Bloomin' Fun

Carnival, partial music lineup announced as festival is back with five stages, multiple locations

Mar 31, 2023

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

The full-blown Bloomin’ Temple Festival is back, and tickets are now on sale for the two-day experience.

A partial list of bands and solo acts was released by the city today, and additional artists will be announced before the festival begins.

“The celebration attracts 13,000 guests annually, and it is one of Central Texas’ most popular events,” said Allison O’Connor, a spokesperson for the city.

This year’s festival will sprawl along the BNSF railroad tracks from the new MLK Festival Grounds to Market Trail and Santa Fe Plaza.

“Visitors will be able to enjoy live musical entertainment, arts and crafts, food and drinks and more festival fun on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29,” O’Connor said. “There will be a carnival, but it is actually separate from the Festival and it runs two extra days.”

The Bloomin’ Temple Festival at MLK Festival Grounds will be a ticketed event, but activities at Market Trail and in the plaza will be free. The free events will include additional music and a car show.

Bands that will be performing Friday night include local sensation Landon Heights, DJ Sammy G, the Chad Cooke Band, Conjunto Cats, Tracy Byrd and Siggno.

Saturday’s music will include the Huser Brothers Band, The Capital, Escape (a Dallas-based Journey tribute band) and Austin Silent Disco.

The carnival will run four nights in Downtown Temple, according to Holly Leiferman, Temple’s senior events coordinator. The carnival will run 6-10 p.m. Thursday ($20 wristband), 6 p.m. to midnight Friday ($25 wristband), 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday ($30 wristband) and 1-10 p.m. Sunday ($25 wrist band).

Individual tickets are $1 each but some rides will require multiple tickets.

Leiferman said the carnival admission will be in addition to the Bloomin’ Temple Festival gate tickets. Tickets to the festival will be $15 in advance at bloomintemple.com and $20 at the gate. Kids under 5 will be admitted free.

“The silent disco is something new that I think will be a fun interactive feature,” she said. “There will be three DJ’s on stage, and guests will have one of three colors of headphones. Each DJ will play a different genre of music, and guests will dance to the music on their headphones. They will be the only ones who hear the music.”

Leiferman said there will be a total for five stages with music at this year’s festival.

“There also will be a Kid’s Zone with a DJ, interactive games, a construction zone and stick-fit drumming,” Leiferman said.