October is the month Austin has been waiting for since June. The mornings finally cool off, the patios fill back up, and the calendar gets so crowded that the hard part is choosing. Two weekends of ACL, a Formula 1 race, three Longhorns home games, and a Día de los Muertos parade down Congress, all inside about four weeks. I went through the local calendars and pulled together the things to do in Austin in October 2026 that are worth your Saturday. A few dates below come from weekend listings rather than the event itself, so give the site a quick check before you go.
The Big Weekends
October 2 to 4 and October 9 to 11 | Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park. The festival's 25th year, with more than 100 sets across nine stages. Weekend One has Charli XCX, Lorde, Twenty One Pilots, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and Skrillex near the top of the bill. If you are not going, plan around it: Barton Springs Road and the streets around Zilker are a different city for those six days.
October 23 to 25 | Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. The race itself is Sunday at 3:00 PM. Every ticket includes the concerts: Maroon 5 on Friday, Post Malone on Saturday, and Alesso after the race Sunday. Traffic toward COTA and the airport runs heavy all weekend, so leave early or stay put.
October 24 | Viva la Vida Festival and Grand Procession, downtown. Mexic-Arte Museum's Día de los Muertos celebration fills 5th Street and Congress Avenue, and the procession winds through historic 6th Street before ending at 4th and Congress. It has been running since 1984, which makes it one of the longest running Day of the Dead celebrations in Texas.
Longhorns at Home
October 17 | Texas vs Florida at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time is still to be announced.
October 24 | Texas vs Ole Miss at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. This lands on the same day as the Grand Prix Saturday and Viva la Vida, which makes it the busiest day of the month on Austin roads. Pick one and commit.
October 31 | Texas vs Mississippi State at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. A Halloween home game. Expect costumes in the stands.
The Red River rivalry is on the road this year: Texas plays Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on October 10 at 3:30 PM. Kickoff times for the home games follow the TV window, so check before you make dinner plans.
Live Music and Shows
October 1 | Riley Green with Randy Houser at the Moody Center, to open the month on the country side.
October 7 and 8 | Kacey Musgraves at the Moody Center, two nights, with William Beckmann opening.
October 13 | Bryson Tiller with Majid Jordan and Ty Dolla $ign at the Moody Center.
October 16 | Phoebe Bridgers at the Moody Center, on The Lost Tour.
October 23 | Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs at the Moody Center. The Spurs bring their I-35 Series to Austin again, which is the closest thing this city has to a home NBA game.
Weekend of October 16 to 18 | Eastside Kings Festival across five walkable East Austin venues. Soul food, blues, jazz, and gospel, built for wandering from one room to the next.
Food, Drink, and Markets
October 3, 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM | Austoberfest at Scholz Garten. The oldest beer garden in Texas does Oktoberfest properly: live music, beer samplings, free sausage, and a stein holding contest. $40, and kids get in free.
October 9 to 11 | Austin Oktoberfest at the historic German Free School. A second chance at the lederhosen, with German food, drinks, and live music.
Weekend of October 16 to 18 | Austin Coffee Festival and the Markets for Makers Fall Market, both at the Palmer Events Center. One ticket for tastings from specialty roasters, and next door more than 100 makers with handmade goods. Holiday shopping, started early.
Weekend of October 16 to 18 | Hot Luck Live, two days of chef driven food and live music with a lot of open fire cooking.
Later in the Month
October 23 to 25 | AIA Austin Homes Tour, various locations. The 40th year of the self guided tour, with nine architect designed homes open to walk through. I will admit a professional bias here. It is an easy way to see what good design looks like in this city without booking a showing.
October 29 to November 5 | Austin Film Festival, various venues downtown. The festival that puts screenwriters first, with premieres, Q&As, and panels that are open to the public.
October 30 to November 1 | Día de los Muertos at Waterloo Greenway. Free, with community altars and traditional performances along Waller Creek.
For the Family
October 2 to 31, 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM | Pumpkin Nights at Pioneer Farms. A half mile walk through more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, with food and fire shows in the village. Tickets start at $12.
October 2 to 24 | Boo at the Zoo at the Austin Zoo. A haunted train ride and a haunted house tuned for younger nerves. Reserve ahead.
Weekend of October 16 to 18 | Hairy Man Festival at Cat Hollow Park in Round Rock. The 32nd year of a festival built on a local legend, with live entertainment, food, and Halloween activities for kids.
Weekends in October | Texas Pumpkin Fest in Leander. A full pumpkin patch day with attractions for all ages, about 30 minutes north of downtown.
A Note from Me
Every October I notice how much of what people love about Austin sits within a few miles of each other. ACL takes over Zilker, which puts it in South Austin and 78704 for two straight weekends. Viva la Vida and the Film Festival are downtown in 78701. The Eastside Kings Festival lives in East Austin and 78702, and Pumpkin Nights is out past it in 78754. Home football Saturdays belong to 78705 and the streets around campus. COTA sits southeast of town near the airport, which is why a race weekend feels so different in Del Valle than it does in Round Rock, where the Hairy Man Festival is the bigger event.
If you are relocating to Austin, that map is worth studying. A month like this one tells you which neighborhoods live next to the action and which ones are a quiet drive away from it, and both have their fans. Some buyers want to walk to Zilker. Others want to hear about ACL on the news and nothing more.
I am Mike Vilece, an Austin real estate agent with Compass. Whether you are buying a home in Austin, thinking about selling your Austin home, or just curious what your home is worth this fall, I am happy to talk it through. No pitch, no pressure. The Austin housing market page has the current numbers, updated every month, and I will tell you honestly which Austin neighborhoods fit and which ones do not.
See you out there.