Happy Wednesday, Round Rock! 👋 Starting tomorrow, downtown becomes a four-day art festival: the Round Rock Summer Arts Fest takes over Main Street Thursday through Sunday with around 100 artists, 30 live performances, glass-blowing, and a beer garden — and it collides perfectly with Texas Tax-Free Weekend.
Plus: back-to-school freebies for students and teachers, a Hill Country glamping getaway we're spotlighting (keep an eye on our Instagram this week 👀), new ACC training facilities, a Tex-Mex cantina opening today — and the Wild West shootout that put Round Rock on the map. Let's dig in.
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🎨 Art Downtown, Tax-Free Everywhere
The biggest downtown weekend of the summer starts tomorrow — and your back-to-school shopping list just got cheaper. Here's the plan:
Round Rock Summer Arts Fest · Thu–Sun, Aug 6–9 · Downtown — Main St, the Paseo, Prete Plaza & City Arts Center
Four days of free art: a street dance kicks things off Thursday at 8pm, then the fest runs Friday noon–9pm, Saturday 9am–9pm, and Sunday 9am–3pm. Around 100 artists, 30 bands and dance performances, glass-blowing demos, a STEAM makers zone, a beer garden — and Chihuly works still on exhibit at the City Arts Center. Free entry and free garage parking.
Texas Tax-Free Weekend · Fri–Sun, Aug 7–9 · Everywhere you shop
Clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies under $100/item are sales-tax-free statewide — and with RRISD's first day landing Wednesday, Aug 19, this is the weekend to knock out the school list. Pro move: shop Round Rock's local stores downtown and hit the Arts Fest between stops.
🌲 Getaway Spotlight: Udoscape Eco-Glamping Resort
Sometimes the best Round Rock weekend starts by leaving town. Udoscape is a luxury glamping resort tucked into the Hill Country at Lago Vista — about 40 minutes from Round Rock, which makes it dangerously easy for a spontaneous night away. Eleven furnished pods climb the hillside (some perched 14 to 21 feet in the air), and every one comes with its own private hot tub, kitchenette, en-suite bathroom, AC, and a hammock waiting outside.
On the grounds: a pool, fire pits, grilling areas, a massage pod, and telescopes for Hill Country stargazing. It's pet-friendly, and the top-tier Crown-Lux pod is adults-only — proposal and anniversary territory.
👀 And here's the fun part: we're teaming up with Udoscape on a giveaway this week. Head to our Instagram @doingroundrock for the details on how to enter.
📍 19508 Boggy Ford Rd, Lago Vista
See the pods →
🎒 Back-to-School Specials
First day for Round Rock ISD is Wednesday, Aug 19 — and local spots are rolling out the welcome mat for students, teachers, and staff. A running list we'll keep updating:
Round Rock Nutrition
10% off for students & teachers, all August — wellness-focused shakes, teas, and smoothies
📍 2000 N Mays St, Ste 117 · Fuel up →
Pixel Palace Arcade & Bar
Free appetizer or dessert for teachers & staff, all August — retro arcade games included
📍 2471 S AW Grimes Blvd, Ste 130 · Press start →
The Yogurt Experience
50% off for teachers & staff, all August — plus the $5 fill-up cup every Monday for everyone
📍 200 University Blvd, Ste 230 · Get the scoop →
Blue Corn Harvest
10% off for teachers & healthcare workers — plus kids eat free Mondays and Thirsty Thursday margarita deals
📍 2980 Joe DiMaggio Blvd #150 · See the deal →
🗓 Events This Week & Just Ahead
Round Rock Summer Arts Fest
🗓 Thursday–Sunday, Aug 6–9 (full plan up top)
📍 Downtown Round Rock
Street dance Thursday night, then three days of artists, live music, glass-blowing, and the beer garden. Free.
Purple Martin Parties with Travis Audubon
🗓 Friday & Saturday, Aug 7–8, 8–9pm
📍 Roost site announced at travisaudubon.org
Your last chances this season to catch one of nature's best free shows — hundreds of thousands of purple martins swirling into their roost at dusk before the flight to South America.
Trailside Market
🗓 Saturday, Aug 8, 9am–12pm
📍 Memorial Park, 600 North Lee St
The Saturday-morning standby: farmers, artisans, and local vendors along the Memorial Park Trail.
Express Homestand Returns
🗓 Tuesday, Aug 11 — homestand runs through Sunday, Aug 16
📍 Dell Diamond, 3400 E Palm Valley Blvd
Baseball is back at the Diamond after a week on the road — six games to close out the summer stretch.
Lunch & Learn: How the Tonkawa Saw (and See) Round Rock
🗓 Tuesday, Aug 11, 12–1pm
📍 Baca Center, 301 W Bagdad Ave, Bldg 2
Documentary filmmaker Bob O'Dell on the Indigenous tribe that knew this land first. Free.
Just ahead: Vintage Market Days
🗓 Friday–Saturday, Aug 14–15, 10am–4pm
📍 Kalahari Resorts, 3001 Kalahari Blvd
An upscale vintage-inspired market — art, antiques, and home decor. Tickets from $7. And that Saturday night, Kalahari's adults-only Waterpark After Dark is back, 10pm–2am.
📰 Community News & Headlines
Good things happening around town this week:
Conejo's Tex-Mex Cantina opens its doors today — the Leander favorite we first told you about in June soft-opens Wednesday, Aug 5 at 3200 Green Lawn Blvd. Go for the crispy short rib quesa-birrias, al pastor street tacos, and the Coco Loco margarita. Read more…
ACC's Round Rock campus is leveling up — two new training facilities for automotive technology and advanced manufacturing open this fall, with construction more than 90% complete. Hands-on training for some of the region's fastest-growing careers, right here in town. Read more…
Round Rock keeps its buses rolling — the city extended its transit service contract with CapMetro for two more years, keeping local routes running. Read more…
A safer crossing may be coming to Mayfield Ranch — the city is considering an all-way stop at Mayfield Ranch Boulevard and E. New Hope Drive. Read more…
🏡 Real Estate Corner
Thinking about buying, selling, or simply curious what homes are selling for around town? Our Real Estate Corner highlights notable local listings, market insights, and trends shaping the Round Rock housing market.
2903 Bryco Cv, Round Rock 78681
$748,900 · 4 bed · 3.5 bath · 3,499 sqft
A renovated stunner on one of Hidden Glen's best cul-de-sac lots. Soaring vaulted ceilings inside, a 3-car tandem garage, and a 0.27-acre backyard with room for the resort-style pool of your dreams (the listing even includes renderings to prove it). New roof, new carpet, new windows — and it feeds into top-rated RRISD schools. Open house Sunday, Aug 9, 1–3pm if you want a look in person.
See the listing →
🪨 Poll of the Week
Round Rock earned its spot in Wild West legend in 1878, when a famous outlaw met his end here after a shootout with Texas Rangers. Who was he?
That's a wrap for this week. Reply and tell us what you're hitting first at the Arts Fest — the street dance, the glass-blowing, or the beer garden? See you next Wednesday! 👋
-Doing Round Rock Team
🪨 Trivia answer: Sam Bass! The famous train robber rode into town in July 1878 planning to hit the Round Rock bank — but an informant had tipped off the Texas Rangers, who were waiting. Bass was fatally wounded in the shootout on July 19 and died two days later, on his 27th birthday. He's buried in Round Rock Cemetery, Sam Bass Road still carries his name, and the legend helped inspire Frontier Days. Read the full story →
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