🐂 Waco’s wildest finish line

Good Morning Waco! This is The Waco Buzz, the local newsletter that reads like the first bite of funnel cake you've waited a year for.

Tomorrow morning you can run a 5K that finishes on the dirt inside the Extraco Coliseum, with live bulls in the arena. The weekend stays dry, with highs in the upper 80s.

In this edition:

🎈 Waco Weekend Plan in 10 Seconds
🎃 Your Waco Spooky Season Bucket List
🌮 You Picked the 2027 Festival
💼 4 Hot Jobs to Know About

See you out there!
- Sam Harper

The easiest $20 you'll spend this week

I’ve been going to Waco Bodymend Company on Mary Street to help reduce stress, reset, and get focused enough to write these newsletters. Right now, you can take a tour and try their hydrotherapy experience for $20.

That gets you a 180°F dry sauna, 38°F cyclical-pressure cryo shower, and 104°F hot tub. Warm up. Cool down. Slow down. Repeat. 👉 Book your tour →^*

You don’t have to be an athlete or know where to start. They’ll show you around. Their hydrotherapy space is coed, so bring a swimsuit or wet clothes and make it a date or bring a friend.

The locker rooms have private showers, and they provide two gym towels. Bring a larger towel if you plan to shower afterward.

Tucked away in downtown Waco, Waco Bodymend is a place to move, recover, and make a little time for yourself. If you’ve been curious about sauna and cold therapy but haven't known where to start, this is an easy way to try it without making a big commitment.

Take the tour → $20. Sauna. Cold. Hot tub. An hour to yourself.*

🐂 The one thing: Running with the Bulls, Saturday at 8 AM
👨‍👩‍👧 With kids: Fire Station #1 open house, Saturday 10 AM-2 PM, free
❤️ Date night: Brew at the Zoo, Saturday 6-9 PM, 21+
🎸 Live music: Diamond Rio, Saturday 7 PM, included with fair admission
☀️ Slow morning: Farmers Market, Saturday 9 AM-1 PM
🏐 Sunday: Day of the Dead Half Marathon

Fall showed up in Waco this week, if you count the low-60s mornings and ignore the upper-80s afternoons. The forecast has no rain in it this weekend, so I can't think of one good reason to stay on the couch. Wear a light jacket at 8 AM, carry it by 10, and go be outside somewhere.

Spooky season gives you a reason to pick somewhere. Here's my starting list.

For the ghost-curious: US Ghost Adventures leads an outdoor walking tour of haunted Waco that mixes real history with the legends. Tickets start at $26 per adult.

Saturday, Oct. 24 is the free one. Nightmare on Elm Ave kicks off at 6:30 PM with trick-or-treating, a live DJ, food vendors, and a hay maze. There are costume contests for best dressed, best vendor, and best dressed dog, and I already know which category will be the most competitive.

Halloween itself is a choice. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Keep Waco Outdoors Expo is hosting a trunk-or-treat at McLane Stadium from 9 AM to noon. That night, The Will is throwing a Halloween party with live music, specialty cocktails, and a costume contest with cash prizes.

More trunk-or-treats, a Mayborn Museum magic show, and a haunted house escape room are all options as well. If you're entering a costume contest, this is your warning: start shopping now. Nobody wants to be scrambling for a costume on Oct. 30 and show up as 3-hole-punch Jim. Here are some of the top costume ideas for 2026.

On Tuesday I asked what festival you’d like most in 2027. 317 of you answered, and yes, I read every single one, even the ones I haven't replied to yet.

The overwhelming winner: bring back the salsa and margarita festival, and add tacos. So it's official, a Taco, Margarita and Salsa Festival is on the 2027 dream board. I'll keep you posted.

A couple others I really enjoyed reading:

Larry's festival has the lowest budget of the bunch and zero parking problems. Noted.

📌 Quick Hits

🎬 AMC Galaxy 16 on South Valley Mills closed for good on Thursday, ending a run of more than 28 years that started in 1998 as the Starplex Galaxy 16.

🔑 Hotel 1928 just earned its first Michelin Key. Michelin gives Keys to outstanding hotels the way it gives stars to restaurants. Read more →

🏄 Swatch Nines Public Day is Saturday at Waco Surf. For the first time, the public can watch some of the world's best surfers and skaters take over the park, with tickets at $5.

🤵 Want an excuse to wear a tux? The Threads of Time Gala is Saturday night at the Baylor Club, a black-tie evening for the people backing Alzheimer's care and research.

✈️ The Waco Buzz Paper Airplane Championship is nine days away, and Tuesday is the last day to buy a ticket for a shot at a year’s supply of Joyride. Grab a ticket →

🧠 Social Studies is less than two weeks away on Oct. 21 at Southern Roots Brewing, where Vanguard history teacher Brad Livingstone shares the stories of World War II veterans, so come curious and maybe meet a few new people. Grab a ticket →

Hiring? Post a Job
Hunting? View all 230+ open jobs on the Waco Buzz Job Board

👶 Need a sitter? Midway's Panther Pom Squad is hosting a Parents Night Out on Saturday, 6-9 PM at the MHS Dance Room. Kids ages 4-12 get pizza, games, a movie, and crafts for $25 per child ($20 for each sibling), and the money sends the Pom Squad to High School Nationals in Florida. Use the night for Brew at the Zoo or a dinner where you finish a sentence. Sign up →

🎈 Friday, October 9

Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo @ Extraco Events Center - Gates open 4 PM | Military Night: free gate admission with a military ID

PRCA Permit Finals Rodeo @ Extraco Coliseum - 7 PM | Runs through Sunday

Speakeasy Soiree @ hosted by AC Hotel Waco Downtown - 7 PM

Live Music
Kenneth Elliott @ Uncle Dan’s BBQ Ribhouse - 6:30 PM
Bronson Louis @ Blue Pup Wine & Martini Bar - 7 PM
Logan Ryan Band @ ZiegenBock Music Stage, HOT Fair
D-Rail @ Encore Rooftop Bar - 8 PM
Chris Whitten @ Twisted Sisters Patio Bar - 8 PM
Tripping Daisy, with The Deathray Davies @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 8:30 PM

🎈 Saturday, October 10

⭐ Buzz Pick: Running with the Bulls 5K & Fun Run. The course winds through the HOT Fair grounds and finishes on the dirt inside the Extraco Coliseum, where live bulls are waiting. Your registration includes a fair admission ticket good for any day, and the fair opens at noon, so you'll have time to shower first. 8 AM | Northeast side of the Extraco Coliseum. Register →

Walk to End Alzheimer's @ Legends Crossing - 9 AM

Waco Downtown Farmers Market @ Bridge Street Plaza - 9 AM-1 PM | Stop by the Master Gardeners' “Whimsey in the Garden” booth

Fire Station #1 Open House @ 100 Peach St. - 10 AM-2 PM | FREE | GOOD WITH KIDS | Push-in ceremony dedicating Ladder 1 to retired Lt. John Linda, plus a visit from Sparky the fire dog

Stick Horse & Pony Grand Entry @ HOT Fair - Fair opens noon | Kids who bring a stick horse get in free

Swatch Nines Surf & Skate Public Day @ Waco Surf - Some of the world's best surfers and skaters take over the park | $5

Western Belle Farm Pumpkin Festival @ 7929 Heritage Pkwy - Weekends through Nov. 8 | Tickets start at $5.50

360 Comedy Network Show @ Encore at the Hippodrome - 6 PM and 9 PM

The Threads of Time Gala @ Baylor Club - 6 PM | Black tie

Brew at the Zoo @ Cameron Park Zoo - 6-9 PM | 21+

Speakeasy Soiree @ hosted by AC Hotel Waco Downtown - 7 PM

Boos on the Brazos @ Lee Lockwood Library & Museum - 7 PM | Costume contest, dinner, and dancing for The Arc of McLennan County | Tickets start at $150

Live Music
Pat McKee Trio @ Segovia Wine Bar - 7 PM
Diamond Rio @ ZiegenBock Music Stage, HOT Fair - 7 PM
Rosenthal Parkway Band @ Twisted Sisters Patio Bar - 8 PM
Creed Fisher @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 8:30 PM | Doors 6 PM

🎈 Sunday, October 11

Day of the Dead Half Marathon @ Indian Springs Park, 101 N. University Parks Dr. - 8 AM | Costume contest before the start, live music and Mexican treats after | Half, quarter, 5K, 1 mile, and a kids dash at 7:55 AM

Baylor Volleyball vs. Arizona @ Ferrell Center - 2 PM

Homegrown Sunday @ The Will - Live music noon-5 PM, market 1-5 PM

PRCA Permit Finals Rodeo @ Extraco Coliseum - 7 PM | Fair open noon-11 PM

Live Music
Conjunto Rio Grande @ ZiegenBock Music Stage, HOT Fair - Included with fair admission

🤝 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 →

🚗 Chevy of West is selling 2026 Silverado 1500s with 0% APR for 60 months for well-qualified buyers, and GM's October deal adds no monthly payments until next year. See the offers →^*

✨ Skin & Body Refinery has been doing facials and med spa treatments in Waco since 2015. The HydraFacial cleanses, exfoliates, extracts, and hydrates in a single visit. They're at 2210 Austin Ave. Book online →^*

💧 I-Vit Wellness Lounge has 20% off this month at 300 S. 2nd St. downtown. Colds are starting to make the rounds, and the Immune Boost drip is aimed at hydration and immune support. You get a heated zero-gravity chair, a personal TV, and Bluetooth headphones while it runs. See the offer →^*

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