In August 2025, the Chappell Hill Historical Society said its Scarecrow Festival would end after that year's edition. It came back on October 10 and 11, 2026, but the Society no longer runs it, and it's now two events. Main Street stayed free. On top of it sits a ticketed music festival that pays for the parts a volunteer-run street fair could no longer afford.
That arrangement is why there was a festival at all this past weekend, and it helps explain what next October could look like.
Why the Society stepped back
When KBTX reported the end of the festival in August 2025, Society president Steve Trevino listed the reasons as rising costs, TxDOT requirements and traffic accommodations. He also said that other communities held events the same weekend and drew visitors away, which left the festival running at "nearly a break-even" point. KWHI's later account added another factor, fewer volunteers.
Break-even matters here because the festival was never supposed to be a free party. KWHI has described it as one of the Society's main fundraisers. Together with the spring Bluebonnet Festival, it paid for the upkeep of the Society's historic buildings and its educational programs. A fundraiser that only covers its own costs raises nothing for those buildings, and it still takes a full weekend of volunteer hours and highway coordination along FM 1155 and Main Street.
The 2025 festival, held October 11, was the 48th. Trevino said the Bluebonnet Festival would continue, and that the Society would develop new events over the coming years to make up for the revenue Scarecrow had provided.
Who picked it up
BirdDog moved into downtown Chappell Hill in 2025 and was named the Chappell Hill Chamber's 2025 Business of the Year. The company works with landowners on land management and also runs guided hunting and fishing trips.
In January 2026, BirdDog announced on Facebook that it was bringing the festival back and adding live music. According to KWHI, co-founder and CEO Jonathan Lusk said in a press release that BirdDog would assume "coordination of all festival activities for the newly rebranded Chappell Hill Scarecrow Music Festival." The company's Facebook post, as KWHI quoted it, framed the effort as a revival "alongside the Chappell Hill Historical Society and the community that's kept it alive for generations."
The goals BirdDog listed, as KWHI reported them, line up closely with the problems Trevino had named. They were to support local vendors and artisans, coordinate volunteers and systems, and "build continuity year after year." Coordinating volunteers and systems answers the volunteer shortage. Continuity answers the question of whether there would be a festival at all.
The free street and the paid stage
The biggest change is in who pays. Under the Society, the street fair had to cover its own costs. In 2026, the official festival site kept the vendor areas on Main Street and in the Wine Garden free and put tickets on the Main Stage and VIP area. Children six and under got in free.
| Piece of the weekend | 2026 cost to attend |
|---|---|
| Main Street vendor areas | Free |
| Wine Garden | Free |
| Main Stage, single day | $50 |
| Main Stage, weekend general admission | $75 |
| Weekend VIP | $500 |
| General parking | $20 |
The VIP tier included an open bar, food prepared by a chef, artist meet-and-greets, reserved seating and its own parking closer in. The FAQ also listed valet parking. The festival gave the Main Stage address as 5315 Main Street.
Compare that with the Society's spring event. KWHI's preview of the April 2026 Bluebonnet Festival listed free admission and $10 parking. The two festivals now pay for themselves in different ways. Bluebonnet still depends mostly on crowds and parking. The fall weekend has an added paid tier where a smaller number of ticket holders cover a larger share of the costs.
The reboot also kept the parts of the old festival that cost visitors nothing. KWHI reported more than 100 food and craft vendors and ten entries in the scarecrow contest. Visit Brenham's preview called the festival "getting a reboot" and said the vendors would stay alongside the new two-day lineup.
What the stage looked like
The paid tier was built around the music schedule, and the schedule ran later on Saturday. Here is the lineup KWHI published on October 9:
Saturday, October 10
- Joey McGee, 10:30 a.m.
- Cul de Sac, 12:45 p.m.
- Taylor Graves, 3 p.m.
- The Flinns, 5 p.m.
- Cody Hibbard, 6:30 p.m.
- Roger Creager, 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 11
- Church on the Main Stage, 9:30 a.m.
- Black Cat Choir, 11 a.m.
- Cathey Bolin and Henry Williams, 1 p.m.
- Cooper Mohrmann, 1:30 p.m.
- Bri Bagwell, 3 p.m.
Roger Creager's 8 p.m. set marks a change in the festival's hours. The festival's own pages didn't agree on them. The homepage listed 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days, while the FAQ listed Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Saturday schedule matches the FAQ. A Saturday-night headliner is new for this festival, and it's a large part of what the $50 and $75 tickets paid for.
The Sunday morning church service on the Main Stage was also new, and it put the stage to use before the paid acts began.
How the weekend went
KWHI's October 12 recap reported big crowds and a downtown filled with vendors on both days. Josh Davis, the festival's operations director, told KWHI it was a great showing. He said organizers would use this year's feedback to make "future festivals even better" and thanked the musicians, vendors and volunteers for their flexibility.
The scarecrow contest, one of the oldest parts of the weekend, continued under the new organizers. First place went to Curtis Ford, second to Dixie Ford and third to Denise Kmiec.
Some numbers aren't out yet. When KWHI published on October 12, attendance and fundraising totals were still being calculated. No 2027 date has been announced, and the post-event coverage refers only to "future festivals" in general.
Where the money now goes
Under the Society, Scarecrow money went to the Society. The 2026 festival named three beneficiaries: the Chappell Hill Historical Society, the Chappell Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department. The split among them has not been published.
So the Society still gets something from a festival it no longer has to staff, and two other community organizations now share in it. How much each receives depends on totals that are still being counted.
What still belongs to the Society
The Bluebonnet Festival is now the Society's main festival. KWHI's April 2026 preview called it the 62nd annual. It was set for that Saturday and Sunday, with hundreds of vendors, live music, tours of the historic buildings and a children's play area. The Society's own page has already announced the 63rd Bluebonnet Festival for the weekend of April 10 and 11, 2027.
The museum is the other place to support the Society directly. According to the Society's historical sites page, the Chappell Hill Historical Society Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for self-guided visits. Guided group tours of the museum and other historic sites run Wednesday through Saturday and need to be booked ahead. They cost $60 for 20 people or fewer, $90 for 21 to 30 and $120 for 31 to 40. The current page doesn't list Sunday hours, so call ahead before planning a Sunday visit.
When BirdDog took over the October weekend, the Society was able to step back from the logistics while still receiving a share of the proceeds. It now puts its own festival effort into the second weekend in April, and its buildings are open four days a week until then.
I've watched this festival change over many Octobers, and if this weekend had you thinking about what a place near Main Street is worth right now, I'm glad to take a look with you. Reach out to Landmark Properties to get your free home valuation, and I'll put together a real number for your property in Chappell Hill.
