Weekend Event Guide

Here are the top 7 things to do in Austin this weekend

Settle into the season with the help of outdoor activities, family-friendly hangs, and foodie festivities throughout the city. Enjoy a screening of Hocus Pocus on the water at Rowing Dock, or catch a free concert at Mueller Lake Park. Check out the top seven things to do in Austin this weekend. For a complete list of events, go to our calendar.

Thursday, October 23

Balloon Museum presents Let’s Fly: A Traveling Exhibition
Art and air are explored in tandem at this immersive Balloon Museum exhibition. Let’s Fly features large-scale inflatable installations, interactive designs, multisensory elements, and art that celebrates movement. The exhibit is suitable for all ages and is open through November 2.

SEED Food & Wine Festival: The Texas Taco Throwdown
The Domain hosts a special culinary competition featuring plant-based tacos as part of SEED Food & Wine Festival. Guests to the Texas Taco Throwdown will witness a dozen chefs vie for the title of America’s Best Plant-Based Taco. Additional highlights include tastings, craft cocktails, and live music. Get more details on the festival website. The festival continues with five days of fun overall.

ACL Live presents Jim Gaffigan: Everything is Wonderful
Comedian Jim Gaffigan performs live at Austin City Limits Live as part of his Everything is Wonderful tour. Gaffigan is best known for his observational comedy style and for his slew of specials, including his most recent project, The Skinny, released on Hulu in 2024. Select tickets are still available.

Broadway in Austin presents The Outsiders
Hit Broadway musical The Outsiders comes to Bass Concert Hall for one weekend only. Audiences will follow the main character Ponyboy Curtis and his best friend Johnny Cade as their band of Greasers navigate being outsiders against their affluent rivals in town, the Socs. Shows are scheduled through October 26.

Friday, October 24

Rowing Dock presents On the Water Screening: Hocus Pocus
Float on Lake Austin and enjoy a spooky screening of the hit Halloween film, Hocus Pocus at Rowing Dock. Guests can watch the movie from the comfort of their kayak, canoe, or paddleboards just after sunset. Festive treats and drinks will be available for purchase. Costumes are encouraged. Boat rentals are included with ticket purchase.

KUTX Rock the Park Concert Series
Mueller Lake Park’s monthly concert series continues. October’s family-friendly show features musical guests the Telephone Company and Tribe Mafia. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets or stadium cushions for a comfortable listening experience. Pets on leashes are welcome. Admission is free and open to the public. The series continues through November 7.

Moody Center presents Mumford & Sons in concert
Indie rock band Mumford & Sons perform live at Moody Center. The U.K.-based group is known for their folk-inspired sound and for top hits such as “I Will Wait” and “Little Lion Man.” The come to Austin in support of their new album, Rushmore. Get more details on Ticketmaster.

Photo courtesy of KUTX 98.9

KUTX 98.9's KUTX Rock the Park Concert Series continues at Mueller Lake Park on October 24.

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SXSW 2026

LaKeith Stanfield, Keke Palmer in ensemble cast of SXSW 2026 opening film

Photo courtesy of SXSW

Director Boots Riley, known for Sorry To Bother You, returns to South by Southwest in an important capacity for 2026.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is getting ready for 2026 and has announced one of its most important lineup details: the opening night film. I Love Boosters, featuring an ensemble cast, will open the 2026 Film & TV Festival with its world premiere March 12. The rest of the film festival runs through March 18.

I Love Boosters is directed by filmmaker Boots Riley, who is also known for the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You and the 2023 series I'm a Virgo. The big and buzzy cast features Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore.

According to a press release, audiences can expect a "mind-bending story" about a group of professional shoplifters, the Velvet Gang, who set their sights on a ruthless "fashion maven." The release remains as vague as possible: "Revealing any more than that would do a disservice to the SXSW opening night crowd..."

This is only Riley's second original feature film. He first became known in music, playing with The Coup and the Street Sweeper Social Club with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. His first film, which also starred LaKeith Stanfield, was met with notably good reviews. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico called it "an adrenalin-shot of a comedy and a fearless dissection of identity politics, corporate malevolence, and the American tendency to look the other way when confronted with horror."

Of course, opening night films can be hard to get into, but technically anyone with a Film & TV or Platinum Badge ($825 and $1,495, respectively) can attend if they commit early enough. There will also be an opening party that both types of badgeholders are invited to attend. Badges are available now at sxsw.com.

"Boots has created another wildly original and boundary-pushing vision that's deliciously unpredictable," said Film & TV VP Claudette Godfrey in the release. "We can’t wait for our audience to be sucked into his singular, subversive world where razor-sharp social commentary meets fearless, surreal storytelling and eye-popping imagery—all powered by a ridiculously stacked cast of some of the most talented actors on the planet."

It sounds like I Love Boosters — if it is as unique as they say — may follow a similar trajectory to the cult hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, which famously premiered at the festival in 2022 and later won seven Oscars. The opening film in 2025 was Another Simple Favor, a somewhat unenthusiastically received effort that was blunted by lawsuits involving co-star Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who worked together on another film around the same time.

I Love Boosters already has a distribution deal set up, and will hit theaters May 22, 2026.

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