Kerrville's Busiest Fall Saturday Runs Like A Relay

"That's what I think of," Delayne Sigerman told The Kerr County Lead in August. "That's what the festival is."

The Kerrville City Councilmember was recalling last year's Water Street Festival, where local musician Corey Weaver played in front of Francisco's. She was on The Lead Live to promote the second festival, set for Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. She argued that community events matter for survival in a downtown that has been through the July 2025 flood and another flood this July. "Once we get people back in their homes," she said, "we really are going to have to think about how we keep businesses alive. Those tourist dollars help everybody."

Water Street is only one of the things happening in Kerrville that day. A 5K starts on Holdsworth Drive, a state championship takes over Kerrville-Schreiner Park, a gourd show runs at the Hill Country Youth Event Center, and several stages have shows that night. Each organizer posted its own schedule. Put the times side by side and they mostly hand off from one to the next. From early morning until well after dark, one person can get to most of these events without having to choose between them.

The Day, In Order

The table comes from the City of Kerrville, the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau, the race registration pages and the festival organizers. Each section below covers one stop in the order the day runs.

7 A.M. On Holdsworth Drive

The 16th Annual Pumpkin Run starts the day. Packet pickup opens at 7 a.m., with warm-up and announcements at 7:30 and the start at 8. You can run the 5K or the one-mile fun run/walk, and both courses stay on Salvation Army property.

Both distances cost $35 on Athlete Guild, plus a $3.49 signup fee. The date that matters now is Oct. 10. You have to register before that day to get the shirt size you ask for.

The organizer lists a post-race breakfast, awards and costumes. Kroctober Fest follows with music, food vendors, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, a bounce house, face painting and crafts. The listings disagree on when it ends. The CVB says 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the race page says 9 a.m. to noon. Families who want both the pumpkin patch and the downtown kids' parade can still make it. The parade isn't until 1 p.m., so a late morning at the Kroc Center still leaves time for lunch downtown.

Mid-Morning Through 3 P.M. On Water Street

The Water Street Festival opens at 9 a.m., the hour after the 5K starts. It runs until 3. The organizer calls the festival free, with live music, art, local vendors, food and drinks. Water and Earl Garrett streets close to cars, which turns them into a walkway for people and pets. There's a farmers market and a kids' activity center, and local nonprofits get booths for free. Other vendors pay $50 for a spot. Plein air painters from the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center will be working their way through the crowd and painting as they go.

Organizers say parking is free in the downtown garage and on nearby streets, with reserved ADA spaces and a loading zone for vendors.

The festival sets up in numbered zones, and most of them are block parties hosted by downtown businesses:

1. Il Posto, full bar and outdoor seating
2. Off Main Brewing, bar menu and outdoor beer garden
3. Favorite Saloon, bar menu and outdoor seating
4. Francisco's, full menu and patio party
5. Vecino's, local street food and patio party
6. Grape Juice, patio party and art exhibit
7. Turtle Creek Olives and Wine, full menu and patio party
8. Pax, coffee and outdoor seating
9. Rita's, tacos and outdoor seating
10. Divine's Sports Bar, bar menu and outdoor beer garden

Francisco's is at 201 Earl Garrett. Its regular Saturday hours are lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Il Posto is at 701 Water St. The CVB lists Vecinos Cafe at 804 Water St.

Several of these businesses were on The Lead's list of places open on July 17, the day after this summer's flooding: Vecino's, Grape Juice, PAX and Off Main. That list is why the zone map matters. It shows that the patio parties are spending by businesses that kept their doors open through two flood summers. They are also the places Sigerman said the tourist dollars need to reach.

The kids' parade at 1 p.m. is the last fixed event downtown. After that, there's a two-hour window until the next event across town starts.

3 P.M. On Bandera Highway

The sixth annual Kerrville Mountain Bike Festival at Kerrville-Schreiner Park runs both days of the weekend, and Saturday afternoon is the easiest time to join. The Texas Hill Country Mountain Bike Association organizes it. The group is led by Lisa and Adam Salladin, who own Hill Country Bicycle Works. The festival hosts the USA Cycling Texas State Championship and the last race of the TMBRA Texas Cup Mountain Bike Series. Twenty-nine classes and categories are competing for championship titles, with riders ranging from age 10 and under to 70.

The main races take place Sunday. On Saturday, the cross-country course is open for pre-riding. A short section is held from 3 to 4 p.m. for the Adult/Junior Team Time Trial on Deerfield Loop. The time trial covers two miles and costs $20 per rider. Online entry closes at 2 p.m. Saturday. That means a team would need to sign up during the Water Street Festival to ride an hour later.

Riders who are new to racing don't need to register ahead. You sign up onsite for the free Kids Cup and the first-time racer clinic, and the organizer allows onsite registration for Saturday festival events with no late penalty. Spectators get in free, and the city lists free face painting, a Halloween candy hunt and food trucks.

Regular trail users should expect racers to be pre-riding the course all day Saturday. The trails are multi-use and two-directional. The hillside trails close Sunday, Oct. 25, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Out On Highway 27 All Day

The Lone Star Gourd Festival keeps its own hours and doesn't need to fit into the relay. It runs Oct. 23 to 25 at the Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3775 Highway 27, and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. If you'd rather skip the bike races, the gourd festival is still open after Water Street closes at 3 p.m.

After 4 P.M.

The CVB calendar for Oct. 24 fills up once the afternoon events finish:

• 4 p.m. The Hill Country Chorale performs a patriotic concert.
• 5 p.m. Emily Barnes plays at Cafe at the Ridge, and The Ridge Marketplace is hosting a Fall Fest.
• 7 p.m. The Bookers perform.
• 7:30 p.m. Grand Illusion, a Texas Styx tribute, takes the stage at the Cailloux Theater.
• 8 p.m. Carlos & Dan & The Silver Bullets perform.

Just west of town, Georgette Jones plays the second night of a two-night run at Lazy Days Canteen in Ingram. Gates open at 6 p.m., music starts at 8, and Seeds Café is handling the food.

If you'd rather stay downtown, Francisco's starts dinner service at 5:30 p.m.

One Date To Move Off Your Oct. 24 List

The Lead's August story about the festival said the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast would play at The Arcadia Live that same evening. The Arcadia's own event page lists the screening on Halloween night, Oct. 31, at 717 Water St. Doors and the bar open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. The show is 18 and over, seating is open, and each ticket includes a themed prop bag. Showpass lists tickets at $29.03.

That same week, downtown hosts another arts event. The 27th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show runs Oct. 29 to 31 at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, 228 Earl Garrett St. That puts it on the same street where the center's plein air painters will be working during the Water Street Festival.

If a Saturday like this has you thinking about how close you'd like to be to Water Street, the Kroc Center or the trails at Kerrville-Schreiner Park, Gill & Teich Group is happy to talk through what that looks like across Kerrville and the Hill Country. A free home valuation is an easy, no-pressure place to start.