Festivals
in Houston, TX

(713) 521-0133

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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

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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

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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.

(386) 775-2512

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Rev up your engines and hurry on down to the Premier Corvette Chevy Expo, a world-class Chevrolet show held at the Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort. There you will drive your car aficionado side of life with amazing vehicles, major national vendors, pedal cars, mini cars and go-car displays.  

At their aftermarket showcase, you may opt to buy/sell your dream car, attend the outdoor show'n shine, marvel with the Sunday Vette Vues Magazine photo shoot and check out their craft show featuring local hand-made items. The Expo completes your fascinating visit with the Swimsuit USA International major modeling competition. Remember to take plenty of pictures!

(713) 524-4222

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Ciao and Benvenuto to Festa Italiana celebrating all things Italian where the wine flows, music plays and the aroma of garlic, oregano, and basil fills the air. Drive to the campus of St. Thomas University and journey into Italian air space where you will certainly be delighted by an array of pastries and homemade foods while sharing rich cultural benefits in the city.  

Festa Italiana has always been a “family” affair in more ways than one, operated by members of the Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Greater Houston, Inc. Festa includes premium wine tasting, a cooking school for kids, classic car show, a grape stomping event, pasta eating and sidewalk art contest, festive Italian dance and Tombola, and Italian Bingo! 

(888) 512-7469

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Listen to a great weekend lineup of your favorite bands at the Free Press Summer Festival each June. The outdoor music festival is always a bargain ticket, and you'll find plenty of food, activities and new friends during the show.

(713) 926-6368

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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) 529-1396

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Feed your inner child and help thousands of children everywhere by strolling over to Downtown Houston and attending The McDonald’s Houston Children’s Festival, the largest children’s festival in the United States. There you will find two days of games, circus acts, rides, food, beverages, and entertainment for all ages. 

The Festival excitement includes fourteen big family adventure zones, six stages of music and entertainment, over 300 fun activities, as well as a chance to meet and take a photo with scheduled celebrities such as PAW Patrol, Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles, Curious George, a Power Ranger and McDonald’s friends Grimace, Hamburglar and Birdie.

(713) 429-0420

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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.

(713) 205-7373

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Explore an entirely different and fascinating type of boating fun known to many as Dragon Boat Racing, the world’s fastest growing water sport which combines tradition with teamwork and strategy. Held at Brooks Lake in Sugar Land, participants are provided the traditional Hong Kong-style BuK Dragon Boats carrying 20 paddlers, 1 drummer, and 1 steersperson. 

Teams race down course ranging from 250m – 1000m on the day of the regatta and are provided with practice sessions prior to race day. In addition to promoting physical fitness, Dragon Boating also builds corporate and leadership team strength and supports Buffalo Bayou renovations and other charitable activities. The experience is simply astounding. 

(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.

(832) 640-7544

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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) 839-7000

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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

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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.

(832) 647-3507

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Set your thirst on high and get ready for the superbly celebrated Houston Margarita Festival replete with savory margaritas, salsa dancing, music and fun like you have never seen before. Some of Houston's finest mixologists have joined the fun equipping the festival with some of the most superior tasting margaritas in the market, all uniquely served at the beautiful Water Works Park. 

With more than 30 Margarita flavors on the menu, the list is remarkably extensive and sure to please. You will certainly find yourself new favorites all while enjoying the company of friends, good food, competitions and live bands in an outdoor space with the majestic and famous city skyscrapers in the distance. Not only will you call it whimsical, you'll be supporting over 30 city nonprofits.

(713) 837-0311

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Step into history and surround yourself with the four-day Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom commemorating and rejoicing in the special and significant anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The very helpful guide to all the celebrations is a must to include in all your planning and festive times making this definitely a moveable feast. 

Among the memorable events are the Mayor's Parade, Emancipation Park Celebration, delicious soul food at This Is It, one of the oldest African-American restaurants in Houston, the Galveston Parade, Proclamation Reading and Prayer Breakfast, Freedom Bike Ride through the 3rd Ward, Ogun Art and Wine Happy Hour, and The Gulf Coast Blues and Creole Music Festival. 

(713) 236-1700

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With profound dignity and respect, come join and witness The MLK Grande Parade, set for the third weekend in January and one of the largest single-day multicultural events in the U.S. held in honor of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The procession starts at Midtown Houston and features more than 300 diverse performing groups from across the nation, including 30 award-winning marching bands.

Here is a most thorough and weighty opportunity to help promote racial harmony through educational and promotional concepts and ideas through the awareness of oneness and common values culminating in a moment of brilliant and loving solidarity. Change begins with self and the awakening to the real possibility of peace in this great nation.

(713) 837-0311

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Expand your knowledge and experience of all things Halloween by taking an eclectic bar tour known as the Montrose Crawl. There you will discover why Montrose Blvd. and Halloween are truly meant for each other. On the last Saturday night in October, the Montrose Crawl transforms Montrose into the ultimate Halloween event which will thoroughly entertain and impress. 

They have combined a traditional pub crawl with the spirit of trick-or-treating and run it through the heart of Montrose to create a most unique experience best described as strangeness in a strange land. There are many ways to describe Montrose, but to the people who live, work, and play there, they all know that Montrose is just weird and you’re welcome to join them.

(713) 526-5377

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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

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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. 

(863) 268-4273

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Slither on over to Repticon Houston, a reptile event with vendors offering pets, supplies, feeders, cages, and merchandise as well as live reptiles and amphibians that you can touch and hold. You'll find some of the most exquisite snakes, turtles, geckos, lizards and iguanas all in one place, some for show and many for sale. A place to see animals you may never have seen before, and guaranteed to be exciting, educational, and family‑oriented fun for everyone.

Traditionally held three times a year at the Pasadena Convention Center, the event offers live animal seminars, frequent free raffles for many coveted prizes, and plenty of things for the kids to enjoy and learn. SSSSSSSSSSSensational!

(713) 783-9188

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Consider the great gift of health and get on your feet to help save lives every day. This is the hope and dream of the Susan G. Kowen Race for the Cure™ Houston held in October at Sam Houston Park and in many other cities across the US. This crucial annual event raises significant funds for the breast cancer research, in addition to supporting those living with metastatic breast cancer. 

The race begins with an emotional memorial bird release followed by a remarkably profound yet wonderfully fun morning of complete solidarity. Runners and walkers come face-to-face with the strides made in research, care, community and action envisioning and dreaming of a world without breast cancer and reducing these deaths in the US by 50% by 2026. 

(713) 529-1616

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Step into a veritable paradise at the Texas Home & Garden Show, the largest of its kind held and planted at the NRG Arena in Houston which continues to connect home and garden professionals and consumers all across Texas and the US. These have been the best resource for expert advice, money-saving tips, and the latest trends for homeowners and gardeners.

Here you will meet with industry professionals who have extensive knowledge related to all your upcoming home improvement projects while learning about the latests products for home and family. The benefits of a face-to-face meeting with experts is surely immeasurable and well worth every minute you spend tat the show.

(800) 458-3435

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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.