Texas Bamboo Festival Verified listing

Celebrate the beauty, versatility, and ancient wisdom of bamboo at the Texas Bamboo Festival, hosted inside the lush Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin. Festival admission is free with paid garden entry, offering a full weekend of workshops, performances, artisan goods, and hands-on learning with master bamboo growers and makers.

Workshops & Learning Experiences
Bamboo Basics: Working with Bamboo
Led by bamboo expert Michael Schaefer, this immersive session introduces the fundamentals of crafting, building, and working with bamboo.

Saturday at 2 PM
Sunday at 1 PM
$40 per session – registration required
Bring your questions—this festival is a rare chance to meet growers and artisans with 20–30 years of experience working with bamboo.

Vendors & Artisans
Browse an inspired marketplace featuring handmade crafts, functional art, musical instruments, and unique bamboo creations:

Bamboo Plants for Sale – including smaller, easy-to-handle black bamboo propagated by a longtime Texas Bamboo Society member
Michael Schaefer – garden structures, bamboo construction, bamboo removal, and martial arts
William Harjo – rivercane and bamboo flutes, CDs, T-shirts, medicine bags, and Native American art
Bamboo Branch – walking sticks, poles, garden stakes, special bamboo pieces, and beaded earrings
Bamboo Reflections – locally made Native American flutes
Sung Cha Brooks – paintings and handcrafted jewelry
“Bamboo Buck” – didgeridoos, floating bamboo shelves, and tiki creations
Andrea Nelson – folding hammock stands and botanical sculptures
There is still space for additional vendors—apply to join the marketplace.

Live Performances & Healing Experiences
Aloha Tropical Productions – Saturday at noon
SoulScape Sound Bath with Ashlee – Sunday at noon in the Greene Room
Experience a calming sound bath played at 432 Hz, known for its balancing, heart-centered frequency. Bring your yoga mat or use provided seating. This experience is donation-based to keep sound healing accessible to all.
Silent Auction
Bid on a curated collection of rare bamboo oddities and handmade pieces. Donations of bamboo art and items are welcome.

Festival Legacy
Explore the history of 30+ years of Texas Bamboo Festivals, a tradition dating back to 1993. Learn how bamboo inspires culture, ecology, sustainability, and community across the region.

About the Texas Bamboo Society
The festival is the annual fundraiser for the Texas Bamboo Society, a chapter of the American Bamboo Society and a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Proceeds support bamboo research, education, public gardens, artist programs, and the introduction of new bamboo varieties to the multi-state region.

Become a member and help cultivate the future of bamboo in Texas and beyond.