Austin Museum Day Has a Free Bus Code Nobody's Using Yet — Your Full Weekend Guide, Sept. 18–20

Austin Museum Day is free at 30-plus museums this Sunday, and CapMetro is handing out free bus passes to get there — code CM-26KB-HRWF in the Umo app. According to ATX Things analysis, pair that with Live Oak Brewing's Oaktoberfest in Del Valle on Saturday and the Round Rock Express' actual last home game of the season on Sunday, and this is the fullest, cheapest weekend Austin has had in a month.

What's the free CapMetro code for Austin Museum Day?

Austin Museum Day — the 29th annual — lands Sunday, Sept. 20, and this year CapMetro is covering the ride. Download the Umo app (iOS or Android), create an account, tap the hamburger menu, select "Redeem Code," and enter CM-26KB-HRWF for a free day pass, confirmed directly on austinmuseums.org's own event page as of this week. It's not a discount code buried in fine print — it's the whole bus fare, gone, for a day built around hopping between institutions that are miles apart.

More than 30 sites are participating, from the Blanton Museum of Art (10 a.m.–4:30 p.m., free galleries, bring a picnic for the UT lawn) to the Bullock Texas State History Museum and the Austin History Center (noon–5 p.m., marking a century of the Austin Public Library with craft activities and free street parking downtown on Sundays). Hours vary by site — the museums set their own windows, not a single citywide schedule — so check the specific institution before you drive across town.

If you only hit one stop, make it Brush Square: the O. Henry House and the Susanna Dickinson Home sit on the same small downtown block, both air-conditioned, both usually overlooked. This ATX Things guide to Brush Square has the year-round hours if Sunday doesn't work for your schedule.

Where's the Oaktoberfest that isn't downtown?

Live Oak Brewing's 29th Annual Oaktoberfest runs Saturday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the brewery's own taproom in Del Valle — southeast of the airport, a part of the map this desk doesn't cover nearly enough. Free entry. The Austin Polka Band plays the biergarten most of the day, there's a stein-hoisting competition you can sign up for on-site, a bounce house for kids, and an Austin Flea vendor market (locally made goods only — no imports, per the organizers).

Four food trucks are confirmed: The Black Forest (German comfort food), Texas Drip BBQ, Lemon Bars by Jackie, and Zesty Mama for lemonade. There's also an on-site tattoo artist doing Oaktoberfest-themed designs, if you want to commit harder than a stein.

When is the Round Rock Express' actual last game of the season?

Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:05 p.m., against the Tacoma Rainiers at Dell Diamond — confirmed directly against MLB Advanced Media's own live schedule feed for the Express. This is the real finale, not the mid-September home-game gap this desk flagged two weeks ago. The team plays its full remaining slate this week (Thursday through Saturday night games, then the Sunday day game) before the 2026 minor-league season closes at Dell Diamond for good.

A 1:05 p.m. first pitch means the worst of the day's heat hasn't set in yet, and Dell Diamond's covered seating sections stay shaded through most of an early-afternoon game. Single-game tickets typically run $8–$15 on the secondary market for a Sunday finale.

Is a farmers market a real heat-dodging move this weekend?

Yes, and it's the easiest of the four. SFC's two Saturday markets — Republic Square downtown and Toney Burger Center in Sunset Valley — run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, every week. Both wrap before the afternoon heat, both take SNAP and WIC (doubled up to $30 a week through Double Up Food Bucks Texas), and the downtown location has a genuinely useful trick: scan the QR code inside the State of Texas Garage N (300 San Antonio St.), register your plate without paying, then get a free parking code from the yellow SFC info booth at the market. Forty vendors downtown, 35 in Sunset Valley, real Central Texas farms and producers at both.

If you'd rather stay north, Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller runs Sundays, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. — this desk covered its new shaded pavilion last month, and it's still the better bet if the splash pad matters to your crew.

What locals should know

How to plan the weekend

1. Saturday morning: SFC Farmers' Market (Republic Square or Sunset Valley), done by 1 p.m.
2. Saturday afternoon/evening: Live Oak Brewing's Oaktoberfest in Del Valle, 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
3. Sunday: Austin Museum Day, hours vary by site — redeem the free CapMetro code first thing.
4. Sunday afternoon: Round Rock Express' season finale, 1:05 p.m. first pitch, Dell Diamond.

Round out the trip with this desk's round-up of Austin's things-to-do hub if you want more options once these four are checked off, or browse neighborhood guides for what's walkable near whichever stop you pick.

FAQ

What is Austin Museum Day? An annual free-admission day (this is the 29th) at 30-plus museums and cultural sites across the Austin area, from downtown institutions to sites in Bastrop, Georgetown, and Marble Falls. Each participating site sets its own hours and programming for the day.

How do I redeem the free CapMetro bus pass for Austin Museum Day? Download the Umo app, create an account, tap the menu icon, select "Redeem Code," and enter CM-26KB-HRWF for a free day pass. Confirmed on austinmuseums.org's official event page.

Is Live Oak Brewing's Oaktoberfest free to attend? Entry is free; food, drinks, and Austin Flea vendor items are à la carte. It runs 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the brewery's Del Valle taproom.

When does the Round Rock Express season end? Sunday, Sept. 20, with a 1:05 p.m. game against the Tacoma Rainiers at Dell Diamond — the team's last home date of the 2026 season.

Are SFC Farmers' Markets open every Saturday? Yes — Republic Square downtown and Toney Burger Center in Sunset Valley both run 9 a.m.–1 p.m. every Saturday, rain or shine.