The months are moving quick and the holidays are creeping in! Plan out the new month with these 20 Free Things to Do in October in Austin. From music, to movies, to museums–you can do it all!
Morning Glories | Tuesdays @ 10am | Waterloo Park | Meredith Heritage Tree Deck
Weekly early childhood education series that provides hands-on activities and programs to promote literacy, bilingual storytelling, music, dance, cultural learnings, and nature play. Each week features a different style of play from our partners at the Texas Book Festival, Asian American Resource Center, Monarch Sanctuary Project, Austin Public Library, and more. The series concludes on October 15.
Harvest of Fall Fun | Open thru November 3 | Sweet Berry Farm Marble Falls
Admission is always free! Pick and choose and pay for each activity. Pro Tip: It’s such a pretty toddler nap time drive!
Community Nights | Tuesdays 3-7 pm | Thinkery
Community Hours are part of Thinkery’s Open Door Initiative, created to give every child a chance to explore STEAM concepts and develop a lifelong love of learning, regardless of means.
Thinkery strives to be an inclusive, friendly, inspiring space to learn for our entire community, regardless of income, mental/physical abilities, ethnicity, nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender expression/identity or family status. By providing accessible experiences to underserved and underrepresented audiences, the museum broadens its ability to equip and inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers.
A limited number of FREE tickets are available for pre-registration online; walk-up admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Music on Main | Wednesdays 7-9 pm | Downtown Round Rock
The City of Round Rock presents Music on Main, featuring free live music on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. on the Prete Main Street Plaza stage. The fall series runs through November 13. Check out the variety of dining options on Main Street or pack a picnic basket to enjoy the evening of fun and music! Bring a lawn chair or blanket and the entire family. There will be face painting, balloon artists, free parking and more!
Round Rock Arts Fest | Oct 4-6 | Centennial Plaza, Round Rock
Round Rock area’s largest and most prestigious festival, drawing over 30,000 people annually to this free event during the first weekend in October. Round Rock Arts Fest features hundreds of artists, vendors, sponsors, local and regional musicians, theatrical performances, foods and drinks, and a children’s area. The Round Rock Arts Fest will be held at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Round Rock, Texas. Round Rock Arts Fest is hosted by City of Round Rock Arts and Culture and is a showcase for a large variety of fine art, fine crafts, chalking and other vendors and provides patrons with the opportunity to meet and talk with the artists who created the work.
Kids DIY Workshops | 1st Saturday the month | 9–noon | Home Depot
While supplies last
Evergreen Farms Pumpkin Hunt | October 11-13, October 18-20; October 25-27
Fridays: 1-5 p.m., Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays: 1-5 p.m. ALWAYS FREE ADMISSION & PARKING. Pumpkins available for purchase and photo opportunities. The premier event, the Pumpkin Hunt, includes a free wagon ride into the Christmas tree fields where mini pumpkins are hidden (one ticket gets you two mini pumpkins). Pay for activities you want to do.
Second Saturdays are for Families | October 12 | 11-3pm | at Laguna Gloria
Electrify your art! Use circuits to transform a graphite drawing into light and sound. Check out guest artist Adam Hilton’s Moving Sound, an interactive fusion of touch, light, and sound. Inspired by Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, on view at The Jones Center between September 6 and December 8, the whole family is invited to explore the connection between art and technology.
Join us on the second Saturday of every month for a fun and creative art-making experience at The Contemporary Austin!
Free Playdates in the Park | October 16 | 10-11:30 | Walnut Creek Metro Park
Playdates in the Park is an inclusive, free community event series designed to activate families with young children. Enjoy story time, make crafts, and MOVE AND GROOVE with our friends from Creative Action! Music & Movement sessions are active and designed to inspire creativity, encourage physical and emotional development, and support bonding and connection for parents and children.
Painting Pandas will join us to create fun nature-inspired art projects! BookSpring will be on site to lead story time and hand out books to take home.
Sessions contain story time, crafts, guided movement exercises and end with a dance party for the whole family! Playdates begin at 10 a.m. and end around 11:30 a.m.
Live Music in the Park | October 18 |6-8 p.m. | Katherine Fleischer Park
Sit back and relax for our incredible October Music in the Park! While the weather cools down, listen to the brilliant sounds of our performers as you lounge back with your loved ones of all ages, all for free! This event will be held in the Community Center in the case of inclement weather. Performance by Texas Bad Cats
Moonlight Movie Night | October 18 | 7:30 | Yonders Point in Old Settlers Park
Get ready for an spook-tacular night under the stars at the Moonlight Movie Night. Bring the entire family and enjoy food trucks, refreshments, adult beverages, games, activities, and a movie in the park, featuring the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus.
Rock The Park at Mueller Lake Park | Oct 25 | 6:30 p.m.
Free live concert for kids with music from the Karate Dance Party–a highly interactive live music dance party for kids and their grownups with Mr. Gene from The Que Pastas.
Join Domain NORTHSIDE on Thursday, October 24, at 6 p.m. for the launch of Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon! Enjoy a rock orchestra performance and photo ops on the Lawn.
The stellar new art installation will be on display during the following dates:
- October 24 – October 27
- October 31 – November 3
Art in the Park | October 26 | 10 am | Earl J. Pomerleau
It’s time to get crafty in the park! Art in the Park is Austin Parks Foundation’s newest addition to the “In the Park Series.” This is an inclusive, free community event series designed to get kids’ creative juices flowing.
Enjoy creating fun nature-inspired art projects with our friends from Painting Pandas while being out in your favorite parks!
Round Rock Diwali Festival | October 26 | 2-10 pm | Centennial Plaza Round Rock
A celebration of the “Festival of Lights” in Round Rock, the 8th Annual Round Rock Diwali Festival is a free event and open to all.
This event features live performances – including Bollywood, Classical, folk and regional dance forms of India — by 600+ performers. There will also be rangoli (sand art), community achievement award, drawing and painting competition, fashion show, Bollywood dance workshop, food, community dance floor, vendors, and more!
Viva La Vida Fest | October 26 | 12–6 | 4th St & Congress Ave
Mexic-Arte Museum’s 41st Annual Viva La Vida Festival and Parade is Austin’s largest and longest-running Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) event. This year’s festival will take place on Saturday, October 26 at 4th Street and Congress Avenue. The festivities begin with a Grand Procession at noon. Festival activities run until 6 p.m. Participants can enjoy the Education Pavilion with hands-on art activities, traditional foods, local artists and retail booths, a low-rider exhibition, and live performances throughout the day.
HEB Free Fourth Sunday | October 27 | 1-5pm | Texas Science and Natural History Museum
Enjoy FREE museum admission all day during H-E-B Free Fourth Sundays, held the fourth Sunday of every month. Explore the story of life in the natural world in Texas from the formation of our planet, through the age of the dinosaurs, into our current environment. See fascinating fossils and examples of Texas wildlife, touch real meteorites, and walk beneath the 33-foot wingspan of a pterosaur and tyrannosaur!
Brunch Bunch | October 27 | 10-noon | Jo’s Coffee Red River
A tot-friendly on the last Sunday of the month from 10 AM – 12 PM with music from Strawbitty Yops and more surprises in store.
Fall Fun Festival | October 31 | 9-11:30a.m. | Old Settlers Park
Join the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department for our annual Fall Fun Festival! This fantastic, family event will sure to be exciting for all of our little toddler and preschool friends!
We ask that you bring a canned good to donate to the Round Rock Food Pantry.
The Fall Fun Fest begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 at Old Settlers Park. Don’t forget to come in costume and bring a canned food item to donate to the Round Rock Food Pantry.
