Fifty Years of Fall: Huffhines Harvest Fest Returns This Weekend to Apollo Road

A Half-Century of Fall at Huffhines Park

On a Saturday morning at Huffhines Park, the trail along Apollo Road fills with folding tables, hand-lettered signs, and the low hum of a crowd deciding which local vendor to visit first. The smell of food drifts from one end of the park while somewhere down the path a band settles into its opening song. It is a scene Richardson has watched unfold, in one form or another, for fifty years.

This weekend, Huffhines Harvest Fest marks that milestone. The City of Richardson’s free two-day festival runs Saturday, October 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, October 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Huffhines Park, 1500 Apollo Road. What began decades ago as the Huffhines Art Trails has grown into a wide-ranging celebration of local makers, food vendors, live music, and community — still rooted in the same stretch of green that gave it its name.

What to Expect Across Two Days

The festival runs across both days and is free to attend, making it one of the more accessible community gatherings on Richardson’s fall calendar. Local makers and artisans set up along the park’s trails, food vendors keep the crowds fed, and live music runs throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday.

The programming is built to hold the attention of families for a full afternoon without requiring a plan. You can drift from a craft booth to a food stand to a shaded stretch of grass near a stage and cover a lot of ground without covering much distance at all.

Pawtoberfest Takes Over Saturday

Saturday carries an extra layer of energy this year with Pawtoberfest running alongside the main festival. The event is exactly what it sounds like: a celebration organized around dogs, their owners, and the vendors and activities that serve both.

The day includes dog-centric vendors, a costume contest, puppy yoga, and what organizers are calling the great ball hunt. Pet owners who have been looking for a reason to bring their dog to a public event will find the timing convenient — the costume contest alone tends to draw a crowd that has no intention of entering a dog but very much wants to watch the ones who do.

Pawtoberfest adds a distinct identity to the Saturday programming without pulling focus from the broader festival happening around it. The two run together, and most attendees end up moving between them throughout the day.

Kids Markets on Sunday

Sunday, October 18 brings a Kids Markets event to Huffhines Park as part of the Harvest Fest weekend. The addition rounds out the two-day schedule and gives families with younger children a reason to return on the second day if Saturday’s crowd proves too large for a leisurely visit.

The Fifty-Year Mark

Fifty years is a meaningful number for any community event, and for Huffhines Harvest Fest it reflects something particular about Richardson’s relationship with this park and this time of year. The festival has changed its name and expanded its programming over the decades, but the core logic has remained the same: gather people outside in October, give local makers a place to show their work, and let the afternoon take care of itself.

The City of Richardson produces the event, which is part of why it has maintained continuity across five decades. Institutional memory and civic investment tend to keep community events alive longer than enthusiasm alone.

For residents who have attended the festival in earlier iterations — or who grew up watching parents attend it — the 50th edition carries some weight. For those coming for the first time, the history is context rather than obligation. The park is the same park it has always been, and the trail fills up the same way it always has.

Getting There

Huffhines Park sits at 1500 Apollo Road in Richardson. Both festival days are free. Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are planning to bring a dog for Pawtoberfest, Saturday is the day organized specifically around that.

For updated schedules, vendor information, and any last-minute details, the festival’s official site at huffhinesharvestfest.com carries the most current information heading into the weekend.