Texas Trotter

Regardless of where you live in the state of Texas, chances are you’ve probably heard of the amazing Renaissance Festival that takes place every year!  For Houston residents who only live around 50-ish minutes away from the event’s main location, there’s a new reason to be excited because this year, the Texas Renaissance Festival is back and hotter than ever! From Oktoberfest to All Hallows Eve to Barbarian Invasions, each week features a brand new theme for guests to enjoy!  Running all the way to November 28th, it’s the perfect time to gather together with family and friends to enjoy some of the best sights, sounds, and brews! And don’t forget about the food? Where would we be without a massive Renaissance Festival turkey leg gracing our gullets as we explore the best shops, costumes, and merchandise opportunities around? I have fond memories of attending in costume with my friends, along with having some excellent opportunities to purchase some one-of-a-kind items and gear!...

Looking for something twistedly tasteful in Houston for this upcoming Halloween season? Look no further than House of Spirits: A Haunted Cocktail Soiree! At this spooktacular event, visitors can freely roam across a bizarre, Halloween-themed residence and experience a night of themed cocktails, mystifying magic, sinister seances, tarot readings, ghostly specters, live music, secret games, giant ouija boards, and plenty more!  If you have a morbid mind and a love for the supernatural, this is the perfect outing to celebrate the literal spirit of the season! Guests are allowed to dress up in their own themed outfits for the event, as well as fully immerse themselves in the spooky soiree with outfits of any time period, fashion, or elegant dress. General admission for this event will include four miniature cocktails inspired by different rooms in the haunted residence. VIP tickets will include five cocktails, a commemorative cocktail glass, speedy access, and access to an exclusive VI...

T he drifting leaves of Fall have arrived and you know what that means! Holiday family fun for everyone! For Houston residents, there’s a ton of reasons to get excited with all the different Halloween-themed activities across the city, especially in the Downtown area! This month, running from October 16th to October 17th, the wonderful Nature Discovery Center will be hosting its annual Pumpkin Patch Festival.  This amazing event will feature over 12,000 pumpkins, festival games, crafts, activities, a variety of delicious food options, family photo opportunities, animal meets, and more! Outside exhibitors and vendors will be available with everything from live animal presentations to biofacts. Plus, there will even be tasty treats including lemonade, goat milk ice pops, food trucks, and plenty more! It’s a great opportunity to get some fresh air and celebrate the spirit of the season with friends and family! Plus, especially for those with little kids, this is definitely the kind of...

It might be September right now but what better way to spice up the upcoming Halloween season than to get ready for a night of chills and thrills? Running from October 1st to November 13th, the Houston Scream Fest is more than just a haunted house of spooky sightings. It acts as a month-long festival where guests can experience the full throttle of the Halloween season. At the Houston Scream Fest, guests can enjoy a drink while perusing the biggest collection of fear-filled fun around! There will be concerts each night and guests can enjoy some quality food and games from any of the festival’s local vendors! There will even be a Zombie Paintball attraction as well for when you’re ready to shake out those limbs and engage in some creepy combat! Houston will be featuring a ton of different Halloween-themed attractions this year, especially with more and more businesses opening back up after the Covid pandemic. It’s important to continue staying safe and to wear your mask for proper prote...

I hope all you Dallas residents are counting each and every minute that ticks by because, slowly but surely, it’s coming. What’s coming, you may ask? Only the biggest, most important Texas festival next to the Rodeo! I’m talking about the Texas State Fair! This exciting Dallas-based event is the cream of the crop when it comes to big-name events within the state, providing guests with a day of incredible fun, food, and entertainment. Known for its massive animatronic mascot, good old Big Tex, the Texas State Fair has everything a Texan could ever want in a festival, from carnival rides to games to food, shows, and more! There will be livestock showcasing, places to grab a great brew, a car show, rides around the lake, live presentations, and enough snacks and goodies to make your belt burst! The last time I was lucky enough to attend was in the Fall of 2019, just before Covid entered our society. Luckily, this State Fair should host a safe and sanitary environment for everyone with sp...

Halloween is coming soon and, with it, comes one of the biggest events at Six Flags! Fright Fest is always a huge show-stopper when it comes to rustling up some excellent Halloween-themed entertainment. And for those living in the Dallas area near Six Flags Over Texas, there’s a reason to get excited!  This year, the park will feature Thrills By Day, a series of outdoor daytime experiences for the entire family including the brand-new Dead Man’s Wharf and Looney Tunes Spooky Town. There will additionally be plenty of homages to Dia de los Muertos as well as plenty of creepy-crawlies, haunted houses, scare zones, and roaming zombies for some heart-pounding fun! Word is that there will also be six all-new shows and Halloween-themed updates to some of the park’s biggest attractions, adding a layer of thrill-seeking excitement during your visit! I have fond memories of attending Fright Fest back when my beloved Houston home still housed Astroworld. Dallas and Arlington’s residents cert...

Looking for something new and exciting to do near the Austin area?  Austinites need not look further than the nearby city of Round Rock. This October 1st and 2nd, the city will host the Round Rock Chalk Walk Arts Festival! This colorful, creative festival will feature the works of hundreds of artists, vendors, sponsors, local/regional musicians, theatrical performances, food, drinks, and plenty more! And for those of you with little ones, there will also be plenty of play areas as well as performances to keep everyone entertained!  This amazing festival is a huge showcase when it comes to the art and imagination of so many talented artists across the area, including live chalk drawings that will make your heart soar! It’s truly a spectacle to behold and I wouldn’t miss it for the world, especially when there’s just so much to see and do! The big thing to see at this festival will definitely be the huge chalk mural that all the artists contribute to with their street paintings....