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Good morning, Bastrop County
Some weeks you have to go looking for something to do. This is not one of those weeks.
It starts slow, which after a busy Halloween, is just fine! lol
The Día de los Muertos display takes its last bow at the museum Monday, Election Day is Tuesday, and the libraries, markets and taprooms hum along like always. Then Saturday the 7th shows up and refuses to sit still. The headliner is Elgin's Día de los Muertos Festival downtown, a parade with mariachis and an honest-to-goodness fire dancer that runs till 10. But it has company all over the county: Meet Me at the Depot in Smithville, Wildlife Habitat Day at Bastrop State Park, the Bastrop Art Fest, ACC's free fall festival in Elgin, and, if you'd rather make something with your hands, a mushroom-growing class and a brunch board out at the Botanical Gardens in Cedar Creek.
Download your copy of our Fall Guide that runs through November below. Then, lets get into your week ahead.
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🌼 Featured This Week | Elgin's Día de los Muertos Festival | Saturday, Nov 7
If you only make it to one thing this week, point the car toward Elgin on Saturday evening. The city throws its 6th Annual Día de los Muertos Festival downtown, and it is the kind of night that turns an ordinary Saturday into one you'll talk about.
It opens gently at 5pm: sugar-skull decorating and crafts at the library, a food and vendor market filling Veterans Park on Depot Street, and a DJ warming up the gazebo. Come hungry, that's not a suggestion.
At 6:15 the parade steps off from the library and makes its way to the stage at Veterans Park. If you've never watched a Día de los Muertos procession, the marigolds, the painted faces and the photographs of people being remembered have a way of staying with you. For anyone who wants the music a little closer, Mariachi Los Gallos plays inside The Clever Tiger at 6:45.
Then at 7 the stage lights up for the rest of the night: Variantes del Ritmo, more mariachis, and yes, a real fire dancer. It runs till 10, it's free, and it's for everyone, whether you're bringing a loved one's photo for the altar or just coming for the music and the food. The City of Elgin puts it on with the Elgin Arts Association, and the whole thing is bilingual, so bring the kids and the abuelos too.
🍂 Still planning your fall? Grab the free guide
Our free 2026 Bastrop County Fall Guide lists more than 150 events through the end of November, including the church and school fall festivals that post late and don't always make the weekly. Every listing has the time, the place and a link to the organizer.
🗓️ Bastrop County Events | November 2 - 8, 2026
Monday, 🗓️ November 2
💀 Día de los Muertos Community Display | Final Day | 10am-5pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | The last day to see the community ofrendas honoring loved ones. Free. Bastrop County Historical Society
🧵 Prime Timer Craft | Sugar Skull Embroidery | time on the city calendar | Elgin Recreation Center, Elgin | A seasonal craft hour for ages 55 and up. Register through the Rec Center. Elgin Parks & Rec
📚 Smithville Library Weekly Programs | 10:30am meditation and chair yoga, 1pm Spanish conversation | Smithville Public Library, 201 Main St, Smithville | Free drop-in programs. Smithville Public Library
🪡 Sewing Group | 1-4pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Bring your own machine and project. No registration. Bastrop Public Library
🎱 Monday 8-Ball Tournament | 7:30pm | American Legion Post 533, 3003 Loop 150 E, Bastrop | Double elimination, $10 entry. American Legion Post 533
Tuesday, 🗓️ November 3
🗳️ Election Day | polls open 7am-7pm | vote centers countywide | Bastrop County is a vote-center county, so registered voters can cast a ballot at any open location, including the Bastrop County Courthouse Annex, the Smithville Rec Center, the Elgin Rec Center and the Paige, Rosanky and Red Rock community centers. Check your polling place, hours and sample ballot with the county. Bastrop County Elections
🧶 Dominoes, Stitchers & Knitters | 10am to noon | Smithville Public Library, 201 Main St, Smithville | The library's Tuesday drop-in groups. Free. Smithville Public Library
🧶 Knitter's Nook | 2-3:30pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | A weekly knitting circle in the Maynard Conference Room. Bastrop Public Library
🎨 Tween Art Club | 5-6:30pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | An after-school art club for tweens. Elgin Public Library
🧶 Bastrop Fiber Arts | 6-8pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Bring a knit or crochet project. Beginner supplies on hand. Free. Bastrop Public Library
🎤 Karaoke with Elijah | 7pm | 602 Brewing Company, 919 Main St, Bastrop | Every Tuesday. 602 Brewing Company
Wednesday, 🗓️ November 4
📖 Preschool Storytime | 10:30am | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Stories and songs in the Pressley Meeting Room. Bastrop Public Library
🃏 Senior Game Day | noon-3pm | Elgin Public Library, 404 N Main St, Elgin | Cards, board games and company. Elgin Public Library
☕ Chair Yoga & Knitters | noon and 1pm | Smithville Public Library, 201 Main St, Smithville | The library's Wednesday drop-in programs. Free. Smithville Public Library
🫖 Coffee & Friends | 3pm | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | A casual social hour in the Pressley Meeting Room. Bastrop Public Library
🎯 BINGO with Ben | 7-9pm | Bastrop Beer Company, 1008 Main St, Bastrop | Weekly Wednesday bingo. Bastrop Beer Company
Thursday, 🗓️ November 5
📖 Bilingual Storytime | English and Spanish | 11:15am | Bastrop Public Library, 1100 Church St, Bastrop | Stories in two languages for little ones. Bastrop Public Library
🍽️ Lunchtime with Judy | noon | American Legion Post 533, 3003 Loop 150 E, Bastrop | A free community lunch, first come first served. American Legion Post 533
🥬 Elgin Farmers' Market | 4-7pm | Veterans' Memorial Park, 109 Depot St, Elgin | Local produce, meats, baked goods, honey and crafts. SNAP welcome. Elgin Farmers' Market
🤠 Farm Street Opry | doors 5:30pm, show 7pm | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St, Bastrop | The monthly traditional country show, with Johnny Blaine and Janet Lynn this month. Dinner concessions from 5:30pm, cash at the door. The Farm Street Opry
🏺 Ceramic Class | Neighbor's & Horsemen Co. | 6pm | Iron Bridge Icehouse, Bastrop | A hands-on pottery night: a pound of clay to shape a vase, bowl or planter, then paint and personalize it, fired in time for Christmas pickup. $45, 25 spots, tickets online. Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard
🪴 Plant Bingo | 6:30pm | Smithville Brewing Company, 661 NW Loop 230, Smithville | Bingo with a green thumb, on Pints & Pizza night ($5 SBC pints, $2 off pizzas). Smithville Brewing Company
❓ Trivia with Ben | 7-9pm | Bastrop Beer Company, 1008 Main St, Bastrop | Weekly Thursday trivia. Bastrop Beer Company
Friday, 🗓️ November 6
🏈 Friday Night Football | kickoff times vary, check your school | Bastrop County high schools | The regular season is winding down and playoff pairings start to fall into place. Check your school's athletics page for this week's opponent and kickoff. Bastrop ISD Athletics
📚 Autumn Book Swap with the Friends of the Bastrop Library | 5-7pm | Bastrop Beer Company, 1008 Main St, Bastrop | Bring a book, take a book, with cookbooks featured this year. Fall brews on tap, free to attend, all ages welcome. Friends of the Bastrop Public Library
🎸 Live Music | Rock House | 6:30-9:30pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | Classic rock covers from the 70s, 80s and beyond. Copper Shot Distillery
🍷 Starlight Dinner in the Vineyard | 6:30-8:30pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | A four-course dinner under the stars with three wine pairings and live jazz. Reservations through the vineyard. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎸 Walkin' the Line | A Johnny Cash Tribute | showtime on the Opera House site | Bastrop Opera House, 711 Spring St, Bastrop | Bennie Wheels' Johnny Cash tribute, the first of two nights. Bastrop Opera House
🎶 Live Music | Nite Shift | 7:30-10:30pm | Gracie's, The Grace Miller, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Friday night live music with the kitchen open. The Grace Miller
🎶 Live Music | Fallon Franklin | evening | Neighbors Kitchen & Yard, 601 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Live music on the river stage. Neighbors Kitchen & Yard
🎤 Friday Night Karaoke | 8pm to midnight | American Legion Post 533, 3003 Loop 150 E, Bastrop | Weekly. American Legion Post 533
🌟 Saturday, 🗓️ November 7 | The Big Day
🚂 Meet Me at the Depot | 9am-noon | Smithville MKT Depot & Railroad Park, 102 NE 1st St, Smithville | Porch stories and railroad memories, a classic-car cruise-in, live music, dominoes, trolley rides and kids' storytelling. Free. City of Smithville
🥕 Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market | 10am-2pm | 1302 Chestnut St, Bastrop | The weekly producers market. SNAP and Lone Star welcome. Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market
🦉 Lost Pines Wildlife Habitat Day | 10am-2pm | Bastrop State Park, around the Refectory, Bastrop | Live wildlife, booths and talks with the Houston Zoo and the Lost Pines Master Naturalists. Free, and the park waives the entrance fee. Texas Parks & Wildlife
🎨 Bastrop Art Fest | 10am-4pm | Lost Pines Art Center, 1204 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Local art and makers, free to walk through. Lost Pines Art Center
🖼️ Bastrop Art Fest at the Museum | 10am-5pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | For one day only, the museum joins the Art Fest by showing rarely-seen artwork from its own collection. Included with museum admission ($8; veterans and kids 12 and under free). Bastrop County Historical Society
🍄 Low-Tech, No-Tech Mushroom Cultivation Workshop | 11am-1:30pm | Bastrop Botanical Gardens, 316 Old 71, Cedar Creek | Botanist Deena Spellman shows how to grow your own mushrooms at home with no fancy equipment, out at her native-plant gardens off Hwy 71. Small-group class; call 512-303-5672 to reserve a spot. Bastrop Botanical Gardens
🥕 Hyperloop Weekly Farmers Market | 11am-3pm | Hyperloop Plaza, 865 FM 1209, Bastrop | Local growers, makers and food vendors at the plaza. Free. Hyperloop Plaza
🥣 9th Annual Elgin Empty Bowl | SOUPer Bowl | 11am-1:30pm | Elgin High School, Elgin | A simple bowl of soup and a handmade bowl to keep, raising money for the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry. Tickets ahead. Elgin Empty Bowl
🎓 ACC Elgin Campus Fall Festival | noon-4pm | ACC Elgin Campus, 1501 US-290, Elgin | A free community festival with a fall market, campus farm tours, produce and baked-goods stands, kids' activities, a petting zoo and a barrel-train ride. Austin Community College
🌶️ Hot Sauce Hootenanny | check the farm for time | Simple Promise Farms, Elgin | A hot-sauce-tasting afternoon on the farm. Simple Promise Farms
🍷 Live Music | Ben Zuniga | 4-7pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Classic Americana on the vineyard stage, with wine and craft beer. Rising Sun Vineyard
🌼 Elgin Día de los Muertos Festival | 6th Annual | 5-10pm, parade at 6:15pm | Downtown Elgin, library to Veterans Park, 109 Depot St | Sugar-skull crafts and a food and vendor market from 5pm, the parade at 6:15, Mariachi Los Gallos at The Clever Tiger at 6:45, then Variantes del Ritmo, mariachis and a fire dancer on stage from 7. Free and bilingual. See the feature up top. City of Elgin
🎸 Walkin' the Line | A Johnny Cash Tribute | showtime on the Opera House site | Bastrop Opera House, 711 Spring St, Bastrop | The second and final night of Bennie Wheels' Johnny Cash tribute. Bastrop Opera House
🎸 Live Music | FyreSyde | 7-10pm | Copper Shot Distillery, 809 Main St, Bastrop | The music of Zeppelin, ZZ Top and Hendrix, plus originals. Copper Shot Distillery
🎶 Live Music | Jay Wood & The TroubleMakers | 7:30-10:30pm | Gracie's, The Grace Miller, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Saturday night live music. The Grace Miller
🎶 Live Music | Wook Wizard | evening | Neighbors Kitchen & Yard, 601 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Live music on the river stage. Neighbors Kitchen & Yard
Sunday, 🗓️ November 8
🥬 Smithville Sunday Market | 10am-2pm | James H. Long Railroad Park, Main & 1st, Smithville | Produce, handmade goods and live music, rain or shine. Free. Smithville Market
🎶 Live Music | Live & Amplified | noon-2pm | Gracie's, The Grace Miller, 706 Pine St, Bastrop | Sunday lunch music. The Grace Miller
⚔️ Hynafol | The Grand Gathering (Opening Day) | Sherwood Forest Faire, 1883 Old Hwy 20, McDade | The opening of a week-long live-action roleplay gathering at Sherwood Forest Faire, running Nov 8-15. Check the organizer for public-access details. Sherwood Forest Faire
🥐 Make Your Own Brunch Board! | 2-3:30pm | Bastrop Botanical Gardens, 316 Old 71, Cedar Creek | Build your own grazing board and pick up some tips at the gardens off Hwy 71, a pretty Sunday outing with the Moon Garden and labyrinth right there. Small-group class; call 512-303-5672 to reserve. Bastrop Botanical Gardens
🍷 Live Music | Clint Nygard | 2-5pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Local country on the vineyard's country stage, with a full food menu. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎵 Live Music | Trick Myers | 4-6pm | Smithville Brewing Company, 661 NW Loop 230, Smithville | Sunday afternoon live music at the brewery. Smithville Brewing Company
🔮 Planning Ahead
🎨 In your inbox Thursday | The Thursday issue carries the back half of the week with the Bastrop Art Fest featured, plus the start of veterans weekend.
🛍️ Thu Nov 12 | Elgin Sip, Shop & Stroll | 5-8pm | Downtown Elgin | An evening of shopping and strolling downtown. City of Elgin
🪴 Thu Nov 12 | Plant Bingo at Neighbor's | 6pm | Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard, 601 Chestnut St, Bastrop | Six rounds of plant bingo with Horsemen Co., flash trivia between rounds, a cash prize pot and a plant for every player. $60, 80 tickets, online only; weather date Nov 16. Neighbor's Kitchen & Yard
🎖️ Fri-Sat Nov 13-14 | Heroes & Hot Rods Veterans Weekend Car Show | 20th Year | Main Street cruise-in Friday 5-9pm, car show Saturday from 7:30am | Downtown Bastrop | Classic cars and hot rods outside the museum, honoring veterans. Pre-registration only, no day-of. Bastrop Area Cruisers
🎙️ Sat Nov 14 | Nocturn Market | New Downtown Home | 5-10pm | Elgin Depot Museum, Main St, Downtown Elgin | The glowing night market moves downtown, across from Veterans Memorial Park and next to the food truck park, with 30-plus local vendors. Free. Nocturn Market
🎖️ Sat Nov 14 | Bastrop County Veterans Appreciation Banquet | 22nd Annual | Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut St, Bastrop | A banquet honoring county veterans. Tickets ahead. Red, White & Blue Veterans of Bastrop County
🏡 Sat Nov 14 | Smithville Garden Club Tour of Homes | 11am-3pm | Smithville | Five homes and a church on the tour, tickets at each home and the Smithville Visitors Center. Facebook event
🎶 Sat Nov 14 | Rhythm & Vines | 2nd Annual Benefit for Operation Turkey Elgin | noon-5pm | Rising Sun Vineyard, 233 Edmonson Ranch Rd, McDade | Live music with part of the proceeds going to Operation Turkey. Rising Sun Vineyard
🎩 Sat Nov 21 | The Baron's Birthday Bash | 10am-1pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | A birthday party for Baron de Bastrop, the county's namesake, with hands-on history, trivia, photo ops and birthday treats. Family-friendly, included with museum admission. Bastrop County Historical Society
🎸 Sat Nov 21 | Music in the Museum | noon-1pm | Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St, Bastrop | Free live music on the museum's front porch, third Saturday of the month. Bastrop County Historical Society
🎄 Fri Nov 28 | Wassail Fest | 3-7pm | Downtown Bastrop | The downtown holiday kickoff: stroll Main Street tasting and voting on local wassail recipes. The museum is a stop and opens its new Holiday Traditions Exhibit that evening (free entry during the fest). Bastrop County Historical Society
🏛️ Sat Dec 12 | Bastrop Historic Homes Tour | Bastrop | The museum's holiday tradition, six stops this year including a historic church. Mark the calendar. Bastrop County Historical Society
🍂 Everything else through November | It's all in the free 2026 Fall Guide. Download the Fall Guide
🎁 November Referral Prize | $50 to Numero 28
A new month, a new drawing. This November, every neighbor who subscribes through your own referral link is another entry to win a $50 gift card to Numero 28, the wood-fired Italian spot on Main Street in Bastrop. Refer five and you're in. Your link is right below. Text it to the friend who always asks, "Is there anything to do around here?"
How Did We Do?
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See you Thursday.
Marilyn - The Bastrop Current