Bluebonnet Festival keeps growing
Youngsters carefully race to the finish line balancing colored eggs in spoons during the Saturday morning children’s activities at a past Burnet Bluebonnet Festival. The 2026 fun begins at 10 a.m. by the Main Street Stage on the corner of Main and Washington streets. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
New features, bigger footprint, and fan favorites return to Burnet April 9-12
Bigger, better, and more wild(flowers) than ever, the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival enters its 43rd year with new features, including two live music stages, a free shuttle and handicap accessible parking, a new footprint, a cooling center, and the reintroduction of its scholarship pageant.
The festival takes over the Burnet County Courthouse Square from April 9-12. (See a full schedule of events, a map, and more on pages 19-22 in the March magazine.)
“It’s a fun, lively, exciting festival,” said Teryl McFerrin, executive director of the Burnet Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event. “You walk around, and there’s something to do on every corner. Every corner is a good festival experience. Every corner you meet new people and see old friends.”
The number of visitors enjoying the Mighty Thomas Carnival, pet and grand parades, concerts, fun run, vendors, food courts, and more grows each year, McFerrin said. Last year, around 45,000 people attended the four-day event. This year, organizers expect even more. She credits the festival’s growing popularity to the people who make it happen each year.
“The Bluebonnet Festival Committee members are all volunteers, and they know what they are doing,” she said. “The festival is always safe and organized. These people do such an amazing job in preparation and planning.”
TWO-STAGE COMEBACK
The Jackson Street Stage is back this year, with a larger platform and a bigger budget for bands. It will be set up in the courtyard of the newly built Burnet City Hall at the corner of Vandeveer and Jackson streets.
“We’ll also have a beer garden and spirits at the Jackson Street Stage,” said Damon Beierle, volunteer organizer for the live music. “It’s our own little destination in the festival. You can get food from the food court and have a beverage. It’s nestled between the vendors and the carnival. It connects well to the rest of the festival.”
Nearby, the Burnet Community Center, 401 E. Jackson St., will be set up as a cooling center. Festival-goers can stop and relax in air-conditioned comfort with access to indoor restrooms. Cub Scouts from Pack 282 will have water and snacks for sale inside.
The headlining musical act this year is Jason Boland & The Stragglers, who perform Saturday at 9:45 p.m. on the Main Street Stage. Tyce Delk opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are available online. All other concerts are free.
Also free is another new addition: shuttle parking. Shuttle services begin at 9 a.m. in the Burnet Middle School parking lot, 1401 N. Main St. The last run from the square to the lot leaves at 7 p.m.
Designated accessible parking for those with disabilties is also new this year. Vehicles with handicap plates or tags can park in the First Baptist Church lot on U.S. 29 between Vandeveer and Pierce streets.
The Mighty Thomas Carnival will run along three blocks of League Street and two blocks of Boundary Street, with an additional stretch alongside the community center between Washington and League streets.
Vendors will circle the square and be set up along Jackson Street from the square to where the carnival ends at the community center.
“We have incredible vendors with unique arts and crafts,” McFerrin said. “Some of them have been coming for 20 years, and we get in a lot of new ones. They give us three full days of their lives, and they love it. They are working hard, and they say consistently that this is their favorite festival and their favorite shoppers.”
A Bluebonnet Festival queen and her court will be crowned in March in plenty of time to participate in the grand parade at noon Saturday, April 11. This is the first time the festival will crown a court since 2016.
“I formed a new pageant committee after several people expressed interest in getting it going again,” committee member Jessica Haile said.
Three of the committee members are past title holders.
“My daughter was also a past title holder with the Bluebonnet and Oatmeal Festival pageants, which is definitely where my interest came from,” said Haile, adding that the event is not a beauty pageant.
“It’s about community engagement for the participants,” she explained. “It’s about values, confidence, and community pride.”
The queen will receive a scholarship. Other title winners will get crowns (cowboy hats for the winners of the Tiny Mister and Little Mister titles), sashes, and swag bags.
“Winners serve as ambassadors for the Bluebonnet Festival and other local events throughout the year,” Haile said. “Contestants represent the values of confidence, kindness, and community pride while competing in categories such as interview, formal wear, and on-stage presentation.”
Applications are available at bluebonnetfestival.org/events/scholarship-pageant. The deadline is March 6. The pageant will be held in the Burnet Middle School auditorium at 2 p.m. March 29.
The Burnet Bluebonnet Festival is an event the entire community can be proud of, McFerrin said.
“Burnet is doing this because it’s fun, it builds community, it brings people together,” she said. “This is No. 43, but we plan on 103.”
Rather than growing stale, the Bluebonnet Festival continues to adapt to its audience, attracting more visitors and offering more activities, McFerrin continued.
“The reason it’s such a success is the people behind it, the city and county supporting it, and the local businesses supporting it,” she said. “It wouldn’t be possible if the businesses weren’t behind it. That’s why people come. That and the bluebonnets!”
For more information on the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival, see pages 19-22 in the March issue of The Picayune Magazine or the online flipbook. The four pages in the centerfold feature a map, schedule of events, and information about activities, such as the Demolition Derby, Lake Area Rods and Classics Car Show, praise and worship service, Highland Lakes Wildflower Show, and the 42 domino tournament. Find information about the 5K/10K/KidsK here.