Hey, Round Rock! 👋 This weekend runs on two very different soundtracks: garba and dandiya at the Sports Center on Friday and Saturday nights, and a zydeco band with Shiner and steins at Kalahari on Saturday. And St. Richard's pumpkin patch opens for it’s 29th year.
Plus: a dirty-soda shop that started as a food-truck-park trailer, the date the Palm House reopens as a museum, a single-story house on a half-acre greenbelt lot for $640K — and the night Austin chased a wagon train all the way to Brushy Creek. Let's dig in.
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💃 Garba Friday, Oktoberfest Saturday
Round Rock's second October weekend comes in three flavors: pumpkins for a good cause, a festival of circle dancing in a gym, and German beer and food with a zydeco band. (The Pumpkin Festival on Palm Valley is open again Friday through Monday, too.)
St. Richard's Pumpkin Patch · Opens Thursday, Oct 8 · St. Richard's Episcopal Church, 1420 E Palm Valley Blvd
The patch is back for its 29th year and stays open through Halloween. Hours are noon to dark Sunday through Friday and 10am to dark on Saturdays. Pumpkin sales go to the Round Rock Area Serving Center and other local causes, so the porch decorations do some good.
Navratri Festival · Friday–Saturday, Oct 9–10, 7pm · Round Rock Sports Center, 2400 Chisholm Trail Rd
The GSGA turns the Sports Center into a dance floor for garba and dandiya, the circle dances of Navratri. Check-in opens at 6:30pm, dancing starts at 7 sharp, and it goes until 11:45pm. Guest tickets are $25; kids 5 and under and seniors 65 and up get in free with ID. Dandiya sticks are provided (or bring your own), parking is free, food vendors are on site, and there are prizes for dancing and best dressed. Can't make it? The second weekend is Oct 23–24.
Oktoberfest at Amatuli · Saturday, Oct 10, 5–9pm · Amatuli Outdoor Stage & Bar, Kalahari Resorts, 3001 Kalahari Blvd
Free to get in. Jean-Pierre & the Zydeco Angels play, Shiner is for sale for the 21+ crowd, and there are brats and soft pretzels to buy. Stick around for cornhole and the beer stein holding contest, which is harder than it looks.
🔥 Food Spotlight: Fizz Fuzion
Bill Rhoades is a Texas boy. Rosie Rhoades is from Utah, where dirty sodas (fountain soda doctored with syrups, cream, and fruit) are practically a food group. On a 2019 visit, Bill had one and asked the obvious question: "Why doesn't Texas have this?!" After years of experimenting, the couple opened Fizz Fuzion as a trailer at the Sunset on the 'Rise food truck park in May 2025, then moved into a storefront on Sam Bass Road on May 30 of this year.
The menu reads like a Texas road trip. The Round Rock is root beer, butterscotch, vanilla, and cream. Come and Take It is Dr Pepper with vanilla and cherry, Willie & Waylon is Dr Pepper with vanilla and coconut, and the South Padre Massacre (pictured) mixes lemonade, blue raspberry, coconut, and strawberry. Every drink is $5.25 for 24 oz or $6 for 32 oz with up to three add-ins, and the energy drinks are $7.
There's a drive-thru if you're in a hurry, but the inside is built for hanging around, with lounge seating, TVs, a jukebox, and a welcome for pets. Thursday is trivia night, 6:30–9pm.
Open Mon–Thu 10am–9pm, Fri–Sat 10am–10pm, Sun noon–6pm.
📍 2000 Sam Bass Rd, Ste 101 · (512) 843-2349
See the menu →
💸 Happy Hour & a $5 Monday
One for the grown-ups, one for the kids:
Grey Orchard
Social Hour — Mon–Fri, 3–6pm — $6 margaritas and Moscow mules, $8 old fashioneds, $6 house wine by the glass, and $5 beers. On the food side: an $8.50 smash burger, $6 wings, $6 chips and queso, and $7 elote tater tots.
📍 2700 N I-35 · See the menu →
The Yogurt Experience
$5 Mondays — fill a cup with as much froyo as you want, plus two scoops of toppings or syrups, for $5.
📍 200 University Blvd, Ste 230 · See the details →
🗓 Events This Week & Just Ahead
A whodunit's final weekend, an adults-only night at the waterpark, a big band in a church, and the second night of Music on Main.
Clue at Penfold Theatre
🗓 Thursday–Sunday, Oct 8–11 (final weekend)
📍 Penfold Theatre, 2120 N Mays St, Ste 290
Last call for the comic whodunit; it closes Sunday. $29–$39; check showtimes on Penfold's page.
Trailside Market
🗓 Saturday, Oct 10, 9am–noon
📍 Memorial Park, 600 N Lee St
Local makers, baked goods, and specialty foods along the creek. Free. The Round Rock Farmers Market runs 10am–2pm the same morning at Rock Creek Center, 2111 N I-35.
Kalahari Waterpark After Dark
🗓 Saturday, Oct 10, 10pm–2am
📍 Kalahari Resorts, 3001 Kalahari Blvd
The indoor waterpark goes 21-and-up for the night, with a DJ, games, and a glow party in the Grotto. If you're already at Oktoberfest, you're in the right building. Prices show at checkout on Kalahari's site.
Kids Halloween Festival
🗓 Sunday, Oct 11, 1–3pm
📍 Cat Hollow Park, O'Connor Dr, Brushy Creek
Crafts, a slime monster station, and a photo booth, run by the Austin Japan Community. Admission is free; $10 activity passes are sold in advance only and capped at 120.
A Musical Feast: Nacho Average Jazz Orchestra
🗓 Sunday, Oct 11, 5pm
📍 St. Richard's Episcopal Church, 1420 E Palm Valley Blvd
A free big-band concert with a $10 suggested donation for the musicians, plus free parking. Pick out a pumpkin on your way in.
Hometown Lunchtime Parklet Show
🗓 Tuesday, Oct 13, 11:30am–1pm
📍 Main Street parklet in front of LampPost Coffee, downtown
Mike Stinson plays a free midday set. Bring your lunch.
FIESTA Round Rock Founders Meetup
🗓 Wednesday, Oct 14, 4–6pm
📍 CENTRO, 305 W Liberty Ave, 2nd floor
Local founders, pizza, and 60-second pitches at 5pm. Free to attend (paid tiers up to $15), and it's capped at 150, so RSVP.
Music on Main: Broken Arrow Band
🗓 Wednesday, Oct 14, 7–9pm
📍 Prete Main Street Plaza, 221 E Main St
Week two of the free fall series. Bring a chair or a blanket; downtown parking is free, including the City Hall garage.
Just ahead: Saturday, Oct 17, is a big one in Brushy Creek: the 32nd Hairy Man Festival runs noon–5pm at Cat Hollow Park, with a costume contest at 2pm and the Hairiest Man contest at 4:30. It's free; bring two non-perishable food items or $2. That morning, St. Richard's hosts Pumpkin Palooza, 10am–2pm, with pumpkin bowling, sack races, putt-putt, face painting, and a petting zoo. And on Sunday, Oct 18, the Round Rock Car Show parks downtown at Centennial Plaza, 9am–noon.
📰 Community News & Headlines
Good things happening around town this week:
The Palm House reopens as a museum Nov. 7 — the two-room house, built in 1873 on the Palm farm, spent 48 years downtown before moving back to the Old Settlers Association grounds at 3300 E Palm Valley Blvd in 2024. It was restored this summer, and the grand reopening is Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10am, with an open house until noon. Inside: furniture and household items from the years it was lived in. Read more…
Party Chaos is already scouting a second store — Larry Dugar and Jossie Rodriguez, both former Party City employees, opened their party shop in February at the Market at Round Rock, 110 N I-35, Ste 296. They run it more like a design studio, building custom balloon garlands, arches, and faux floral pieces for parties, weddings, and fundraisers. Eight months in, they're looking at Central Texas locations for store number two. Read more…
Arepitas is back, at a new address — the Venezuelan restaurant closed its Greenlawn Boulevard spot in November 2025 and reopened in late August at 910 Round Rock Ave. The menu has empanadas, tostones, and arepas, plus tacos, sandwiches, and burgers. Read more…
Two free library workshops for entrepreneurs, Friday Oct. 16 — the Round Rock Public Library's Biz.ability series covers market and competitor research from 9:30am to 12:30pm, then mapping data for business plans and grant applications from 1 to 2pm. Both are free and open to entrepreneurs and nonprofits; registration is online. Read more…
Music on Main's fall lineup runs 11 Wednesdays, through Dec. 23 — after Cold Heart Cash opens the season tonight, it's Broken Arrow Band (Oct. 14), Encore (Oct. 21), Rock House (Oct. 28), Lix Box (Nov. 4), Dysfunkshun Junkshun (Nov. 11), The JAMS Band ATX (Nov. 18), MicroBus (Dec. 2), Fusion Band ATX (Dec. 9), Agent Echo Band (Dec. 16), and The Clutch Kings (Dec. 23). Every show is free, 7–9pm at Prete Plaza. 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.
809 Lorraine Cv, Round Rock 78665
$640,000 · 3 bed · 2.5 bath · 2,616 sqft
Half an acre is rare for a house built in 2018, and this one backs up to a greenbelt full of mature trees, with an oversized covered porch to watch it from. It's all on one story: a foyer with coffered ceilings, wood floors, a stone fireplace in the living room, a dedicated office, and a second living area. The kitchen has granite counters, white shaker cabinets, an oversized island, and a 5-burner cooktop. The practical extras are good too: a 3-car garage, masonry on all four sides, upgraded R42 insulation, an irrigated yard, and a water softener. HOA dues are $58 a month. Assigned schools are Blackland Prairie Leadership Academy, Ridgeview Middle, and Cedar Ridge High.
Market note: Redfin's own estimate for the house is $644,139, a hair above the asking price.
See the listing →
🪨 Poll of the Week
In December 1842, Austin residents chased down wagons carrying the Republic of Texas archives and caught them at Kenney's Fort on Brushy Creek. What did they bring along to get the papers back?
That's a wrap for this week. If you dance at Navratri or survive the stein contest at Oktoberfest, hit reply and tell us how it went (photos very welcome). And if you already have a go-to Fizz Fuzion order, we want to know what it is. See you next week! 👋
-Doing Round Rock Team
🪨 Trivia answer: A cannon! In 1842, President Sam Houston decided Austin was too exposed to attack and ordered the Republic of Texas archives moved out. Austinites refused, sure their town would never be the capital again if the records left. On Dec. 30, 1842, Houston's men loaded the papers onto three wagons and headed north, spending the night inside the stockade at Kenney's Fort on Brushy Creek, in what's now Round Rock. Some 20 or 30 angry Austin residents followed, dragging their cannon behind them. The next morning, Dec. 31, they demanded the records back at cannon-point, and the outgunned guard handed them over without a fight. That ended the Archives War, and Austin kept the archives. Read more →
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