Most of this October's local calendar in Dripping Springs and Driftwood lands on two days. On Saturday, Oct. 10, four separate events stack up between dawn and dinner, and two of them use the same park. A week later, on Saturday, Oct. 17, the free Songwriters Festival fills downtown on the same day a new whiskey distillery opens its doors in Driftwood. Everything else this month fits around those two Saturdays.
Here's how each one plays out, and what's open on the other days.
Saturday, Oct. 10, starts early and centers on Ranch Park
Dripping Springs Ranch Park, at 1042 Event Center Drive, does double duty on the 10th. The city's free Festival of Flight, held for World Migration Day, starts with guided bird walks from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at two spots, Charro Ranch Park at 22690 FM 150 and Ranch Park. The walks include a community bird count. The festival portion then moves to Founders Park, 419 Founders Park Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with vendors, activities and crafts.
Half an hour after the Ranch Park bird walk ends, the 14th annual Hill Country Harvest Market opens at the same address. It sells clothing, jewelry, gifts, home decor and skincare. Admission is $6, or $5 if you bring a canned good, and children 12 and under get in free. The City of Dripping Springs calendar lists the same hours.
Two more events run at the same time out on Fitzhugh Road and down in Driftwood:
| Time on Oct. 10 | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:30–9:30 a.m. | Festival of Flight bird walks | Charro Ranch Park, 22690 FM 150; Ranch Park, 1042 Event Center Dr. | Free |
| 8 a.m. | Corks + Caps Wine/Beer Festival & 5K | 12 Fox Beer, 4700 W. Fitzhugh Rd. | $45 race registration |
| 9 a.m.–1 p.m. | Festival of Flight festival | Founders Park, 419 Founders Park Rd. | Free |
| 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Hill Country Harvest Market | Ranch Park, 1042 Event Center Dr. | $6, $5 with canned good |
| 11 a.m.–noon and noon–1 p.m. | DIY Succulent Pumpkin Workshop | Vista Brewing, 13551 RM Road 150, Driftwood | $38 |
Corks + Caps is part of Texas Wine Month. Along with the race, it offers coffee, craft beer, a vendor market and live music. 12 Fox Beer Co. is veteran-owned and will donate part of its merchandise sales to Fireside Chat Support Network, a nonprofit that supports veterans, active-duty service members, first responders and their families. The pumpkin workshop at Vista Brewing is run by Rooted Treasures Succulents. You leave with a centerpiece made from a pumpkin, succulents and moss.
The start times are staggered, so you can do more than one. Three sample routes:
- The birder's morning. Start with the 7:30 a.m. walk at Ranch Park. You're already parked when the Harvest Market opens at 10, and Founders Park stays open until 1 p.m.
- The runner's morning. Run the 8 a.m. Corks + Caps 5K at 12 Fox and stay for the vendors. In the afternoon, head to Ranch Park, where the market runs until 5.
- The Driftwood loop. Book the 11 a.m. or noon pumpkin workshop at Vista Brewing, then stay for the brewery's ongoing fall festival, covered below.
The Harvest Market also runs Sunday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If Saturday gets too full, you can shop it Sunday instead.
Saturday, Oct. 17, splits between Mercer Street and Brownson Lane
On Oct. 10, most events cluster near Ranch Park. On Oct. 17, the day has two centers about a town's width apart.
The 12th annual Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival takes over historic downtown around Mercer Street and Old Fitzhugh Road from Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 18. Destination Dripping Springs lists seven stages and 70 shows, all free downtown. Songwriters perform "in the round," a Nashville-style song swap in small listening-room venues. The festival site says 40-plus songwriters will perform, and Community Impact's roundup says more than 35. Either way, there's more music than one person can catch in a weekend.
Festival hours:
- Friday, Oct. 16: 1:30 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: noon to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the main festival page, but the festival's own event listing says Sunday starts at 1 p.m.
If you're planning a Sunday-morning set, check the schedule closer to the date.
A full 2026 stage-by-stage lineup wasn't posted on the official pages when we checked. Hudson's on Mercer Street is advertising free songwriter-festival music on Saturday, Oct. 17. The festival FAQ says the Saturday-night Headliners concert is the only show that charges admission. It doesn't name the performers, venue or start time yet. On parking, the FAQ says there are lots at several spots around town. Golf Cars of Austin carts will circulate to give lifts to anyone who needs one and to people heading to the stages on Old Fitzhugh Road.
On the same Saturday, Briggs Distilling Co. holds its grand opening at 121 Brownson Lane in Driftwood. LocalEats reports the family-owned project has been in the works at that address for more than a year. The opening day will have live music and a food truck. The distillery describes a 9,000-square-foot building on family land, whiskey made with Texas Hill Country rainwater, weekend live music, a dedicated kids area and an on-site food truck.
The festival's Saturday hours run noon to 8 p.m. The grand opening and the festival overlap all day, so you'll need to pick which part of town to start in. One option is to spend Friday afternoon downtown for the songs, when the festival opens at 1:30 p.m., and then drive to Driftwood on Saturday. That way you can catch both the festival and the distillery's first day.
If you're looking for something Friday evening closer to the Nutty Brown corridor, Pickleball Pit Stop at 12915 Nutty Brown Road is hosting a community Oktoberfest on Oct. 16. It has indoor pickleball from 5 to 9 p.m., live music from 6 to 8 p.m., and two-hour court sessions for $5.
The rest of the month runs on places that opened or reopened this year
The weekdays and weekends in between are quieter. They're also when you can try the spots that are new to this year's Dripping Springs.
Vista Brewing's Driftwood Fall Festival runs Oct. 1 through Nov. 1 at 13551 Ranch to Market Road 150, with a family-friendly pumpkin patch and activities. It's the one fall event here that lasts all month.
Oakwood Public Market, at 2500 Beverly Drive, closed on July 3, less than a year after it opened. Sarah and Dallas Miller then took it over on a 10-year lease and kept the name and core concept. Community Impact reported that it reopened in September with its existing concepts plus a new arcade. If you haven't been back since summer, the arcade is new.
Beerburg Beer Garden opened May 28 at 13476 Fitzhugh Road, with outdoor space and weekend hours of 2 to 8 p.m. It's also on Fitzhugh Road, like 12 Fox, so Corks + Caps runners have an afternoon stop close by.
Ziggi's Cafe, a Greek spot serving baked goods, pitas, pies and drinks, opened in August at 28485 RR 12.
What's announced but not open yet
You'll see a few names in local roundups that aren't open this October. As of late September:
- Goodnight Loving Vodka took over the former Deep Eddy tasting-room facility at 2250 E. US Hwy. 290 on Aug. 1. Its public tasting room is expected in fall 2026, with no opening date set. The company's news page says to watch for updates on the opening date and hours.
- Tacodeli has signed a lease at Hwy. 290 and Canyonwood Drive. Its opening date is still to be determined.
- The Forager, a botanical tea-and-wine shop planned next to Howdy Neighbor on RR 12, was expected in September and hadn't opened as of Sept. 24.
If Goodnight Loving opens before Vista's fall festival ends on Nov. 1, the area will have two new spirits tasting rooms on US 290 and Brownson Lane in the same season. For now, the Briggs grand opening on Oct. 17 is the only one on the calendar.
Planning your October around the Harvest Market, a festival set on Mercer Street, or a first pour in Driftwood? We follow these openings and dates all year because they shape what living here feels like week to week. If anyone in your circle is weighing a move to Dripping Springs or Driftwood, Austin Home Girls Realty can show them this side of the area, starting with a Saturday like Oct. 10. Find Your Austin Home.
