🎈Silobration goes Sunday for the first time

Good Morning Waco! This is The Waco Buzz, the local newsletter that’s the opposite of a political text message: positive, welcoming, and never something you have to reply STOP to.

In this edition:

🏘️ East Waco's New Developments
🕯️ Silobration
💼 Who’s Hiring in Waco?
🎈 Your Full Weekend Guide

See you out there this weekend!
- Sam Harper

Good financial education should be easier to find.

I get emails every week asking The Waco Buzz to promote sports betting platforms, crypto coins, and new get-rich-quick opportunities. Meanwhile, the kind of financial education that helps people build wealth over time doesn't always get the same attention.

I'd like to see that change.

I've spent the past two months working with Winnacle Wealth, a Waco financial planning firm whose co-founders have spent years serving our community and teaching people how to plan for their financial futures.

Together, we're bringing you three free email courses designed to make financial education more accessible, whether you're building healthy money habits for your family, preparing for retirement, or navigating a major financial transition.

The goal is simple: help more Wacoans make informed financial decisions and take meaningful steps toward building wealth.

Choose the course that's right for you:

Each course is free to join and delivered by email, with one short lesson each morning for about four weeks. You can work through the material at your own pace.

Prefer to learn in person? Chad and Jessica are also teaching Retire Ready, a two-night workshop on November 2 and 9 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at McLennan Community College. They've taught retirement workshops there since 2012, serving more than 950 students. Register here.^*

Tuesday, I told you City Council was weighing a $37 million project in East Waco. They approved it, along with a second development, for up to $7 million in combined city support.

Here’s what’s planned:

Trinity Heights Brownstones: 24 brownstone-style housing units on Pleasant Street, between Taylor Street and Elm Avenue. The project will start with 12 units, with a second 12-unit phase contingent on meeting the city’s timeline requirements.

Placemaker Pro: 158 housing units, retail space, and a small public plaza along Elm Avenue, as part of a $37 million development on 4.6 acres of city-owned land along Taylor Street, next to the East Waco Library and Tru Jamaica. The plan includes apartments, townhouses, and single-family homes.

I sat down with the Placemaker team Wednesday, and the part I got excited about is the business incubator: six small commercial spaces designed to help new businesses get off the ground. More to come on that in the months ahead.

Placemaker’s East Village plan also proposes public spaces open to everyone: an 8,000-square-foot plaza for markets and pop-ups, and an outdoor cinema where a repurposed shipping container becomes a movie screen, with movie nights coordinated by Cultural Arts of Waco. It also proposes wider sidewalks, rain gardens, and shaded seating along Taylor Street.

🥡 The Takeaway: That’s 182 planned housing units between the two projects. Both projects have council approval, but approval isn’t the same as construction. We’ll keep an eye out for when work begins.

📌 Quick Hits

⏳ University High could win $1 million for its field: It's one of 40 finalists in T-Mobile's competition, and you can vote once a day through Sunday, Oct. 25. Vote for University High

🇺🇸 President Trump put Waco on the calendar for early next week, then swiped left on us yesterday. No explanation, no rescheduling, no “it’s me, not you” text. Typical.

🛍️ Fill-A-Bag Sale at Uptown Cheapskate

Pay $25 for a bag, then fill it with as many clearance items as you can get inside. Pack like you're playing Tetris. Doors open at 10 AM, and the line starts early.
📍 Uptown Cheapskate, 1001 Webster Ave. | Saturday, Oct. 24 | 10 AM
👉 See the details →^*

Hiring? Post a Job
Hunting? View all open jobs on the Waco Buzz Job Board

Three ways to spend the weekend: take the kids pumpkin-picking at Western Belle Farm, catch The Fray at the Silos, or head to East Waco for Nightmare on Elm Avenue.

🆓 free | 👨‍👩‍👧 family-friendly | ✨ something different

All Weekend
Silobration @ Magnolia Silos - through Sunday | 🆓 entry, concerts ticketed | 👨‍👩‍👧
Pumpkin Festival @ Western Belle Farm, 7929 Heritage Pkwy with hayrides, pick-your-own pumpkins, farm animals, and a corn maze | 👨‍👩‍👧

🎈 Friday, October 23
Abundance at the Farm, World Hunger Relief Farm's 50th anniversary @ World Hunger Relief Farm - 6 PM | ✨ Tickets
Wait Until Dark @ Waco Civic Theatre - 7 PM

Live Music
Monte Rose @ Silobration Acoustic Stage - 10 AM
Alania and the Limited-Edition Band @ Uncle Dan's BBQ Ribhouse - 6:30 PM
Alton Ray @ The Feed Lot - 7 PM
The Fray @ Silos Stage - 8 PM | Tickets
Def Legend (Def Leppard Tribute) @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 8:30 PM

🎈 Saturday, October 24
Mission Waco Walk for the Homeless @ The Meyer Center - 7:30 AM
Waco Downtown Farmers Market @ Bridge Street Plaza - 9 AM
Halloween Pennant Flag with Cricut @ STEAM Center - 10:30 AM
Free Line Dancing and Partner Dancing Lessons with Dance Waco @ Silobration, Magnolia Silos - 11 AM & 2 PM | 🆓 ✨
Artisan Market @ Cultivate Waco - 11 AM to 4 PM
Fall Festival @ Lake Waco Golf Course - 3 PM
Cattle Barons Ball for the American Cancer Society @ Highlander Ranch - 5 PM
Cops & Kids Halloween Drive-Thru @ Woodway Activity Park - 6 to 8 PM | 🆓 👨‍👩‍👧
Pumpkins and Pilates with WRS Athletic Club @ Lake Waco Beach Park - 6 PM
Encore Comedy with Meka Carey and Chef 24/7 @ Encore - 6 & 9 PM | Tickets
Wait Until Dark @ Waco Civic Theatre - 2 & 7 PM

⭐ Buzz Pick: Nightmare on Elm Avenue @ 715 Elm Ave. - 6:30 PM | 👨‍👩‍👧 Trunk-or-treating, local vendors, and a hay maze, hosted by the Waco Hispanic and African-American Chambers of Commerce. The name sounds spooky, but it’s built for the whole family.

Live Music
Dylan Gossett @ Silos Stage - 8 PM | Tickets
Dad Rock Night @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 8:30 PM
Ghosts of Hill County @ Camp Fimfo

🎈 Sunday, October 25
HYROX Race Simulation @ Basin Fitness - 8 AM to 2 PM
Cory Asbury @ Silos Stage - 10:30 AM | first-ever Silobration Sunday concert
Doggie Days @ The Will - 12 to 3 PM | brunch with your pup
Children’s Garden Fair @ Pape Gardens - 2 PM
Baylor Volleyball vs. Kansas (Gilmore Girls "Espresso and Aces") @ Ferrell Center - 2 PM
Spayghetti and No Balls Fundraising Dinner @ Art Center Waco - 5 PM

📅 See what else is happening this week in Waco →
🤝 Find a place to serve this week →
🍝 Find a place to meet people →

Want your event featured? Reserve an upcoming Featured Event listing here.

👉 Play this week's puzzles →

✨ Need a skin refresh? Skin & Body Refinery offers HydraFacials with deep cleansing, gentle extraction, and hydration.^*

💧 Feeling the seasonal sniffles already? I-Vit's Immune Boost IV is designed for hydration and immune support, with 20% off this month.^*

💪 Want to move and recover better? Waco Body Mend is built for everyday movers, athletes, and anyone who wants to feel their best.^*

🛞 Chevy of West’s Tire Fresh Start Event is on. Owner Leo Pacheco and General Sales Manager Mark Varia are offering buy 3, get 1 for $1 on select tires with installation, plus offers on brakes, shocks and struts, and tire sensors.*.^*

Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something useful, share it with the friend most likely to join you at Silobration.

Whenever you're ready, here are few ways to get more involved:

1. Get your Social Studies tickets: Dr. Michael Scullin on The Sleeping Brain, Thursday, Nov. 12 at The Baylor Club.

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