Good morning, Bastrop County! 🔥
We are covering Red Rock for the first time, and it took a chili cook-off to get us there. Friday and Saturday, out at 997 Bee Creek Road, the Rockin' RedRock BBQ & Chili Cook-Off fires up two full days of smoke, an IBCA sanction, 100 percent payout, a silent auction for Restoration Ranch and a 50/50 raffle. Saturday is the judging day, chicken at noon and brisket at three. And if fifteen chili cooks show up, the winner punches a ticket to the original Terlingua championship. That is a real prize, in our county, at a cook-off most of us have never heard of.
Friday at dusk, do something free and strange and worth the drive. At Bastrop State Park, thousands of chimney swifts drop out of the sky into an old concrete water tower, all at once, every evening this time of year. A ranger meets you at the Scenic Overlook at 7:30. Bring a chair. It costs five dollars to get in the park and nothing to watch.
The rest of the week is full too. Cowboy Heritage Day at the museum Saturday morning and Elgin's first-ever Nocturn Night Market after dark, both of which we previewed Monday. Plus the Feed the Need gala, a free women's health clinic in Elgin, a free women's conference in Smithville, and a farmers market in Elgin with live music. Our featured business is the one everybody in the county can picture and half the internet files under the wrong town. Pour the coffee and let's get into it.
Missed us Monday? Catch up here.
👥 Join the conversation
Neighbors are posting events, asking for recommendations and swapping the good stuff over in the Bastrop Current Facebook group. Come say hello, and if you know something we should be covering, drop it in the group. Join the Bastrop Current community group
🐉 Featured Business of the Week | Chinese Dragon | Bastrop
There is a difference between a restaurant that feeds you and one that takes care of you. Chinese Dragon has been loving on Bastrop County for the better part of a decade, out of a building on the Highway 71 West service road, right next door to Arnold Custom Builders. Which is worth sitting with for a second, because Arnold is who built it. The neighbors put the place up, and the family thanked them by name the day the doors opened. You have driven past it a hundred times. Half the county gives directions by it.
Go in on a weeknight and you will see what I mean. Tony has been cooking behind the scenes all these years. Emma is out front, and enough regulars call her Momma Emma that it might as well be on the sign. The owners are the cooks, which is the whole reason the food tastes like somebody's family made it, and the whole reason sitting down to dinner there feels less like eating out and more like being fed by people who are glad you walked in.
They moved to this spot in 2021, which is why a good chunk of the internet still has them filed under the wrong town. Their own menu puts it better than I can: "Now in this location west of Bastrop we shall continue with our family's delight in serving you the very best."
You saw what that means to this county at the start of September. The family had to close for a few days, and when they said so on their page, Bastrop County answered by the hundreds. Not complaints about the closed sign. Notes telling them to take care of their own, and that the county would be right here when they got back. They were back within the week. Their own words: "we aren't going anywhere."
🥡 What to order
Prices from their own 2026 menu.
🥟 The egg rolls, $3.00 each. Ask anyone in the county foodie groups. This is the answer, every single time.
🍪 Sugar biscuits, $5.95. They have been posting about these since 2017 and they come free inside the family dinners. Order them anyway.
🍗 Lunch specials, 11am to 3pm every day they are open. Chicken plates $14.25, pork and lo mein and fried rice $14.50, beef $14.75, shrimp $15.50, each served with fried rice, fried wonton, soup or an egg roll.
🦐 Crab rangoon, eight for $9.95, the runner-up favorite behind the egg rolls.
👨👩👧👦 Family Dinners, $60 to $125. Extra-large portions with egg rolls, soup, fried wontons, rice and the sugar biscuits. Two adults and two entrées is $60, five and five is $125.
🍜 Pho, chicken $15.95 up to shrimp $19.95, plus a kids' menu from $4.25.
📍 Visit
📍 1019 Hwy 71 W, Bastrop, TX 78602
📞 512-985-5419, ordering is by phone, there is no online ordering
🗓️ Hours: Call or join their FB page for Hours
🌐 Chinese Dragon on Facebook
🗓️ Bastrop County Events | September 10 - 16, 2026
Today | Thursday, 🗓️ September 10
🧘 Mommy & Baby Yoga | 11am-1pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | An hour of yoga for moms and babies ages 0 to 3, then an hour of free books, resources and giveaways. Free. Bastrop County Cares
🥬 Elgin Farmers' Market | 4-7pm, live music 5-6pm | Veterans' Memorial Park, 109 Depot St, Elgin | Every vendor grows, raises or makes what they sell, from tomatoes to baked goods to soap, with Trick Myers on music this week. Downtown shops stay open during market hours, so this pairs right into Sip, Shop & Stroll a block away. Free. Elgin Farmers' Market
🛏️ Teen Thursday | Pillow Forts | 4:45-6:15pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Bring a sheet and a pillow and build something ridiculous, ages 13 to 17. Bastrop Public Library
🛍️ Sip, Shop & Stroll | SIP-tember Nights | 5-8pm | Historic downtown Elgin, Main St, Elgin | Wine and local food samples, live entertainment, in-store specials and shops open late on the second Thursday. Free. Elgin Chamber of Commerce
🌱 Smithville Community Gardens Meeting | 5:30-6:30pm | Smithville Recreation Center, 106 Gazley St, Smithville | The open monthly meeting, second Thursday, no fee. Smithville Area Chamber
🎤 Open Mic Night | 6-9pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | Sign-up starts at 6 and the list fills fast. Free. City of Bastrop community calendar
🪴 Plant Bingo | 6:30pm | Smithville Brewing Company, 661 NW Loop 230, Smithville | Plant-themed bingo in the taproom, and everybody plays free. Smithville Brewing Company
Friday, 🗓️ September 11
🥔 Library Cooking Club | Potatoes | noon-1pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | This month's challenge ingredient is the potato. Bring a dish, taste everybody else's. Free, 18 and up. Elgin Public Library
🔥 Rockin' RedRock BBQ & Chili Cook-Off | Day One | cooks dinner 6-7pm, salsa turn-in 7pm, margaritas 7:30pm, open meat 8pm | 997 Bee Creek Rd, Red Rock | An IBCA-sanctioned two-day cook-off with a silent auction benefiting Restoration Ranch and a 50/50 raffle. Entry fees run $10 salsa, $5 margarita, $25 open meat. Dry camping available, no RV hookups. Questions go to Debbie Ross at 512-995-9019 or Tom Stephens at 512-554-5933.
💍 Lunar Sparkle Wire Wrap Jewelry Class | 6-8pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Make a celestial pendant with Pebbles & Knots, everything provided. $35. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎸 The A-TX Rejects | 7-10pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | Alternative and rock radio gems on the downtown patio. Free. Copper Shot Distillery
🎭 Disney's Newsies | Friday and Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday matinee 2:30pm | Bastrop Opera House, 711 Spring St, Bastrop | The 1899 newsboys' strike, sung and danced, in the middle of a run that goes through September 27. Everyone needs a ticket regardless of age, and no children under 3. Bastrop Opera House
🦇 Sunset Swifts | 7:30-8:30pm | Bastrop State Park, 100 Park Road 1A, Bastrop | Meet at the Scenic Overlook and watch thousands of chimney swifts funnel into the old concrete water tower at dusk. Bring a chair, water and bug spray. Free with $5 adult park entry, 12 and under free. Texas Parks & Wildlife
🎵 Envy Of Them All | 7:30-10:30pm | The Grace Miller "Gracie's", 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Friday night live music with the kitchen open late. Free. The Grace Miller
🎶 Eric Connor | 7:30-10:30pm | Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard, 601 Chestnut St Bldg C, Bastrop | A Gonzales songwriter playing Texas country and Americana solo. Free. Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard
🎸 Sonny Wolf | 8:30-11:30pm | 602 Brewing Co, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Late Friday music in the beer garden. Free. 602 Brewing Co
🌟 Saturday, 🗓️ September 12 | The Big Day
🔥 Rockin' RedRock BBQ & Chili Cook-Off | Day Two | bloody marys 11am, chicken noon, jackpot beans 1pm, ribs 1:30pm, chili 2pm, brisket 3pm | 997 Bee Creek Rd, Red Rock | The judging day, with 100 percent payout, a silent auction for Restoration Ranch and a 50/50 raffle. If 15 chili cooks enter, the winner qualifies for the original Terlingua championship. Tolbert rules apply. Debbie Ross 512-995-9019, Tom Stephens 512-554-5933. Tolbert rules at A Bowl of Red
🥕 Eden East Farm Stand | 9am-1pm | Eden East Farm, 1910 Main St, Bastrop | Produce, eggs and pantry goods straight off the farm, and you can walk the rows. Free to visit. City of Bastrop community calendar
🥬 Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market | 10am-2pm | 1302 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Produce, pasture-raised meats, honey, breads and makers, every Saturday year-round. SNAP accepted. Free. Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market
🚜 Tractor Supply Farmers Market | 10am-2pm | Tractor Supply, Bastrop | Local farmers, bakers and makers set up in the parking lot for Tractor Supply's national farmers market day. Free to browse.
🩺 The Source Mobile Women's Clinic | 10am-3pm | Elgin Recreation Center front lot, 361 N Hwy 95, Elgin | Free well-woman exams and screenings. Walk-ins welcome, appointments 512-374-0055. Free. City of Elgin
🌿 Family Nature Quest | 10:30am-12:30pm | McKinney Roughs Nature Park, 1884 State Hwy 71 W, Cedar Creek | Self-guided mystery-box nature stations, best for ages 4 to 10. $10. LCRA Parks
🤠 Cowboy Heritage Day | 11am-2pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Live demonstrations, historic photographs and artifacts, cowboy stories and songs, and hands-on activities for the kids. Included with museum admission, children 12 and under free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🪴 Plant Swap Bingo | 11am-2pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | Bingo with Central Texas Plant People, prize plants donated by Down Home Ranch. Bring a plant to swap. Free, 18 and up. Elgin Public Library
✝️ FBC Smithville Women's Conference | registration 11:30am, program noon-4pm | First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 305 Hudgins St, Smithville | An afternoon of worship, fellowship and encouragement with Dragonfly Ministries. All ladies welcome. Free, lunch provided. First Baptist Church Smithville
🦴 Girl Scouts Love State Parks | Skins, Skulls and Scat | 1-2pm | Buescher State Park, historic picnic pavilion in the Lakeview loop, Smithville | Touch real furs, skulls and armadillo armor in a wildlife guessing game, then ask a ranger anything. Open to everybody, not just Scouts. Free with park entry. Texas Parks & Wildlife
🔮 Bastrop Holistic Faire | 2-6pm, door prizes hourly from 3pm | Main Street Yoga, 918 Main St, Bastrop | Bastrop's newest holistic fair, a curated mix of local wellness practitioners and small businesses. Tarot and astrology readers, massage therapists and energy healers, apothecary goods and more. Produced by Sol & Root Productions and Main Street Yoga. Free entry. Main Street Yoga
🎸 Bill Palmer | 2-4pm | The Front Room, 116 Main St, Smithville | The Smithville and Terlingua songwriter and award-winning producer, solo. Free, call 512-237-3626 to hold a table. The Front Room Wine Bar
🏈 Texas Tailgate & Watch Party | doors 2pm, live music 4-6pm, kickoff 6:30pm | Smithville Brewing Company, 661 NW Loop 230, Smithville | College football on with the sound up in the beer garden, live music first. Free. Smithville Brewing Company
🎵 Live Music with Clint Nygard | 4-7pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Country on the vineyard's outdoor stage. Free. Rising Sun Vineyard
🌙 Nocturn Night Market | the first one ever | 5-10pm | Austin Community College Elgin campus, 1501 US Hwy 290, Elgin | Artisan vendors, food trucks, curated music, family activities and a whole lot of lights after dark. This is the inaugural night of a new monthly second-Saturday market. Free, free parking. Nocturn Market
🍽️ Feed the Need Gala | 6-10pm | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Dinner, live entertainment and an auction benefiting Feed the Need Missions. $125 a seat, $800 for a table of eight. Feed the Need Missions
🎨 Wine & Unwind Paint and Sip | 6-8pm | Lost Pines Art Center, 1204 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Step-by-step canvas painting with instructor Erin Nicole, supplies included, BYOB. $40, ages 21 and up, registration closes Friday at 3pm. Lost Pines Art Center
🎺 Blues In The Night | 6:30-9:30pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | Harmonica, bass, guitar and drums playing blues, swing and R&B. Free. Copper Shot Distillery
🎸 The Ransom Brothers with Sour Bridges | Live in the Yard | 7:30pm | Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard, 601 Chestnut St Bldg C, Bastrop | Two Texas bands in one night out in the Yard, Austin southern country-rock plus Sour Bridges. All ages, free show. Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard
🎵 Twisted Round | 7:30-10:30pm | The Grace Miller "Gracie's", 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Saturday night live music. Free. The Grace Miller
🎤 Samantha Lynn | 8:30-11:30pm | 602 Brewing Co, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Late Saturday music in the beer garden. Free. 602 Brewing Co
Sunday, 🗓️ September 13
🛍️ Smithville Sunday Market | 10am-2pm | James H. Long Railroad Park, Main & 1st St, Smithville | Locally grown, homemade and handmade only, with live music. Fall hours run to 2pm. Free. Smithville Sunday Market
🎶 Robert Kraft | noon-2pm | The Grace Miller "Gracie's", 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Sunday lunch music on the patio. Free. The Grace Miller
🎵 Live Music with Cody Cotton | 2-5pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Guitar, harmonica and vocals out in vineyard country. Free. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎲 Bastrop Social Club Board Game Night | 4-8pm | 602 Brewing Co, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Plenty of games on hand and no experience needed, they will teach you. Bring a favorite to share if you have one. Free. 602 Brewing Co
🍺 Sunday Live Music | 4-6pm | Smithville Brewing Company, 661 NW Loop 230, Smithville | Their weekly Sunday set, plus $5 frozen slushies. Free. Smithville Brewing Company
🎶 Tim Vee | 6-8pm | 602 Brewing Co, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Sunday evening music. Free. 602 Brewing Co
Monday, 🗓️ September 14
🌦️ Discovery | Weather Works | 4:30-5:30pm | Bastrop Recreation Center, 1008 Water St, Bastrop | The city's new fall youth program for ages 6 to 9. $5, twelve spots, and registration closes at noon that day. City of Bastrop Recreation
🏛️ Smithville City Council Meeting | 6pm | Smithville City Hall, 317 Main St, Smithville | Open to the public. City of Smithville
🏙️ State of the City Dinner | 6-8:30pm | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St, Bastrop | City officials brief residents and business owners on economic development, infrastructure, public safety and growth. Registration is not open yet, so watch the chamber page. Bastrop Regional Chamber
🎱 Monday 8-Ball Tournament | 7:30pm | American Legion Post 533, 3003 Loop 150 E, Bastrop | Weekly double elimination, bar rules, money added to the pot, open to anyone. $10 entry. American Legion Post 533
Tuesday, 🗓️ September 15
🚐 Care-A-Van | McDade | 6-7pm | McDade Watermelon Festival Grounds, 1143 Bastrop St, McDade | Free recreation brought out to rural neighborhoods, soccer, basketball, archery and reading tents, with Community Health Workers on site for SNAP, WIC and Medicaid questions. Free. Bastrop County Cares
🎤 Open Mic Night with Robert Kraft | 6-8pm | The Grace Miller "Gracie's", 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Third Tuesdays. Play a song or just come eat and cheer on your neighbors. Free. Bastrop Live Music Foundation
🃏 Elgin Chamber Lotería Fundraiser | 6:30-8:30pm | El Maguey Restaurant, 111 S Main St, Elgin | The chamber's first-ever Lotería night, regular menu available. $30 for five games, pre-purchase to hold a seat. Elgin Chamber of Commerce
🎤 Karaoke with Elijah | 7-11pm | 602 Brewing Co, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Every Tuesday. Free. 602 Brewing Co
Wednesday, 🗓️ September 16
🔤 Preschool Storytime | ABC Fun! | 10:30am | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Bastrop Public Library
☕ Coffee & Friends | Estate Planning | 3pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Attorney Mike Rinehart on wills, directives and what happens if you do nothing. Bastrop Public Library
🖼️ All week
🤠 Soul Circuit | Juneteenth Rodeos in Texas | Monday through Saturday, 10am-5pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Sarah Bird's late-1970s photographs of the Black cowboys and cowgirls who rode the small-town Juneteenth rodeo circuit. This is the last full week, it closes September 20, and it pairs perfectly with Cowboy Heritage Day on Saturday. $8, kids 12 and under free, active military and veterans free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🔮 Planning Ahead
🍶 Thu Sep 17 | Sake Yutori Night | 5:30pm | Faire La Nouba, 110 Main St, Smithville | An introduction to sake for the curious, a little tasting, a little learning and good bites, including Brian's hot oil salmon. $30. Faire La Nouba
🎉 Fri Sep 18 | ¡Viva Bastrop! | 6-10pm | N Main St at Spring St, downtown Bastrop | The inaugural Hispanic Heritage festival, opening with Mariachi Chicana from 6 to 7, then a Selena tribute band at 7:15, Ballet Folklórico, a heritage march with quinceañeras and country flags, a Best Grito contest, a Mercado Hispano, a kids zone and a street dance from 9 to 10. Free. Discover Bastrop
🎨 Fri-Sat Sep 18-19 | Calvary Art Fest 2026 | "Art & Soul" | Friday 4-8pm, Saturday 10am-8pm | Calvary Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1028 Main St, Bastrop | The fourth annual show, 65-plus local artists, live music both days and refreshments. Free. Calvary Episcopal Church
🎊 Sat Sep 19 | ¡Viva Elgin! | 4-9pm | Veterans Memorial Park, 109 Depot St, Elgin | A charro bean cook-off with public tasting 5 to 7, live performances, a grito contest at 7:45, a tortilla-making station and La Cultura Market. Free. City of Elgin
🏁 Sat Sep 19 | Season Finale | Cotton Bowl Speedway, 1175 CR 202, Paige | The last night of the 2026 dirt season. Cotton Bowl Speedway
🎶 Sat Sep 19 | Canyon Rio | 2-4pm | The Front Room, 116 Main St, Smithville | The Front Room Wine Bar
🖼️ Sun Sep 20 | Austin Museum Day | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Free admission for the day, and the final day of the Soul Circuit exhibit. Free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🍂 Fri Sep 25 | Autumn After Dark | Paint, Sip, Create | 6:30-8:30pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Pick a fox, an owl or a pumpkin and paint it on a hand-traced canvas, step-by-step instruction and all supplies included. $30 a person, or bring a friend for 2 for $50 with code 2FRIENDS. Pebbles & Knots
🥩 Fri Sep 25 | Prime Rib Night | 5-9pm | The Front Room, 116 Main St, Smithville | 8oz and 12oz cuts with two sides, last Friday of every month. Reservations 512-237-3626. The Front Room Wine Bar
🏆 Sat Sep 26 | REC RALLY 2026 | 8am-2pm | Elgin Memorial Park | Free-throw, pickleball doubles and cornhole doubles alongside the Elgin Cares community cookout. $10 per person per event, spectators free, ages 13 and up. City of Elgin
🔭 Sat Sep 26 | Star Party at Yegua Knobbs Preserve | 7-10:30pm | 1106 Johnnie Baker Rd, McDade | Dark-sky stargazing out in the eastern county. Yegua Knobbs Preserve
🎸 Fri-Sat Oct 2-3 | Smithville Music Festival | 5th Annual | Friday 6-10:30pm, Saturday 1:30-10:30pm | Downtown Main Street, Smithville | Twelve hours of live music across two days, free admission. Friday brings Brandi Behlen, 4 On The Floor and Dysfunkshun Junkshun. Saturday runs Johnny Rockit Band, Ben Zuniga & Celebration, Alex Hensley & The Heathens, Briana Adams, Grupo Rumores and Desert Highway. Downtown shopping and dining, vendors and food trucks. 50/50 raffle tickets are $20 cash at The Front Room Wine Bar and Golden Girls Boutique. Smithville Music Festival
🚂 Sat Oct 3 | Meet Me at the Depot | 9am-noon | Smithville MKT Depot, 102 NE 1st St, Smithville | The October installment of the new first-Saturday series. Free. Smithville Area Chamber
🧹 Sat Oct 3 | Smithville Community-Wide Garage Sale | 8am-3pm | All over Smithville | Fifty-plus sales in one day. Hosting a sale is $15 and registration closes Sep 30. Smithville Area Chamber
🍋 Sat Oct 17 | A Creative & Culinary Day of Inspiration | Kintsugi 11am-1pm, Limoncello 2-4pm | Bastrop Botanical Gardens, 316 Old Hwy 71, Cedar Creek | Two classes from 1440 Wellness, all supplies included. Learn the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, or make authentic limoncello from scratch and take home your own bottle. $35 for Kintsugi, $45 for Limoncello, spaces limited and registration required. Register for Kintsugi | Register for Limoncello
🎄 Sat-Sun Oct 17-18 | Hometown Holiday Market | "A Pastel Christmas" | Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St B, Bastrop | The third annual holiday market: clothing, decor, jewelry, candles, handmade goods and gourmet food, hourly door prizes, and pictures with Santa on Saturday. $8, a dollar off with a canned good for the food bank, free parking. Texas Market Guide
🐷 Oct 22-24 | 39th Annual Elgin Hogeye Festival | Downtown Elgin | The best little pig gig in Texas. Free. City of Elgin
🎁 September Referral Prize | $50 to Numero 28
Share your unique referral link below with one friend who would 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.
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See you next Thursday.
Marilyn - The Bastrop Current