Austin This Weekend Without ACL: A $20 Oktoberfest, a $25 Ballet and Pumpkin Nights

Not going to ACL Fest Weekend Two? Austin, Texas still has three things this weekend that cost $20 to $38 a head and are open to anyone who shows up: Austin Oktoberfest at the German Free School on Saturday ($20, kids free), Ballet Austin's 45-minute family ballet (all tickets $25, Saturday and Sunday), and Pumpkin Nights at Pioneer Farms (nightly, weekend adult tickets $34 to $38). The forecast is the same for all of it: sunny, low 90s, no rain.

Illustration: AI-generated scene, not a photo of the event.

What is the weather doing all weekend?

Dry and hot. The National Weather Service forecast for Austin, pulled Thursday morning, has highs of 92 on Friday, 90 on Saturday and 91 on Sunday, with a 0 to 1 percent chance of rain each day and overnight lows near 68 to 69. Nothing here needs a rain plan. Two of the three plans are outdoors and one is in a theater, so the heat question is mostly about the garden and the farm trail.

Where is Austin's longest-running Oktoberfest, and what does it cost?

Austin Oktoberfest is Saturday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the German Free School, 507 E. 10th St., 78701. The German-Texan Heritage Society, which runs it, lists admission at $20 a person and says kids are free. Its own page says "12 and under" in one spot and "under 12" in another, so if you are bringing a 12-year-old, ask at the gate or the society before you count on it.

The society bills it as the longest-running and most traditional Oktoberfest in town and quotes the Austin Chronicle to that effect. We have not been; that is the organizers' claim.

What the society and its Eventbrite page list:

• Music, all day: Bushy Creek Band from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Walburg Boys from 1 to 5 p.m., Yodel Blitz from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Beer: Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and, per the Eventbrite page, Hofbräu München. Wine from William Chris Vineyards.
• Food: German dishes from IM Catering.
• The building: the 1857 German Free School, which the society calls the birthplace of public education in Texas.

Is there a $25 thing to do with kids on Saturday afternoon?

Ballet Austin's The Seventh Night Sky, performed by Ballet Austin TWO, is 45 minutes with no intermission, built for kids and families, and every ticket is $25 according to Ballet Austin. Weekend shows are Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11, each day at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. It runs again Oct. 17 and 18.

It is a wordless story based on a Vietnamese legend about two stars, Altair and Vega, who cross the Milky Way on a bridge of birds once a year. Ballet Austin's own page pitches it as a good first ballet and as part of its Fables of the World series for families. We have not seen it.

Practical details from Ballet Austin's page:

• It is at the AustinVentures Studio Theater. Google Maps lists Ballet Austin's Butler Center at 501 W. Third St., 78701.
• Parking is described as free, with the location and details emailed to ticket holders 48 hours before the show.
• Tickets can be exchanged free of charge, and the production is not eligible for subscriber discounts.

Illustration: AI-generated scene, not a photo of the production.

What should you know before Pumpkin Nights at Pioneer Farms?

Pumpkin Nights is a walk-through of glowing carved pumpkins on a half-mile path through nine themed "lands" at Pioneer Farms, 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr., 78754. Through Oct. 31 it is open from 6 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 6 to 9:30 p.m. on weekends, with entry in 30-minute time slots. It is open tonight, Thursday, per its site.

What the event's own site says about money and logistics:

(Source: pumpkinnights.com/austin, read Oct. 8, 2026. The page does not say whether Friday counts as a weekend night, so check your date at checkout.)

The path is grass, dirt, gravel and sand with some inclines. The event says light strollers are fine and wheelchairs "have proven difficult." Wear shoes that can take mud, and bring bug spray. On busy nights the site warns of up to 30 minutes in the parking line, so build in the buffer.

Illustration: AI-generated scene, not a photo of Pioneer Farms.

How could you stack two of them into one day?

Saturday: Oktoberfest at 11, ballet at 2, and you are still inside the festival's hours if you go back. Sunday: ballet at 2 or 4:30, then Pumpkin Nights from 6. The ballet matinees end around 2:45 and 5:15 if the 45-minute running time holds; that is our arithmetic, not a posted end time.

Austin Zoo's Boo at the Zoo is a fourth family option we wrote up on Oct. 2, and AustOberfest at Scholz Garten ran last weekend. More on our things to do in Austin page.

What locals should know

• Weather: highs near 90 all three days, no rain in the forecast (National Weather Service, Oct. 8).
• Cheapest of the three: Oktoberfest at $20 for adults; ballet is $25 for everyone, per the organizers. Pumpkin Nights is the priciest and rises as nights sell out.
• Not verified: ticket fees at checkout for Oktoberfest and Ballet Austin, and how full any of the three is. Google Maps lists all three venues as open businesses; we had no driving-time data for this piece.

FAQ

Is Austin Oktoberfest the same as AustOberfest? No. AustOberfest was at Scholz Garten last weekend. Austin Oktoberfest is run by the German-Texan Heritage Society at the German Free School on Saturday, Oct. 10.

How long is Ballet Austin's The Seventh Night Sky? Forty-five minutes with no intermission, for all ages, per Ballet Austin. Shows are Oct. 10 and 11 at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m., and again Oct. 17 and 18.

Does Pumpkin Nights stay open in the rain? The site says it stays open through minor rain, and that lightning or heavy rain can force a closure, in which case tickets move to a new date by email. Rain is not in this weekend's forecast.

Is any of this affected by ACL Fest traffic? We did not find traffic guidance for these venues. Zilker Park is across town from all three; check the festival's own getting-there page if your route passes it.