Just as Austin is deep in the heart of Texas, Zilker Park is right in the center of the city’s vibrant and growing downtown area. Overlooking the skyline, Zilker is our own Central Park, with a lush carpet of grass that provides a fun weekend or weekday escape for both two and four-legged Austinites. With Barton Springs, the Austin Nature & Science Center, the Zilker Botanical Garden and the Butler Hike and Bike Trail just a stone’s throw away, Zilker Park offers something to please just about anyone.
2017 Zilker Park Events
The centerpiece of Zilker is the Great Lawn, which also doubles as a venue for some of Austin’s most popular annual events. Here’s what’s in store at our city’s most popular park during 2017.
Fly a Kite at the ABC Kite Festival
March 12, 2017
**The 2017 ABC Kite Fest has been canceled due to inclement weather.**
Can you imagine a better kick-off to spring than flying a kite? Tens of thousands of Austinites who attend the Austin Kite Festival couldn’t agree more. ABC Home & Commercial Services has sponsored the Fest for years and took over the event’s management in 2017 as a gift to the city.
Admission to the ABC Kite Fest is free, and proceeds from sponsorships, the VIP Breakfast and the Anteater Fun Run benefit two outstanding local nonprofit organizations, Communities in Schools of Central Texas and the Moss Pieratt Foundation. In addition to the kite-flying competitions which have been taking place for decades, this year’s ABC Kite Festival has some new additions which will amp up the fun.
3rd Annual Kite Fest VIP Breakfast
If you have early birds or want to skip the hassle of parking, you can purchase tickets to the VIP Breakfast, which begins at 9 am. Tickets are $80 and are available for purchase online. No tickets will be sold on the day of the event, and the breakfast tends to sell out quickly. There will be no refunds.
Anteater Fun Run
New to the Kite Fest this year is the Anteater Fun Run, a 2.1-mile family-friendly course that begins on the south side of the park and ends with refreshments near the MossFest stage. Check-in for the race begins at 9 am, and the run will start at 9:30 am. Strollers are allowed, and children ages 12 and under are free. Fun Run participants can add on a $10 parking pass for added convenience. The Fun Run is a rain or shine event.
MossFest: A Family-Friendly Concert
After breakfast and a run, you can sit back and enjoy some tunes from Austin’s best family-friendly musicians at MossFest, an annual celebration for a very special little boy whose life was cut short. MossFest begins at 10am on a dedicated stage near Lou Neff Point and includes local artists, vendors and family-friendly activities.
The 2017 MossFest lineup includes:
Barton Hills Choir
10-10:40 am
Big Don
10:40-11:10 am
Hey Lolly
11:20-11:50 am
Trout Fishing
Noon-1 pm
Kite Flying & Competitions
The Kite Fest officially starts at 10 am when display kites will begin flying. The general public spreads out across Zilker’s Great Lawn to fly store-bought and homemade kites of all sizes. The sight of so many kites dancing in the sky at one time against the backdrop of the city skyline is a sight to behold.
If you’d like to participate in the Kite Contest, you’ll need to register between 11 am and 2 pm the day of the event. There is no cost to enter. Only homemade single-line kites are allowed in the competitions. The Contest starts at 1 pm with trophies awarded in a variety of categories for both youth and adults.
Events include:
- 50 Yard Dash
- Highest Angle Kite
- Steadiest Kite
- Strongest Pulling Kite
- Smallest Kite
- Most Unusual Kite
- Largest Kite
- Oldest and Youngest Fliers
Display kites will fly until 3 pm and the Kite Fest wraps up at 5 pm.
Summertime Means Blues on the Green
May 24, June 14, July 12 and August 2, 2017
Favorite local radio station KGSR sponsors the city’s longest-running free concert series, Blues on the Green. Austinites of all ages celebrate summer while listening to Austin-based artists from all musical genres in a laid-back setting. Each show features two artists, and the music begins at 8 pm. The 2017 Blues on the Green artists will be announced prior to the show.
The 2017 lineup is:
- May 24th: Jamestown Revival with Walter Lukens
- June 14th: Grupo Fantasma with Hard Proof
- July 12th: Shinyribs with Jackie Venson
- August 2: The Bright Light Social Hour with The Digital Wild
ACL Festival Brings the World’s Most Popular Music to our Backyard
October 6-8 & 13-15, 2017
Over 100 musical acts from around the world converge on Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits Music Festival for two consecutive three-day weekends each fall. Ticket sales begin in the fall preceding the Fest, and additional passes are sometimes made available in the months leading up to the event. The lineup for the 2017 festival includes headliners Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chance the Rapper, The Killers and the Gorrilaz, as well as local acts, including Spoon, Asleep at the Wheel and Missio.
Ring in the Season with the Trail of Lights
Dates TBA December 2017
Austin’s most popular annual holiday event is the Trail of Lights, which transforms Zilker Park into a holiday wonderland of twinkling lights. With over 40 displays, 2 million lights and many activities and attractions, the Zilker Park Trail of Lights has been delighting Austin families for generations. ABC Home & Commercial Services is proud to be a sponsor of this annual event.
ABC is Proud to Call Austin Home
Zilker Park is just one of the many reasons we are grateful to live and work here in Austin. ABC has been helping Austinites with home and commercial services for over 60 years, which includes a strong commitment to Austin and the annual events which make our town special. ABC thanks our loyal customers for the opportunity to be a part of two of Zilker’s biggest annual events: the Kite Fest and the Trail of Lights. We are happy to give back to our great city and look forward to doing so for generations to come.
