Between Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 25, Bee Cave has six public events on the calendar, and five of them happen on Hill Country Blvd. Two are city events, two are Galleria events, and two are run by the arts group Contracommon. The line between city and Galleria programming has nearly disappeared. The city's Trunk or Treat runs on Hill Country Blvd during the Galleria's car show, on the same morning.
If you live here, you don't need to work out where things are. You need to work out when. The questions are which hours on which day, and how they overlap with each other and with an ordinary weekend errand at the Galleria. The one event that leaves Hill Country Blvd is the one the city recommends for teens and adults.
Nine days, one address, and one exception
Here is the full run in order, with the details that affect planning:
- Contracommon Drink + Draw. Saturday, October 17, 1 to 5 p.m., at 12912 Hill Country Blvd., #F-140. Contracommon describes it as a monthly art happy hour. Bring a project or start a new one, and the current exhibition, Sublime Landscapes of Big Bend, will be on view. It's free, RSVP is through Partiful, and walk-ins are welcome.
- Oktoberfest at Hill Country Galleria. Saturday, October 17, 3 to 7 p.m. There's live music, Oktoberfest-style food from The League Kitchen + Tavern, imported beers and local lagers, face painting and balloon art, and yard games. There's also a stein-holding contest and a dirndl-and-lederhosen costume contest with a YETI cooler as the prize. You enter by tagging @hillcountrygalleria on Instagram, and the winner is announced at 5:30 p.m.
- City of Bee Cave Haunted Trail. Thursday and Friday, October 22 and 23, 7 to 9 p.m., at the trailhead near Chick-fil-A, 3600 Ranch Road 620.
- Common Ground Arts Festival. Saturday, October 24, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Galleria's Central Plaza. Admission is free.
- Rolling Sculpture Car Show. Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the streets of the Galleria. Spectators get in free.
- City of Bee Cave Trunk or Treat. Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., along Hill Country Blvd at 12700 Hill Country Blvd.
The two weekends work differently. On the first Saturday, the two events overlap. Drink + Draw runs from 1 to 5 p.m. and Oktoberfest from 3 to 7 p.m., so for two hours both are going on along Hill Country Blvd. The second weekend fills the Galleria for most of two days in a row, and the Haunted Trail runs on the weeknights between them.
October 24 and 25 put two days of crowds on the same plaza
Common Ground is the sixth annual festival run by Contracommon. The organizer lists more than 30 creative vendors, four live music acts, and free hands-on activities for all ages. The Galleria says the festival is meant to connect emerging Central Texas artists and makers with buyers from west Austin and the Hill Country. The 2026 performers haven't been named in the listings. Contracommon's festival page is where an announcement would appear.
The festival ends at 5 p.m. Saturday, and show-car parking for the Rolling Sculpture Car Show starts at 10 a.m. Sunday. That leaves about 17 hours between the two events on the same property. The car show calls itself a celebration of "automotive style in all of its forms." Expect collector cars, sports cars and exotics, modern classics, hot rods, and art cars along the Galleria's streets, with live music and awards from the show's sponsors. The show goes on rain or shine, and all proceeds go to the Bee Cave Public Library. It has been running since 2008.
The city's Trunk or Treat page states the overlap directly:
"In conjunction with the Rolling Sculpture Car Show, this family-friendly event will be loaded with fun and candy. Come in costume, walk down Hill Country Blvd to grab your fair share of sweets and check out the classic car show."
Target sponsors Trunk or Treat. It starts at the same hour as the car show and ends two hours earlier. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Hill Country Blvd has show cars and costumed kids collecting candy on the same pavement. From 1 to 3 p.m., it's only the cars. On the city's event page, the posted route map carries a 2024 filename, so it may not be updated for this year. Check the 2026 flyer on the same page for current details before you go.
For anyone who wants the car show without the candy crowd, the window is 1 to 3 p.m. For anyone whose Sunday is just a pickup at a Galleria store, the morning will be the busiest it gets all month.
The Haunted Trail is the one event that leaves the Galleria
Two nights before the plaza weekend, the city sets up its Halloween event for older visitors on RR 620. The trail behind Chick-fil-A is turned into a series of scary scenes, and the city says the event is "recommended for teens and adults because it is extra spooky." Costumes are encouraged. Hill Country Indoor is the sponsor.
Parking is the part that catches people. The city says to park at Home Depot and walk down to the start of the trail behind Chick-fil-A. Don't try to pull into the restaurant's lot on a Thursday or Friday night.
The city is also looking for volunteers to staff the scenes, and volunteers must be 18 or older. You can sign up through the form on the Haunted Trail page. The event is on weeknights from 7 to 9 p.m. and is aimed at older visitors, so it's the one item this October that doesn't compete with the Galleria crowds.
The plaza itself has changed going into the busy stretch
If you're planning around the Central Plaza for these weekends, one thing is missing. The Galleria's website has a banner reading "SPLASH PAD TEMPORARILY CLOSED." No reason or reopening date has been posted. The Central Plaza page still lists the splash pad as open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go by the banner. On a festival Saturday or a Trunk or Treat morning, that means one less place for younger kids to burn off energy between events.
The shops around the plaza have also changed this year:
- The Shop Project is now open, according to a Galleria social post. It combines Urban Izzy and Confident Clara in one storefront.
- Charles Schwab opened a branch at the Galleria on July 12, 2026, Community Impact reported.
- JETSET Pilates is planned for 12800 Hill Country Blvd., Ste. G-100. As of Community Impact's September 2026 report, construction was expected to finish in November, with an opening "this winter." It wasn't open as of that report.
None of these are restaurants. For food during the late-October events, the Galleria's existing restaurants are the options, along with the Oktoberfest menu from The League Kitchen + Tavern on the 17th. The car show listing specifically suggests eating at a Galleria restaurant between laps of the show.
In November, the calendar moves one block to City Hall
The Galleria stays the center of Bee Cave's events after Halloween. Bee Cave on Ice returns November 13, 2026 and runs through January 18, 2027, at the rink behind City Hall at 4000 Galleria Parkway.
Posted hours and prices from the city:
- Monday to Thursday: 3 to 9 p.m., last session at 8 p.m.
- Friday: noon to 10 p.m., last session at 9 p.m. Opening day, November 13, is a Friday.
- Saturday and Lake Travis ISD school holidays: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The listed school holidays are November 23 to 27 and December 18 to January 5.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., last session at 6 p.m.
- Standard price: $16 plus tax for 50 minutes, skate rental included.
- Community Night Tuesdays: $11 plus tax on November 17, December 1, 8 and 15, and January 12.
The $5 Tuesday discount only applies on those five dates, not every Tuesday of the season. The rink page also lists shorter Thanksgiving Day hours under the date 11/27. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26, so check with the city about holiday hours before you plan around that week. Reservations go through the "Book Now" link on the Bee Cave on Ice page.
Count Oktoberfest on October 17 as day one and the rink's last day on January 18 as the end. That's about three months in which most of Bee Cave's public events happen within walking distance of the Central Plaza, and the Haunted Trail on RR 620 is the only one that doesn't.
When most of a city's public calendar happens at one address, living nearby means something specific, and that shows up in how homes near the Galleria lease and sell. If you own near Hill Country Blvd or are weighing a property close to it, Eduardo Duran ROA can show you how that location plays out in rents and resale using current local data. Get your free Austin market valuation & strategy call.
