the long weekend in Waco
The Fair is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, 9 AM each day. One parking pass covers all three, so it’s easy to fit Fair time around family and the rest of what Waco has open.
Heavy holiday traffic
Thanksgiving. Fair closed.
Fair opens 9 AM. Pie and chili contests.
Fair 9 AM. Pecan pie contest.
Fair 9 AM. Heavy traffic home.
Contests and seminars change day to day; demonstrations, crafts and both concerts run all three days.
The Silos reopen after Thanksgiving Day, and Waco Mammoth National Monument is open 9–5. Handmade Christmas gifts are in the Fair’s Craft Market all day.
It’s Small Business Saturday, so downtown shops are worth a browse. It’s also your last chance at the Silos this weekend; they’re closed Sundays.
Cameron Park’s trails and the Suspension Bridge are free. If you’re driving home, Sunday traffic is heavy; before noon is easiest.
Times come from the preliminary 2026 schedule and can change. Check the full schedule the week of the Fair.
The day after Thanksgiving the house is full and everyone is restless. A few things make a big group easier.
Parking is per car, not per person. Admission is free, so carpool the cousins. One pass covers each vehicle Friday through Sunday.
Every age has something. The hay slide and petting zoo for little ones, the forge and barn raising for teens, seminars on gardening and homesteading for grown-ups, and two free concerts for everyone.
Pick a meeting spot before you split up. Groups drift apart on a farm this size. The 2:30 concert at the Heritage Center makes an easy regroup.
Let everyone star their favorites. Each person can tap the star on events in the online schedule and see their picks under “My plan.”
Leftovers can wait. The Fair kitchens cook barbecue, brick-oven pizza, curry, waffles and apple-cider donuts from scratch all day. See the food.
Everything here is 15 to 20 minutes from the Fair. Most places close on Thanksgiving Day and reopen Friday.
Shops, a bakery and gardens around the downtown silos. Closed Thanksgiving Day and every Sunday. In 2025, Christmas at the Silos opened on Black Friday.
Columbian mammoth fossils still lying where they were found, under a dig shelter. Open 9–5 daily except Thanksgiving. Dig Shelter $6, ages 4–17 $5.
A walkable zoo at the edge of Cameron Park. Closed Thanksgiving Day; usually 9–5 Monday–Saturday and 11–5 Sunday.
The 1906 bottling plant where Dr Pepper’s story began, with an old-fashioned soda fountain. Closed Thanksgiving Day.
Two centuries of Texas Ranger history on the Brazos. Open 9–5 daily (last entry 4:30), closed Thanksgiving Day.
Baylor’s natural and cultural history museum, with hands-on rooms for kids. Usually 10–5 Monday–Saturday and 1–5 Sunday.
Hundreds of acres of trails and river views, with an overlook above the Brazos. Free.
Waco’s 1870 suspension bridge, now for walkers only, and the riverwalk beneath it. Free.
Drive times are from the Fair. Hours are as published in October 2026; holiday hours can change, so check before you go.
| Average high | 65°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 42°F |
| Highs, past 30 years | 37° to 83°F |
| Chance of rain on a given day | About 1 in 5 |
The Fair runs rain or shine. Tents and covered areas are spread across the grounds.
Traffic is worst before and after. In Texas it typically peaks the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and again on Sunday.
No home football game. Baylor plays at Houston on November 28, so there’s no stadium crowd for hotels or roads.
Weather figures are NOAA 1991–2020 normals and 1996–2025 daily records for Waco Regional Airport.
Friday through Sunday
Admission is free. One parking pass covers your vehicle Friday through Sunday.
Get parking passes See the schedule