🍂 Is Fall Really Here?

Good Morning Waco! This is The Waco Buzz, the local newsletter that feels like the first sip of a pumpkin spice latte in shorts with the AC on high. Fall officially starts tonight at 7:05 PM. Waco's weather hasn’t received the memo.

In today's edition:
🍂 Fall Starts Tonight (Sort Of)
🌳 Barron's Branch Breaks Ground Thursday
🌮 Bryan Restaurant Coming to Waco
🚧 New Downtown Detours
🏈 Pat Green, Colorado, and a Free Bobblehead

Let's get to it!
— Sam Harper

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🍂 Fall Starts Tonight. Waco's Weather App Did Not Get the Memo.
I've checked my weather app a dozen times a day waiting on a cooler number. Highs will stay in the mid-90s this week. There is hope, though. The National Weather Service sees a pattern change around the start of October, and a “less hot” front or two could arrive later this month. So until Waco catches up on the fact that fall means more than brown grass and Spirit Halloween appearing, here's your unofficial fall bucket list.

🎃 Find a pumpkin. The big pumpkin patch at Central Christian Church on Lakeshore Dr returns this Sunday, Sept. 27.

Western Belle Farm opens its Pumpkin Festival this Saturday and runs through Nov. 8. Extreme heat took out much of the pumpkin crop and hurt the corn maze, but there's still plenty to do: hayrides, apple cannons, a shaded pumpkin jump pillow, the new Corn Barn, mini zip lines, live music, and apple cider donuts.

Teachers get free admission opening weekend with a school ID, and code USA saves $2. Open Saturdays and Sundays, plus Fridays in October, 10 AM to 6 PM. Get tickets

☕ Order something aggressively fall. For Keeps has the Maple Delight, Pinewood has the Bottom of Autumn Latte, and Dichotomy's Remember Me puts a Mexican hot chocolate spin on the PSL.

🎪 Put a few fall dates on your calendar.

And if it stays 95 through Thanksgiving, a Pumpkin Pie Cyclone at Katie's Frozen Custard counts as fall too.

🌳 Barron's Branch Breaks Ground Thursday

The City of Waco breaks ground Thursday, Sept. 24 at 10 AM on Barron's Branch, the first phase of the Downtown Redevelopment Project. The ceremony is at the corner of University Parks Drive and Jefferson Avenue, and the public is invited.

The project turns a stretch along the Brazos into a park with trails, water features, event lawns, an entertainment pavilion, and a pedestrian bridge. Another 19 acres are set aside for restaurants, retail, and other development, including a possible baseball park.

Why it matters: This is the first visible step in the city's downtown redevelopment plan, and it starts turning an overlooked piece of riverfront into somewhere you'll actually go.

Construction runs through 2028, and the park is expected to open by the end of 2028. That's a while, but on Thursday you can say you were there before the first shovel.

Waco to Fort Myers: $426 roundtrip in October. That's about 25% below the usual fare. If you're going to sweat, you might as well do it on a Florida beach.
👉 Check availability*
*_{^{Price is subject to change and may no longer be available at the time you check the link.}}

🌮 Birria Nachos Are Coming Downtown
Casa Monarca Mexican Cantina, a Bryan restaurant with a loyal following, is opening next month at 123 N 12th St, the former Cultura Mia space. Their Facebook announcement promises authentic Mexican dishes, handcrafted margaritas, and a place to celebrate. Reviews keep bringing up the birria nachos. I plan to test that theory the week they open. Casa Monarca on Facebook

☕ Free 7 Brew for Your Office, Your School, or Your Team
Before its new stand opens at 100 S New Rd, 7 Brew is handing out free drinks. Workplaces, schools, and groups within 20 minutes of the stand can request a drop-off if they have 20 or more people in the building. No opening date yet. Sign up here

💄 Sephora Wants Its Own Waco Storefront
Sephora is getting a new standalone storefront at Central Texas Marketplace, sharing a new space with Nordstrom Rack. Construction is scheduled to begin in February, with the new store expected to open in May 2027.

Fall may be here, but Waco's bugs didn't get the memo. With temperatures still in the 90s, mosquitoes, fire ants, wasps, and other pests are sticking around your yard a little longer. Right Pest treats the full yard, not just the perimeter around your house, with year-round protection built for Central Texas. It's locally owned, licensed, and every plan comes with the 254 Promise. See how Right Pest can help you enjoy your yard without the pests.*

🚧 Downtown Detours Are Coming, and So Is Quiet
The upside: Waco is building a railroad quiet zone that will end routine train horns along 1.5 miles of downtown track. Trains currently crawl through at 10 mph and sound their horns at nearly every crossing.

The downside: getting there means construction. Work started in March and runs through December 2027, and the quiet zone itself is expected to take effect in 2028 after the FRA inspects.

What to plan around: All of these are between Mary Ave. and Webster Ave.:

As 11th reopens, 6th closes, so it's downtown musical chairs through February.

👉 Quiet zone project page

🏈 Baylor vs. Colorado, Saturday at 11 AM

The Bears (2-1) open Big 12 play at McLane Stadium in a throwback game featuring Grant Teaff-era bear paw uniforms, a celebration of the 1991 team, and a limited-edition Bruiser bobblehead for the first 5,000 fans.olorado and Coach Deion Sanders make their first trip to Waco since 2007 with an 11 AM kickoff. Tickets start at $17.

Pat Green plays at Touchdown Alley after the game, and the performance is open to the public.

⚽ Baylor Soccer: Oklahoma State visits Thursday at 7 PM, then Cincinnati Sunday at 1 PM. The first 100 fans Sunday get free Pops lemonade and a cooling towel.

New season, new jewelry. Fall is a good excuse to switch up the wardrobe, and a new pair of earrings or an everyday necklace can change the look without requiring a whole new closet. Gracefully is a woman-owned, family-run jewelry brand right here in Waco, with pieces made for everyday wear and easy gifting. Shop online or find Gracefully around town at Fabled, Carpenter’s Daughter, Be Kind Coffee, Lather Rituals, and For Keeps Coffee. Shop Gracefully..*

Tuesday, September 22:

Wednesday, September 23:

Thursday, September 24:

👉 Everything else happening in Waco

Want your event featured? Reserve a spot here.

🧠 Social Studies Is Thursday
Baylor's Dr. Andy Hogue is at Pignetti's at 6:30 PM with “How to Be a Citizen in an Age of Despair,” a practical look at how to stay hopeful and useful when the world feels too big to fix. 👉 Grab a ticket

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🚗 Silverado Selldown: Chevy of West is putting serious numbers on 2026 Silverado 1500s right now, 0% APR for 5 years for well-qualified buyers, or $6,000 cash allowance plus another $2,000 bonus cash on select models.*

Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something useful, share it with your co-worker who loves scented Fall candles.

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