Tacos, tamales, seafood, and wine. Festivals featuring each of these and more have been canceled for 2020 in Corpus Christi. A few have gone virtual and some, such as the Greek and Jewish food festivals, are still undecided.
COVID-19 restrictions have caused the cancellation of a lot of festivities in the Coastal Bend this fall. Here is a list of what you won’t find this year, but come back to 101CorpusChristi.com often to mark your calendars for next year’s events. Things will get better!
QUE BUENO TACO FEST
Expected to be held Sept. 12, organizers suggest people visit a local taco stand or restaurant instead. Take a photo of your taco and share it on social media with #honorthetaco.
PORT ARANSAS BEACHTOBERFEST
The 16 events planned for the six-week-long Beachtoberfest have been postponed until 2021.
TEXAS SANDFEST
First moved from April to Oct. 2-4, SandFest in Port Aransas was canceled for 2020. The new date is April 23-25, 2021.
ROCKPORT SEAFAIR
The Oct. 9-11 festival has been canceled and reset for Oct. 8-10, 2021.
REALMS CON
Year 16 of Realms Con, a celebration of anime and more, will not be held until 2021. The next Realms Con is set for Oct. 8-10, 2021, at Omni Bayfront Hotel in Corpus Christi.
TEXAS JAZZ FESTIVAL
Canceled this year, the next Jazz Festival is expected to happen on the third weekend in October 2021, fingers crossed (and sanitized).
BUC DAYS
Like SandFest, Buc Days moved its April/May dates to Nov. 19-29 but decided to cancel it after all. A virtual Buc Days was held for several days in April when stay-at-home orders were in place for Nueces County.
CORPUS CHRISTI HOT TAMALE FESTIVAL
The last Hot Tamale Festival was held in downtown Corpus Christi on Nov. 23, 2019. The next one will be sometime in November 2021.
CORPUS CHRISTI WINE FESTIVAL
Planners for the fifth year of the wine festival held in Heritage Park in downtown Corpus Christi have set their sights on a bigger and better-than-ever event Nov. 19-20, 2021.
KING RANCH RANCH HAND BREAKFAST
The next time you can sit down at down over campfire coffee, eggs, and biscuits at the King Ranch will be Nov. 20, 2021. The annual breakfast held in conjunction with the Kingsville Festival has been canceled this year.
UNDECIDED
Several much-anticipated annual events have yet to decide whether or not to cancel. Any events held will most likely have to follow restrictions set up by the county, state, and federal governments to help slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and having touchless water faucets in restrooms.
Undecided events include:
• Thomas J. Henry’s Bark in the Park
• Greek Festival of Corpus Christi
• Jewish Food Festival
VIRTUAL
Some events have decided to go online, most notably the annual Dia de los Muertos that has crowded downtown streets for the past 12 years on or around Nov. 2.
Also going virtual is the Rockport HummerBird Celebration set for Sept. 17-20. Register online at rockport-fulton.org/HB. For more information, see our story on 101CorpusChristi.com.
Conquer the Coast, an amazing 10- to 60-mile ride through the Coastal Bend, can be done at your own pace and in your own place this year as it, too, goes online. Riders will have from Sept. 12 through Oct. 12 to complete their miles. For more, read our story on the event.
