Don’t be fooled by the sunshine and high temperatures; autumn is here. It is officially the season of pumpkin spice, warm cider, and fall festivals. Here are a few of the events taking place in the coming weeks.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of GrapeFest in Grapevine. The theme of this year’s event is “Texas Wine, Come and Taste It.” The four-day festival (Sept. 16-19) will feature wine tastings and competitions, as well as the ever-popular GrapeStomp event, where participants compete to see which team can stomp the most juice out of 18 pounds of grapes in two minutes. Even though this is a wine-centered event, it is fun for the entire family with food vendors, a carnival, and rides on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.
Addison is holding its annual Oktoberfest for four days, starting on Thursday, September 16th, and running through Sunday, the 19th. This annual event will have all the things you expect from the German-style festival; soft pretzels, bratwurst, spaetzle, strudel, live music, and of course, beer. There will also be live music and a dog show highlighting breeds that originated in Germany. If Oktoberfest is something you look forward to all year, don’t forget that Dallas, McKinney, and Southlake are hosting their own celebrations in the coming weeks.
Old Town Lewisville overflows with the spirit of the Old West during the annual Western Days Festival. This year’s event will take place on the weekend of September 24th and 25th. In addition to the usual food and live music you find at any festival, Western Days is also home to pony rides, a mechanical bull, and live “gunfight” performances. There will also be a tamale eating contest and a car show.
Southlake is excited to be hosting their 21st Art in the Square event on September 24th, 25th, and 26th. Art in the Square first started as a community fundraiser and, over the years, has grown into a nationally ranked fine-arts event. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit numerous local causes such as Meals on Wheels and the Battered Women’s Foundation. So take a day off to stroll through the art stalls, enjoy some good food, and know that all of it is helping out a worthy cause.