Pecan Street Festival

Fun Street Festival. «Kid-​Friendly» if you steer them away from the craziness and from the Tears of Joy shop (Children are definitely not welcomed here.)
Lots to do and crazy busy, but not unbearable. We went on Sunday around 2pm and it took us about 20 minutes to find parking ($ 5), perhaps because it was our first time.
Thinking of taking the metro next time.
Once there, there was lots to see and do and were even pleasantly surprised by the music.
and as a FYI
it is not a PECAN street festival, it’s a pecan STREET festival.
We hoped to find some delicious pecan pie to no avail.
There were wine popsicles though ;)

Terrific festival for the variety. By variety I mean craft booths, people watching, and overall good time.
I’d suggest a couple of laps. We typically buy a few beers, a few $ 50 – 100 items, and hit a couple of bars.
Other than people watching, the best part of this is spending a few minutes sipping a beverage at a Sixth Street bar. On any other day, I would stick out. But during the festival you can visit during the day, be middle aged, and still fit in.

Pecan Street Festival is great! I have pretty much gone at least once every year for the past 10 years. I like that they have it in both the spring and the fall which gives me two opportunities to go. It is fun to see all the different vendors and I have found gifts for myself and others each time I go. Parking is a pain and usually not free (at least not any close I have ever found) and there never seem to be enough restrooms and the ones they have are port a pots and not always that clean. So prep for that. Also food and drinks are expensive so plan accordingly! Doggies are welcome so bring your well behaved furry friend!

So many stupid people, so few bullets.
Sure, there’s plenty of arts, crafts and food to buy, but there’s always a huge horde of people to dodge because they’re too brainless to not walk straight into you. I eventually put out my elbows and tensed myself to knock around the idiots. Hopefully I knocked some sense into them, too, but I doubt it.
But I can’t blame the festival for people who flunked an IQ test, so it gets four stars for convincing me to spend money on stuff I don’t need and day-​drink.
There’s a ton of stuff to see, browse, and munch on, but I was more interested in stuff to drink after literally running into so many imbeciles. Walking-​around beer is almost as awesome as shower beer, although more expensive.
The best thing is the idiot watching. You don’t have to look very far. There’s a cornucopia of stupid people doing stupid stuff, at any given moment, at any crowded event. Or even any uncrowded event.
For instance, I’ve only been here for three hours, and I’ve already seen three stupid people trip over other stupid people; a cigarette «accidentally» (who knows, who cares) put out on a stupid stranger’s neck; and a dog shit on a stupid guy’s foot.
But that’s really no different than any late night on 6^th Street. However, it is more fun because it’s during the day so you can take pictures more easily.
If anybody cares, I bought a pumpkin spice-​scented soy candle. I hate soy; it acts like estrogen in your body, and I already have enough estrogen. But I figure there’s no harm in simply smelling it. God help me if I decide to eat it. Because pumpkin spice.

this was an excellent time! street was shut down and you could legally drink while walking the streets! (or so we were told) lol passed a few cops but they never said anything so yea! lots of vendors and drink stands. only downfall was it was tough to locate the randomly placed porta pottys. shoulda been more! hope to find more things like this in texas!

Bring your kids, everyone does. They love it, the people watching, the music, the aweful food that is too expensive.
Great booths, weird little things you didn’t know about. Can I get a leather holder or a this or that. Umm, yes you can. Beer, served by girls with their butt cheeks hanging out, that too. Cool and eclectic, vendors from all over. I talked to one from NOLA, one from NY and one from Pecos, TX. Perfect, I’ll take it. Hippie, yes… oh wait is that word still used anymore?
Seriously, a good time can be found here unless you are without a soul.
Park a few block north of of 35 and walk it, believe me, worth the effort.

You know, I like this festival. Sure everything is marked up around 30%. But you can find some neat stuff. $ 5 to park in a near by garage (that’s a bargain to me) walk up and down 6^th street a few times. I specifically like the metal sculptures. You can find candles here too and a lot of local stuff. Sure it’s not all local, but what is? And yes, you’ve got the usual idiots wanting you to sign up for a free cruise, etc. I have went for two years and will likely attend the next.

We love goin to the Pecan St Festival, but you food vendors need to get a grip on yourselves specificaly the Turkey Leg and curly potato vendor, i paid $ 17 for a turkey leg that was the size of a large chicken leg and my curly potato was not crispy at all, it was drenched in grease. So so so disappointed because thats the reason we usualy go there, we already know all the arts and crafts stuff. Next time we’ll try the gyros instead they were alot cheaper. Oh yeah and $ 5 for a cup of lemonade! Come on now!!!

Need an exotic geode necklace? A dream catcher? A hippy dress? Gator meat on a stick? All can be found at the Pecan Street Festival!
Bring your dog and your flask and spend the day in the sun perusing little craft booths. The festival happens twice a year and it’s always a great time, although potentially pricey.
My advice is set a budget for nick-​nacks and food before you head out. After a couple drinks (yes, the street is open container) you will not be able to resist the strange paintings and screen printed shirts and might end up spending more than you wanted too. Also, bring a reusable grocery bag to carry all your loot. A lot of the vendors don’t have bags.
Once you’re done shopping, grab a fried shrimp platter and check out the music. They’ve got Tejano bands that will get you dancing as well as soothing pan flute tunes.

Always a good time every year in May. A perfect place to go if you are looking for a Mother’s Day gift. Park at the Austin Convention Center garage — super close and cheap parking. Go to Wild Bills old fashion soda pop. Fantastic and pure sugar deliciousness. $ 15 for a mug but unlimited refills. This year it seemed a little smaller than last, but it’s a great place to check out with the whole family. Another place to see is the sheet metal design craft store.

I enjoying going to the Old Pecan Street festival once a year. Here’s why:
1. Inexpensive locally made soy candles! So much cheaper than in the stores.
2. I like browsing the jewelry artists, particularly the ones doing interesting silver design work. On my recent visit (Oct. ’14) I fell in love with the lovely filigree work by Olmox and the gorgeous drop earrings created at MEO silver.
3. There’s always *that something* I come across… that I never knew existed or that I needed it, until I spied it at the festival!
4. Because it’s located on 6^th street there are a number of great places to duck in for meal or a refreshing beverage. This year we had a fantastic pre-​festival lunch at Due Forni, then had a refreshing snow cone at Jim-Jim’s and ended with a cocktail at the just– reopened The Gatsby.
5. Kettle Corn!

Beerrrrrrr, Beerrrrrrrrrr, Beerrrrrrrrrrr now throw in a trilled R the Indian merchants selling it from ice filled containers use. That’s how we start our tour of Old Pecan Street each and every time.
The weather was great and there were several new vendors peddling their wares. Smells, sights, sounds and so many cool things to experience in a one of a kind celebration of Austin.
What a GREAT time we had.

Support local Artisans! Good gifting ideas! Not 100 degrees. Turkey legs, if you’re so inclined. That’s All. =D

There are always going to be Bitter Bettys out there that complain about Austin changing, and things not being as cool as they once were, but ya know what? Change is inevitable and not necessarily always a bad thing (ok, sometimes it is).
This was my first time attending OPSF so I had no exceptions. I thought it was great fun! $ 3 beers from the convenience store, strolling the booths that were full of handmade local items that I certainly would define as forms of art: handmade from recycled glass candle covers; unique oil paints on canvas; handcrafted jewelry; distinctive pieces made out of old license plates; hand-​painted decorative wooden blocks, etc. There were a couple of «commercial» booths (e.g., cutlery and pre-​packaged jerky); however, that was more the exception than the rule.
Two stages at either end rocking some local bands. The obligatory «festival» food stands: cotton candy, kettle corn, hot dogs, and a $ 9 turkey leg that was so juicy it dripped down my arm with every bite. (What in the heck happened to my around the neck beer koozie holder? — I need an extra hand!)
Free event, parking was actually a breeze (shocker!!!), the weather was perfect (not to hot or cold), and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time (a few a little too much perhaps. stumble). I can think of way worse ways to spend a weekend afternoon! Dear Old Pecan Street, I’ll see you again in the fall.
[Held twice a year — spring and fall]

I always enjoy browsing the Pecan Street Festival and have come on and off for years. There are tons of booths full of arts, crafts, tasty food and snacks, and various kitschy and cool items, many of which are handmade. There are usually a couple bands set up on stages, as well as some tasty carnival type fare including but not limited to funnel cakes, blooming onions, fried gator on a stick, grilled pork kabobs, and huge turkey legs.
We picked up a cool print of a painting this year and some awesome scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce (Scorpion Gourmet hot sauce) and you can always find something unique to take home. It takes about an hour or two to walk through, depending on how many places you stop and what you want to look at, and there are plenty of places to eat on or around 6^th street not associated with the festival as well. Usually there are vendors handing out free samples of stuff as well.
Great for folks with kids or dogs as well. A must for any Austinite!

Boooo! This «festival» has been circling the drain for years, but I checked it out one last time today and was not pleasantly surprised. Down the drain it has gone like the grimy grease soaked hair that it has become.
This used to be an art festival dominated by actual creatives, art, and talent — today I couldn’t find a single artist. Now it can only be described as a Walmart sidewalk sale. Who’s running this thing? C3?

I’ve seen better…
I walked the entire festival and only stopped twice. To water my dog, and creep people out with the scorpions and tarantulas. It’s was a warm sunny, Texas day. I had nothing better to do. But after bring there I could’ve found something else more productive. Very touristy.
Might take my parents when they come to town.

The cool weather definitely enhanced my enjoyment of this local Ausin event! I like that it is on 6^th Street because if you want to sit down and eat you can duck into a local restaurant and take a break from the fare food!
They had a kids area complete with rides, people to sign you up to vote, fire department teaching fire safety to kids mixed with local artists and traveling food vendors! The people watching was also, a key point to my enjoyment!
They had local artists that make everything from candles, paintings, license plate art to retail type stuff like dresses, purses, etc.
I enjoy strolling these type of events because they truly are a local sampling of talent from artists to musicians playing on stage!

I remember when this was a lot more small local art, now it really feels like the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar with Food and Beer.
I still prefer the fall version as the weather is generally nice, although it did rain this year (Sept 2013). I won’t complain about rain though since Austin seems to always need rain.
Worth checking out but like everything in Austin it has fallen into a commercialized trap.

A friend and I had a wonderful time browsing through the hundreds of very talented artists at the Old Pecan Street Festival today — I seriously had to contain myself because I wanted to buy something from nearly every booth I came across!
While yes, there are a lot of corporate places that have set up shop, there were still oodles of local artists and that was really great to see!
Definitely come prepared:
1. You will most likely have to pay for parking. If you are less familiar with the downtown area, it is just easier to find a garage and pay the $ 10. This was an inevitability that I accepted before we even went, made things astronomically easier.
2. Go early before 1) the parking garages are full, 2) there are tons of people by mid-​day, and 3) the higher temperatures set in. By 1pm when my friend and I left, the festival was already a sea of people and the heat was becoming uncomfortable. For the mid-​morning and early afternoon hours, however, it was really pleasant.
3. Bring water, bring sunscreen (this is a given in Texas, of course)!
4. Bring some cash — a lot of people take credit cards, a lot of people use Square or another equivalent but sometimes in a busy crowd its just easier to have cash on hand and ready.
I’m definitely a fan — I will definitely go next year!