Kalahari Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival Returns to Round Rock With 75+ Beverage Brands, Texas Flavors and Live Music
For Central Texas residents who would rather spend a Sunday sampling brisket jambalaya, steakhouse bites, Texas wines and craft spirits than standing in another brunch line, one of Round Rock's largest culinary events is preparing to return.
The 5th Annual Kalahari Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival will take over Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Round Rock on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, bringing together food from the resort's restaurants, tastings from more than 75 wine, beer and spirits brands, live music, chef demonstrations and entertainment throughout the property.
This year's theme, "Stars, Stripes & Spurs," gives the festival a Texas-country twist, with cowboy and cowgirl attire encouraged. The event is open only to guests ages 21 and older, and photo identification will be required at check-in.
For Round Rock and Austin-area residents, the festival offers something that can be easy to overlook about Kalahari. The sprawling resort may be best known for its indoor waterpark, but it has also grown into one of the area's major dining, entertainment and convention destinations.
What to Expect at the 2026 Kalahari Food & Wine Festival
General admission runs from noon to 4 p.m. and costs $125 per person. Admission includes food samples from Kalahari restaurants, beverage tastings from more than 75 beer, wine and spirits vendors, interactive cooking demonstrations, live music and entertainment, a souvenir wine glass, raffles, giveaways and a silent auction benefiting the Nelson Family Life Foundation.
VIP admission costs $200 per person and adds a chef-curated brunch buffet beginning at 10 a.m., exclusive entertainment, early festival access beginning at 11 a.m., a welcome gift, premium tastings and priority seating for cooking demonstrations.
Groups of 10 or more can receive a 20% discount on festival tickets through Kalahari's group offer. According to the resort, tickets are non-refundable. Same-day tickets are expected to be available at the main check-in area, subject to availability.
Kalahari Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival details and tickets
A Food Lineup That Travels Across Kalahari's Restaurants
The festival is designed as more than a traditional wine tasting. Guests can move through Kalahari and sample dishes representing many of the resort's restaurants and food concepts.
The preliminary 2026 menu includes Texas-sized fried chicken steak and grilled street corn from the Main Kitchen at Amatuli.
Double Cut Steakhouse and Redd's Piano Bar are expected to serve selections including steakhouse wedge cups, Parmesan truffle potato croquettes, blackened beef tips, hanging bacon cornbread and assorted sushi. Sortino's Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria is planning short rib anolini, house lasagna bites, charcuterie, pizza and other Italian-inspired samples.
Cinco Niños is bringing Mexican-inspired dishes including mini chicken chimichangas and carne asada quesadillas, while B-LUX Grill & Bar's offerings include mini cowboy sliders, buffalo cauliflower bites and Dr Pepper floats.
Other planned bites range from loaded baked potato mac and cheese at MACS to Texas pecan pie, mini apple pies and s'mores brownie bites from Kalahari Bakery. Zanzibar at Baobab Social plans Texas chili dogs, turkey BLT pinwheels and fried pickle chips, while Zulu Grill is expected to offer buffalo chicken sliders and giant tater kegs. Kalahari notes that menus are subject to change.
For guests searching for food festivals near Austin, things to do in Round Rock in October or Central Texas wine and food events, the variety is part of the attraction. A single ticket essentially becomes a tour through many of the dining concepts operating inside the resort.
More Than 75 Wine, Beer and Spirits Brands
The drink side of the Kalahari festival combines Texas producers with national and international names.
The announced wine lineup includes brands such as Flat Creek Vineyards, Rising Sun Vineyard, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Bogle Family Vineyards, Halter Ranch Vineyard and Oyster Bay.
Beer and cider participants include Athletic Brewing Co., Boston Beer Company, Twisted X Brewing and Aval Cider.
Texas also has a noticeable presence among the spirits vendors. The festival's announced roster includes Dripping Springs Distilling, Garrison Brothers, Still Austin Whiskey Co., Andalusia Whiskey and Spirit of Texas, alongside national brands and other distillers. Additional vendors may be added before the event.
That mix gives guests a chance to try familiar labels while also discovering producers operating closer to home.
Chef Demonstrations Put Texas Flavors Center Stage
Food lovers interested in learning how some of the dishes come together will also have several chef demonstrations to choose from.
Among the scheduled presentations is a Texas Brisket Jambalaya demonstration at 1 p.m., led by Executive Banquets Chef Steven Woehl. The dish combines house-smoked brisket with Gulf shrimp, roasted corn, jalapeño and roasted tomatoes before being prepared on an EVO Grill for guests to sample.
A Jack Daniel's interactive demonstration is scheduled for 12:20 p.m. in Convention Center Suites 1 and 2. Additional culinary programming is part of the festival experience, with VIP guests receiving priority seating for demonstrations.
Live Music, a Mechanical Bull and Even Armadillo Racing
Visitors will not have to spend the afternoon moving only between tasting tables.
The entertainment lineup includes live performances by Band in Black, North of Luck, Gritty Sunset, Chris Beall and Aaron McDonnell.
Organizers are also leaning into this year's Texas theme with armadillo racing, a mechanical bull, animal encounters and strolling entertainers. B-LUX will host a game-day tailgate where festival guests can follow the day's football action.
The combination gives groups the option to linger over music and entertainment instead of treating the event as a simple circuit of food and beverage booths.
A Festival Inside One of Round Rock's Largest Destinations
Kalahari has become a significant part of the Round Rock hospitality landscape since opening on Nov. 12, 2020.
The Round Rock resort was Kalahari's fourth property and its first in Texas and the Southwest. Today, the resort encompasses approximately 1.5 million square feet, including 975 guest rooms, a 223,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, three acres of outdoor pools, Tom Foolerys Adventure Park and extensive convention and event space.
Its 223,000-square-foot indoor waterpark is promoted by the company as America's largest indoor waterpark resort.
The property also has numerous restaurants, bars and quick-service concepts, which gives Kalahari an unusually deep bench of in-house kitchens to draw from for a festival centered on food.
The Nelson family opened the original Kalahari resort in Wisconsin Dells in 2000. The family-owned hospitality company later expanded to Sandusky, Ohio; Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains; Round Rock; and a fifth destination in Virginia.
What Round Rock Residents Should Know Before Going
The Kalahari Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival is a 21-and-older event, and guests must bring photo identification. Children will not be admitted.
Free self-parking will be available in front of the resort. Kalahari recommends parking near the Convention Center because those spaces are closest to festival check-in. Guests who use valet parking and remain at the resort for dinner afterward can have valet parking validated when dining at one of Kalahari's signature restaurants.
The festival takes place at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, 3001 Kalahari Blvd., Round Rock, TX 78665.
For Central Texas residents looking for a fall date idea, group outing or an opportunity to explore food and drinks from both local and national producers, the festival puts an unusually large number of options under one roof. And with its cowboy-inspired theme, Texas food influences and local beverage makers in the mix, the fifth-year event is increasingly taking on a personality that reflects its Round Rock home.
What Happens Next
The Kalahari Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4, with VIP activities beginning at 10 a.m., VIP festival access at 11 a.m. and general admission running from noon to 4 p.m.
Kalahari continues to update its festival website with participating vendors, entertainment, menu items and other event information as Oct. 4 approaches.
Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more events, restaurant news, family activities and things to do across the Austin and Central Texas area.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.
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