Texas Festivals: A summer plan at the Bullock Museum

If you are looking for a way to beat the August heat while still getting your fill of Texas culture, the Bullock Texas State History Museum has a ready-made answer. Its latest special exhibition, "Texas Festivals: Creating Community Through Celebration," opened on April 25 and runs through September 27, so there is still plenty of time to catch it before it closes for the season. The show was built for the museum's 25th anniversary, and it takes a broad look at the state's cultural heritage through the lens of its most famous celebrations.

The exhibition is bilingual in English and Spanish and covers 27 festivals from across Texas, ranging from agricultural fairs and nature celebrations to events tied to cultural heritage and collective identity. It is laid out in three sections that walk you through the basics: "What is a festival?", "What do festivals celebrate?", and "How do festivals create community?"

What makes it worth the visit is the collection of objects on display. You will find a custom sand sculpture from Port Aransas's Texas Sandfest, an art car celebrating Stevie Ray Vaughan from Houston's Art Car Parade, and regalia from San Antonio's Fiesta and the Texas Citrus Fiesta in Mission. The mascots get their own moment too, with Tex the onion from Weslaco's Texas Onion Fest, Priscilla the pig from Elgin's Hogeye Festival, and Big Jake from Lufkin's Texas State Forest Festival all on view. Between the artifacts, there are media pieces, interviews with festival organizers, and historic footage that give you a sense of how these events actually come together.

There is also a playful side to the exhibition. A series of interactives let you decorate a gown train, add festivals to a word cloud, and even play at a food truck, which keeps it from feeling like a static display. For families, the museum rounds the exhibition out with related programming, including talks with experts, children's activities and summer crafting afternoons.

A bit of context on the museum itself helps plan the visit. The Bullock opened in 2001 and is a division of the Texas State Preservation Board, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Across its three floors of exhibition galleries, it covers roughly 16,000 years of Texas history and holds more than 1,000 artifacts. Beyond the galleries, there is an IMAX theater with a 62-foot screen, the multisensory Texas Spirit Theater, The Star Cafe and a museum store.

On the practical side, the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday. Admission is $17 for adults, $13 for students, military and seniors 65 and over, and $11 for youth aged 4 to 17, with children three and under free and members getting in at no charge. Free admission is available to active-duty military families, SNAP and WIC participants with an EBT card and Bank of America cardholders. Parking in the museum garage is $15 for a full day, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The museum sits at 1800 N Congress Ave, right in the middle of downtown Austin.