The fall season brings what many consider the best weather of the year on Galveston Island, and many outdoor events and festivals come as an added perk.
From September to November, the island’s calendar will be filled with festivals and events that are sure to entertain!
pictured: Lone Star Rally
Date(s): Oct 14, 2023
We invite all poker-playing, pub-crawling enthusiasts to come and explore Downtown Galveston. Follow your game maps to designated stops throughout the historic districts to collect your poker chips. Once you have collected all of your poker chips from the participating businesses, return to Murphy's Pub to draw a 7 Card Stud poker hand for your chance to win the Grand Prize of a $1,500 Marchi Travel Voucher!! Additional prizes include shopping, dinners & drinks on the town.
Date(s): Oct 14-15, 2023
Two full days of Opa! and YaSou!, the event features authentic food prepared on-site, Greek wines, Greek beer, a live band, dancing, children's activities (including a petting zoo), gifts, and tours of the Church.
Souvenirs and merchandise from Greece are hand-selected for the Galveston Greek Festival. Icons, jewelry, Greek Christmas ornaments, paintings, dolls from Greece, Stefana (wedding crowns in boxes) and much more make for unique gift-giving. Grocery items like olive oil, olives, pasta, and other imported canned goods will be available too. Since supplies are limited, don’t hesitate to make your purchase right away!
Date(s): Oct 27-28, 2023
It's not October without an Oktoberfest! Island Oktoberfest will “oompah” back in Galveston, celebrating German heritage with a full weekend of food, and drinks – expect to see a lot of beer steins -- live performances, games and special activities. The festival will take place at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Galveston and will feature an expanded entertainment lineup. Admission to Oktoberfest is free and attendees are encouraged to dress in traditional German costumes.
Date(s): Oct 21-22, 2023
Art lovers can be sated too when they attend ARToberFEST. This juried fine art festival features various artists, food, and live music on Postoffice Street amid Galveston’s Victorian architecture, art galleries, and shops.
If you can’t make it to the island to participate, you can enjoy the festival virtually too. ARToberFEST is presented by The Grand 1894 Opera House and proceeds from the festival benefit its education and community outreach programs.
Date: Oct 26, 2023
The Harvest Moon Regatta is an annual sailboat race offshore from Galveston, Texas to Port Aransas, Texas. Set up some chairs along the Seawall to see dozens of sailboats race along our coastline
Date(s): Nov 2-5, 2023
With juried bike shows, truck, jeep & classic car shows and free concerts on two stages, this year’s Lone Star Rally will be jam-packed with entertainment for all ages, day and night, all weekend long.
This year’s rally will once again present more than 40 free musical performances in genres from classic rock and adult contemporary to rockin’ country on two sound stages – the main stage at Saengerfest Park downtown, and a second at Beach Central Park in front of the Hotel Galvez. Houston area day-trippers are encouraged to come out and enjoy all the free, non-stop entertainment.
Date(s): Sept 22-23, 2023
The Galveston Island Wild Texas Shrimp Festival kicks off the fun, festival season. Held downtown at Saengerfest Park, the event is a seafood lover’s paradise. Yaga’s Entertainment Inc. puts on this festival that will bring foodies a little taste of heaven.
Featuring some of the best shrimp gumbo the Gulf Coast has to offer, the fall festival also features a seafood cook-off, gumbo tasting, L’il Shrimps Parade, live music, a children’s area and a Strand merchant walkabout.
The season for thrills and chills is here and Galveston Island’s ghostly history makes it one of the top destinations in the country for “haunted” travel. From an over a century-old “haunted” hotel to Galveston’s storied harbor, cemeteries and Victorian mansions, this October the island will be bustling with visitors seeking to be spooked by numerous ghost stories that stem from the country’s deadliest natural disaster and other tragedies.
Where the Texas Coast begins.
Author
Visit Galveston
Visit Galveston is the official destination marketing organization for Galveston Island, Texas.
