Good morning, Bastrop County! 🤠
Today’s news starts in Smithville. Saturday morning the Smithville Area Chamber launches Meet Me at the Depot, a free first-Saturday gathering on the porch of the old MKT depot | porch stories and railroad memories, classic cars, trolley rides, checkers and dominoes, and somebody picking a guitar, with nowhere anyone particularly needs to be until noon. Out in McDade, Rising Sun Vineyard turns the whole weekend into a Hatch Green Chile Festival, with fresh chiles roasted by the pound both days. Downtown Bastrop kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month Friday night with the FAME First Friday Salsa Showdown, and the Opera House raises the curtain on Disney’s Newsies. Add farm tours, a memorial motorcycle run, dirt-track racing in Paige, and live music from Thursday clear through Sunday, and the long weekend fills itself.
One reminder before you make plans: the county burn ban is still in effect through September 14, so keep the fire pits cold. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s dig in. Want more than just this week? Our Bastrop County events guide runs year round.
Missed us Thursday? Catch up here.
👥 Join the conversation
Our Bastrop Current Community Group on Facebook is where neighbors drop flyers, ask for recommendations, and share what they wandered into last weekend. Come join us.
🚂 This Week’s Feature | A Different Kind of Saturday in Smithville
The Smithville Area Chamber sent us a line this week that stuck: “They don’t make Saturdays like this anymore. We do.” Come Saturday morning, they will set out to prove it.
🚂 Meet Me at the Depot debuts this Saturday
Saturday, September 5, from 9am to noon, Smithville launches Meet Me at the Depot, a new free series at the Smithville MKT Depot and Railroad Park, 102 NE 1st Street. No tickets, no registration, no gate. Come as you are, and bring whoever is at your kitchen table.
Picture rocking chairs and porch stories, railroad memories from people who lived them, classic cars parked along the lawn, somebody picking a guitar, checkers and dominoes going on a folding table, trolley rides around the park, storytelling for the kids, and iced tea and lemonade from the concession stand. As the Chamber puts it, there is nowhere anyone particularly needs to be until noon. That is the whole idea.
What makes this one worth writing about is what the Chamber decided not to build. Rather than another highly produced, ticketed attraction, they built the morning out of the people, the history and the assets Smithville already has, the depot, the park, the trolley, and neighbors who remember when the Katy line ran through town. It is the kind of Saturday morning that is getting genuinely hard to find in Central Texas, and Smithville is betting there is an audience for it.
Make a morning of it and then keep going. After noon, downtown Smithville is a short walk for lunch, antiquing and local history, including the Smithville Heritage House and Museum. More trip-planning ideas are at Visit Smithville.
And if you cannot make this one, it comes back around: the series also takes place on October 3 and November 7 as well, same place, same 9am to noon. Presented by the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce and Visit Smithville. Smithville Area Chamber
🌶️ Hatch chiles roast all weekend in McDade
The smell of roasting Hatch chiles is one of the surest signs the season is turning. Saturday and Sunday, Rising Sun Vineyard at Yegua Creek Brewery turns its Edmonson Ranch Road property into a Hatch Green Chile Festival. Fresh New Mexico chiles roasted and sold by the pound, New Mexico-style cooking, games, raffles, cold beer, Texas wine, and live music both afternoons. Saturday runs from noon and Sunday from 11am to 6pm, and it is free to walk in. Bring a cooler and stock the freezer for the year. Rising Sun Vineyard
💃 And Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off Friday on Main Street
Downtown Bastrop opens Hispanic Heritage Month Friday night with FAME First Friday: the Salsa Showdown. Local restaurants and food trucks competing in a salsa contest, with People’s Choice sampling, live music, and free make-and-take crafts on the museum porch, including traditional paper flowers (flores de papel) that feed the museum’s Día de los Muertos display later this fall. It runs 6 to 9pm at and around the Bastrop County Museum on Main Street, and it is free. Bastrop County Historical Society
And if you would rather be in a theater seat, the Bastrop Opera House opens Disney’s Newsies Friday at 6:30pm, the first night of a run that carries through September 27. Bastrop Opera House
🔥 Burn ban still in effect through September 14
The outdoor burning ban Bastrop County Commissioners Court adopted on August 24 runs through Monday, September 14 unless the court lifts it sooner. It covers the unincorporated areas of the county and prohibits igniting any combustible or vegetative material outdoors | a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. Keep the fire pits and burn barrels cold this holiday weekend. Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management
🗓️ Bastrop County Events
Today | Monday, 🗓️ August 31
🏛️ Interpretive Center Open | 8:30am - 2:30pm | Bastrop State Park Historic Golf Shelter, 100 Park Road 1A, Bastrop | New exhibits inside the restored CCC-era shelter. Free with park entry. Texas Parks & Wildlife
🧘 Mind, Body, Spirit & Meditation with Patti | 9 - 10am | Elgin Recreation Center, 361 N Hwy 95, Elgin | Slow-flow yoga, breath work and meditation. Elgin Recreation Center
⚖️ A Matter of Balance | 1pm | Bastrop Recreation Center, 1008 Water St, Bastrop | A fall-prevention program for older adults. Registration required. City of Bastrop Parks & Rec
🐉 Tween D&D | 4 - 5:30pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | A weekly Monday campaign for experienced players ages 11 to 14. Bring your character. Free. Bastrop Public Library
🍷 Bottle Night Monday | 5 - 9pm | Pluto’s Wine Bar, 924 Main St, Bastrop | Every bottle over $75 is 40% off, plus $8 wines and $5 sangria and beer. Pluto’s Wine Bar
💃 Zumba with Juanda | 6 - 7pm | Elgin Recreation Center, 361 N Hwy 95, Elgin | Salsa, merengue, reggaeton and hip-hop, cardio disguised as a party. Elgin Recreation Center
🎳 Bastrop Social Club Bowling Night | 6 - 8pm | Film Alley, 1600 Chestnut St, Bastrop | A come-meet-your-neighbors bowling night, adults 18 and up. Bastrop Social Club
Tuesday, 🗓️ September 1
🦁 Smithville Noon Lions Club | noon - 1pm | Quinto Patio, 114 NE 2nd St, Smithville | Weekly service club meeting, and anyone curious is welcome to sit in. Free to attend, lunch on you. Smithville Area Chamber
📦 Tween Tuesday: Cardboard Creations | 4:30 - 5:30pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | September’s build for ages 9 to 12 is anything you can make out of cardboard. Free. Bastrop Public Library
🚐 Care-A-Van | Elgin | 5 - 7pm | Thomas Memorial Park, Elgin | Free recreation for the kids while parents connect with Community Health Workers about SNAP, WIC, Medicaid and workforce programs. Free. Bastrop County Cares
🧶 Stitch-Craft Society | Evening | 6 - 8pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Knit or crochet with company, limited supplies for beginners. Free. Bastrop Public Library
✍️ Writers Group | 6:30 - 8pm | Cedar’s Coppice, 709 Chestnut St, Bastrop | The weekly Tuesday gathering for people who are actually writing the thing. Cedar’s Coppice
Wednesday, 🗓️ September 2
🩺 The Source Mobile Women’s Clinic | 9:30am - 3:30pm | Elgin Recreation Center, 361 N Hwy 95, Elgin | Free women’s health services onsite, first Wednesday of every month. Free. City of Elgin
📚 Preschool Storytime | Dog Days | 10:30am | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Books, silly songs and activities about our furry best friends. Free. Bastrop Public Library
🤠 Lunch & Learn with Mayor Ishmael Harris | noon - 1pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Bastrop’s mayor on his family’s generations-deep connection to the Texas Juneteenth rodeo circuit, paired with the Soul Circuit exhibit. Correction from our last newsletter: the event is free, but lunch is not provided. Bring your own lunch, and the museum provides dessert and drinks. Reserve a free ticket here: Bastrop County Historical Society
🍷 Wine Not? Wednesdays + Live Music | 5 - 10pm | Store House Market & Eatery, 813 Main St, Bastrop | Live music and half off select bottles every Wednesday evening. Store House Market & Eatery
Thursday, 🗓️ September 3
🧶 Fiber Arts & Friends | 10am - 12pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | Bring your knit, crochet, or stitch project and craft in good company. Free. City of Elgin
📖 Bilingual Storytime | 11:15am | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Stories, songs and rhymes in English and Spanish for little ones. Free. Bastrop Public Library
🥬 Elgin Farmers Market | 4 - 7pm | Veterans’ Memorial Park, 109 Depot St, Elgin | Produce, meats, and baked goods, with live music. SNAP accepted. Elgin Farmers Market
🦪 Buck-a-Shuck | 5 - 9pm | Pluto’s Wine Bar, 924 Main St, Bastrop | Dollar oysters on the half shell with any beverage purchase. Pluto’s Wine Bar
🤝 Free Community Support Group | 6 - 7:30pm | Smithville Community Clinic, Smithville | A free, welcoming weekly peer support group open to all. Contact Kathryn Caddell, 512-798-3753. Smithville Area Chamber
🎸 Live Music | Kris Collins | 6 - 9pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | A live acoustic set on the Main Street patio. Copper Shot Distillery
Friday, 🗓️ September 4
🎨 Adult Craft | 2 - 3pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | Unwind with a guided make-and-take craft for adults. Free. City of Elgin
🎶 Live Music | Mike Pierce | 4 - 7pm | Rising Sun Vineyard at Yegua Creek Brewery, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Dinner and live music out on the vineyard. Yegua Creek Brewery
🥩 Prime Rib Night | 5 - 9pm | The Front Room, 116 Main St, Smithville | The weekly Friday prime rib special with two sides. Reservations 512-237-3626. The Front Room Wine Bar
💃 FAME First Friday | Salsa Showdown | 6 - 9pm | Bastrop County Museum & Main St, 904 Main St, Bastrop | A salsa contest, People’s Choice sampling, live music, and free make-and-take crafts to open Hispanic Heritage Month. Free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🎭 Disney’s Newsies | Opening Night | 6:30pm | Bastrop Opera House, 711 Spring St, Bastrop | Opening night of the high-energy Disney musical, running through September 27. Everyone needs a ticket regardless of age. Bastrop Opera House
🎸 Live Music | Ben Zuniga Band | 7 - 10pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | Americana roots meet rock and roll on the patio. Copper Shot Distillery
🎶 Live Music | The Nite Shift | 7:30 - 10:30pm | The Grace Miller “Gracie’s”, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | A live band and a kitchen open late. The Grace Miller
🌟 Saturday, 🗓️ September 5 | The Big Day
🌱 First Saturday Farm Tour & Plant Walk | 9am coffee, 9:30am - 12pm tour | Elm Forest Farm, Synergy Dr, Bastrop | Rhizome Revival’s nonprofit teaching farm opens for a guided tour, native and medicinal plant walk, and seed exchange. RSVP required. Rhizome Revival
🏍️ 4th Annual POW/MIA Recognition Day Motorcycle Run | registration 9am, kickstands up 10am | American Legion Post 533, 3003 Loop 150 E, Bastrop | A memorial ride honoring POW and MIA service members, with breakfast and 50/50 tickets along the route. American Legion Post 533
🚂 Meet Me at the Depot | 9am - 12pm | Smithville MKT Depot, 102 NE 1st St, Smithville | The debut of a new first-Saturday community morning with storytellers, vintage games, classic cars, live music, and tea and lemonade on the depot porch. Free. See our feature above. Smithville Area Chamber
🥬 Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market | 10am - 2pm | 1302 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Produce, grass-fed beef, eggs, honey, plants, and makers, every Saturday year-round. Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market
🧘 Yoga & Wine in the Vineyard | 11am - 12pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | A 45-minute all-levels yoga class with a complimentary glass of wine or beer after. $20. Rising Sun Vineyard
🌶️ Hatch Green Chile Festival | Day One | from noon | Rising Sun Vineyard at Yegua Creek Brewery, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Fresh Hatch chiles roasted by the pound, New Mexico cooking, games, raffles, and live music into the evening. Free to attend. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎸 Live Music at Copper Shot | Troy Stone 2 - 5pm, Tish & The Mizzbehavins 7 - 10pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | An afternoon acoustic set and an evening soul-groove band on the Main Street patio. Copper Shot Distillery
🃏 Magic at the Library | 3 - 5pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | A drop-in afternoon of gaming and Magic: The Gathering. Free. City of Elgin
🏁 Race Night at Cotton Bowl Speedway | gates 5pm, racing 7pm | Cotton Bowl Speedway, 1175 CR 202, Paige | Dirt-track racing under the lights. Cotton Bowl Speedway
🎶 Live Music | Suzanne’s Band | 7:30 - 10:30pm | The Grace Miller “Gracie’s”, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | A live band to close out Saturday night. The Grace Miller
Sunday, 🗓️ September 6
🛍️ Smithville Sunday Market | 10am - 2pm | James H. Long Railroad Park, Main & 1st, Smithville | Locally grown, homemade, and handmade, with live music. Back to summer’s 10-to-2 hours for September. Free. Smithville Sunday Market
🌶️ Hatch Green Chile Festival | Day Two | 11am - 6pm | Rising Sun Vineyard at Yegua Creek Brewery, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Day two of the Hatch chile weekend, with chiles by the pound, New Mexico eats, and live music in the afternoon. Free to attend. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎶 Live Music | Huston Sonhouse | 12 - 2pm | The Grace Miller “Gracie’s”, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | A Sunday-midday set at Gracie’s. The Grace Miller
🍷 Apero Hour | 3 - 5pm | Pluto’s Wine Bar, 924 Main St, Bastrop | Weekend happy hour with oysters on the half shell, filet sliders, naan, and drink specials. Pluto’s Wine Bar
🔮 Planning Ahead
📬 In your inbox Thursday | Our midweek issue lands Thursday morning with a fresh feature and the full weekend lineup. Watch for it.
🖼️ Through Sat Sep 19 | Soul Circuit: Juneteenth Rodeos in Texas | Mon - Sat, 10am - 5pm | Bastrop County Museum, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Sarah Bird’s photographs of Black cowboys and cowgirls on the Texas Juneteenth rodeo circuit. Included with museum admission. Bastrop County Historical Society
🛍️ Thu Sep 10 | Sip, Shop & Stroll: SIP-tember Nights | 5 - 7:30pm | Downtown Elgin | In-store specials and live music downtown. Free. Elgin Chamber of Commerce
🤠 Sat Sep 12 | Cowboy Heritage Day | 11am - 2pm | Bastrop County Museum, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Live demonstrations, historic artifacts, cowboy stories and songs, and hands-on activities. Included in admission; children 12 and under free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🌙 Sat Sep 12 | Nocturn Night Market | 5 - 10pm | ACC Elgin campus, Elgin | Artisan vendors, food trucks, music, and a whole lot of glowing lights. Free. Elgin Chamber of Commerce
🍽️ Sat Sep 12 | Feed the Need Gala | 6 - 10pm | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Dinner, live entertainment, and an auction. Tables are filling. Feed the Need Missions
🧠 Fri Sep 25 | Trivia Night at the Elgin Library | doors 7pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | The library’s first-ever trivia night. Free, ages 18 and up, with a drink and a snack included. Elgin Public Library
🧹 Sat Oct 3 | Smithville Community-Wide Garage Sale | 8am - 3pm | All over Smithville | Fifty-plus sales in one day. Registration closes Sep 30. Smithville Area Chamber
🐗 Oct 22 - 24 | 39th Annual Hogeye Festival | Downtown Elgin | BBQ pork cook-off, Cow Patty Bingo, live music all day, and the car and bike show. Mark the calendar now. City of Elgin
🎁 September Referral Prize | $50 to Numero 28
Share your unique referral link below with one friend who’d love a weekly dose of Bastrop County, Texas. Every referral through your link is an entry to win a $50 gift card to Numero 28, the Italian wood-fired pizzeria and vineria on Main Street in Bastrop, with our September winner drawn at the end of the month.
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See you Thursday.
Marilyn - The Bastrop Current