Founders Day returns to Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs’ Founders Day Festival will take over the streets of downtown this weekend, celebrating the city’s heritage and pioneer spirit.

The Founders Day Festival is the city of Dripping Springs’ biggest community event. For over 30 years, the celebration was held annually around late April, hosted by the city and its Founders Day Commission. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s festival will be the first since 2019.

The three-day celebration will officially kick off on Friday, April 22, with the Founders Day 33rd Anniversary Parade at 6:30 p.m. The parade will run through the middle of Dripping Springs, along Mercer Street. This year’s theme is "Drippin' Through the Decades.”

The event will continue on Friday with a carnival and free, live music until midnight. Carnival tickets are available in advance for half-price at various businesses in the area, listed at cityofdrippingsprings.com/foundersday/entertainment.

The main portion of the festival will run on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food and drinks will be available for purchase until close both days, with over 150 vendors from around the Hill Country and beyond. Free, live music and entertainment will be available throughout the day on two different stages, and carnival rides and activities will be open.

A barbecue cook-off competition will also run throughout the day on Saturday, and an awards ceremony will be held on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

The Annual Founders Day Festival honors and celebrates the founding of the Dripping Springs community in 1850 by the Moss, Wallace and Pound families, according to the Founders Day Commission.

“The three-day jubilee promotes cooperation and volunteerism in the community and generates community spirit and recreation,” the commission stated on the event’s website. “The proceeds from the festival are donated back into the community and directly benefit local non-profit organizations, churches, school and park programs, youth groups and charities.”

For more information on parking and transportation, visit cityofdrippingsprings.com/foundersday.