.

(713) 926-6368

Get your motor runnin' at the Houston Art Car Parade every May, a showcase of real working cars artfully reinterpreted and decorated by avant-garde artists. Dan Aykroyd served as the Grand Marshall for the 2010 parade that featured more than 250 cars.

(713) 266-4492

Cast your gaze into the wild-blue-yonder and encounter the CAF Wings Over Houston Airshow featuring the internationally famous and awe-inspiring US Navy Blue Angels. This breathtaking event, held at Ellington Airport, provides more than five hours of thrilling aerial shows from some of the world's greatest military and civilian pilots. 

Ranked as one of the top airshows in the country, it also offers great ground attractions, such as simulators, ride and drive opportunities and nearly 100 static aircraft to view. There’s even a special play area for kids featuring a rock-climbing wall, inflatable slides and obstacles, carnival-style games and rides, and the NASA Driven to Explore Exhibit. 

(713) 965-9955

Movie fans and film aficionados, your paradise awaits you! WorldFest is the oldest Independent Film & Video Festival in the world having evolved over 50 years to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film & video and to validate brilliant abilities and to promote cultural tourism for Houston. Not surprisingly, all members of the WorldFest staff are filmmakers.

Unspooling at the flagship AMC Studio 30 Dunvale Theaters, WorldFest screens only 55-60 feature film premieres, with a complete and absolute emphasis on the American and International Independent feature films and with a continuing annual spotlight on an individual country and its films. They also offer competition in TV production, commercials, and music videos.