MexAmeriCon Austin on Halloween Saturday: Free Comic Con Until 5, Capes at Noon

MexAmeriCon, Central Texas's Mexican American and Latinx comic con, is today, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St. in downtown Austin. Admission is free, all ages, and the festival's own site lists free event parking while spaces last. According to ATX Things, which read the festival's site and the City of Austin's event pages this morning, the best time to be there with kids is noon, when a free superhero-cape session starts inside the building.

The forecast helps: the National Weather Service has Austin at about 80 degrees today with an 8 percent chance of rain, and 63 tonight. Costumes will not need a raincoat.

AI illustration, not a photograph of the event.

What is MexAmeriCon, and what is happening today?

This is the ninth MexAmeriCon, a Halloween edition, and back at the newly renovated cultural center, which the festival's website calls "our return home." LUPE Arte, a nonprofit arts-education organization, sponsors it, and the City of Austin's Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment department is a partner.

What the festival's site and the city's listing say is on the schedule:

• Artist Alley: more than 40 artists selling original art, comics and zines, per the festival's site.
• Costume contest: a trophy and prize for best dressed of the day. The pages list no contest time.
• Free Lotería with prizes, plus a trivia game show; the city's page says it is hosted by the My Primos Podcast.
• Live music: DJ Zetroc and Andrea Daniela y su Mariachi Alternativo.
• Kids Corner: make your own comic, arts and crafts, yard games, balloon twisting and face painting.
• Panels and interviews in the auditorium, an artisan market, food vendors, and free Halloween candy while supplies last.

Payment for art and food is up to each vendor, and the festival's own advice is to bring some. Neither page says which vendors take cards.

What is the noon superhero session, and what does it cost?

Inside the building, the center's education department runs a Sábados en Familia program at the start of the festival: "Latine Superheroes Throughout History," noon to 2 p.m. According to the city's event page, Blue Beetle and Friends make a special appearance, and the session is built around two author readings and a cape-making activity.

The page posts this schedule:

The page's header lists the time as "12:00 AM–2:00 PM," which is an obvious typo, and the last cape block runs to 2:15, so the "2 p.m." end is approximate. The page lists no price and no sign-up for this session. It does say the MexAmeriCon festival it opens, "is also free and open to all ages." If you need a firm answer on capacity, the contact on the listing is 512-974-3772.

AI illustration.

Is there a trick-or-treat option before the festival?

Yes, and it is earlier than the festival. The center's "Caminata con Dulces" runs 10 a.m. to noon, a trick-or-treat stroll on the trail around the building with candy stations from local organizations and stops for the area's public art and history. The listing points to an Eventbrite RSVP. We did not open the RSVP page, so we cannot say whether spots remain or what, if anything, it costs. If you want it, check before you drive down.

Put the three together and a family can walk the trail from 10, drift into the festival at 11 and be in the cape session at noon.

Where do you park, and how else can you get there?

The festival's "Know Before You Go" page lays out four options:

1. Free event parking on site, while spaces last. Follow the event signs and staff.
2. Paid parking at metered spaces around Rainey Street and nearby lots, including the 70 Rainey garage.
3. Free street parking may be available near Sanchez Elementary. The festival says to read every posted sign before you leave a car.
4. Not driving: CapMetro, a rideshare drop-off near the main entrance, or the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, with bike racks at the center.

We did not run a drive time. Our map service key was not available for this edition, so we have no verified travel times from other neighborhoods, and downtown on a Saturday with a festival is not a place to guess.

What else is the center doing this weekend?

On Sunday, Nov. 1, the center holds its 19th annual Día de los Muertos celebration from 1 to 6 p.m. The city describes it as family-friendly and alcohol-free, with altars, art installations and activities. The listing does not state an admission price, so confirm before you go. We covered the other Sunday options, including the free Moody Amphitheater celebration and Mexic-Arte's free Sunday, in a separate guide, and the center's own Viva México night was in September.

The center is also an Election Day voting site on Tuesday, Nov. 3, per a banner on the city's page, so it is a building worth knowing before then.

If your Saturday is already full of Halloween, the city's rec-center carnivals ran Oct. 29–31, and Sunday is also the free-entry Texas State Parks Day. One more Sunday note: clocks go back an hour at 2 a.m., so you get it back.

What locals should know

• Hours at a glance. Trail trick-or-treat 10–noon; festival 11–5; cape session noon to about 2:15; all at 600 River St.
• Everything the city and festival list is free. Art, food and anything bought from a vendor is not.
• Dress up. The festival gives a trophy and prize to the best-dressed attendee, and the candy is free while supplies last.
• We have not been. This guide is built from the festival's own site and the city's event pages as of the morning of Oct. 31. Details can change on the day, and the festival says to follow its social pages for updates.

FAQ

Is MexAmeriCon free? Yes. The festival's site lists free admission and all ages welcome. Food, art and merchandise are sold by vendors.

What time is MexAmeriCon today? 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St.

Is there free parking? The festival says free event parking is available while spaces last, with metered and garage parking nearby if the lot fills.

When is the superhero cape session? Noon to about 2:15 p.m. inside the center, with Blue Beetle and Friends and two author readings, per the city's event page.

Is there trick-or-treating? The center's trail trick-or-treat runs 10 a.m. to noon with an Eventbrite RSVP, and the festival has free Halloween candy while supplies last.