HummerBird Celebration

Rockport-Fulton, September 15–18, 2016

Coinciding with the ruby-throated hummingbirds’ fall migration, Rockport-Fulton’s 28th annual event features birding tours, speakers, vendors, and artists.

Rockport-Fulton welcomes birds and their admirers for the HummerBird Celebration, held annually during the fall migration of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. About 25 local homes hang extra birdfeeders and cultivate their gardens to attract the hummers as the birds fuel up for their southbound flights across the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of hummingbirds swarm each lush yard, a spectacle featured on group and self-guided tours. Regional birding expeditions, expert speakers, a hummingbird-banding project, thematic vendors, and children’s programs round out the weekend.

GrapeFest

Grapevine, September 15–18, 2016

Taking place a few weeks after the grape harvest, Grapevine’s annual GrapeFest celebrates all things wine with four days of tastings and festivities. The 30th annual edition of GrapeFest features Texas wines, as well as wines from the California Central Coast and Australia’s Barossa Valley. In between sips, try your hand (or foot, rather) at the popular GrapeStomp, check out the bands on three stages, and fuel up with food vendors. For children, GrapeFest offers a carnival and interactive play stations with Grapevine’s LegoLand Discovery Center and Sea Life Aquarium.

Photos: (from top) ©Rolf Nussbaumer, Will van Overbeek