Round Rock has a folk legend that most people in the Austin area have never heard of, and it gets its own festival every year. The Hairy Man Festival is now in its 32nd edition, and the 2026 version lands on Saturday, October 17, at Cat Hollow Park, 8320 O'Connor Drive, from noon to 5:00 PM. Admission is free, though the organizers ask for a suggested donation of two non-perishable food items or $2 per person to support the Round Rock Serving Center, which the festival has helped over the years.
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The day actually starts earlier than the festival gates open. A 5K run kicks things off at 9:00 AM, and when the main event opens at noon, Ivy Betanski performs the National Anthem. From there, the music runs nearly straight through the afternoon: The Musicians Woodshed House Band at 12:05, Fun Gus & The Shrooms at 12:15, Tarah New and the Crew at 1:05, Kinderdance at 1:50, and Dysfunkshun Junkshun at 2:45. The whole thing is put on by the Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District, so it is a community event in the truest sense, and it costs nothing to walk in and stay for the afternoon.
Between the sets, there is plenty to do that has nothing to do with music. A sauce contest runs at 1:00, a costume contest at 2:00, and the rest of the park fills up with crafts, carnival games, face painting, inflatables and a petting zoo. It is built for families to wander around rather than sit in one spot, which is the right way to do a park festival like this.
The festival's name comes from a piece of local lore that dates back to the pioneer days. The story goes that a young boy was separated from a group of pioneers by floodwaters and ended up living as a hairy hermit in the woods, only to be trampled to death by a stagecoach years later. It is a grim bit of history, but the festival turns it into something lighthearted, and the whole afternoon builds toward the reading of the legend at 4:15, followed immediately by the Hairiest Man contest at 4:30. That contest is the event's most famous tradition, and it is the one everyone stays for.
For a sense of how it has gone in the past, the 23rd edition back in 2017 saw Jared MacDonald walk away with the Hairiest Man title and $500. Whether you come for the music, the contests or just to see who takes home the title this year, it is a free day out that does not ask for much more than a couple of cans of food. Pack some chairs, bring the kids, and settle in for a few hours of one of the weirder traditions in the Austin area.
Published Date
27 September 2026
