Buda Officials Announce New Holiday Tradition To Replace Budafest

“Budafest is a time honored tradition. It’s important to our community and the City that we honor the legacy that the Budafest Committee has worked so hard to build over the years,” said Tourism Director Lysa Gonzalez.

It may be a little early to think of Santa Claus and his elves, but the City of Buda is gearing up to bring you a new holiday festival.  The yet to be named holiday event will replace the annual “Budafest” celebration.

“Budafest has been an integral part of Buda for years and an important part of the Holiday season to our citizens. The work by organizers over the years must be commended for the time and effort spent to keep such an event alive and vibrant,” said City Manager Kenneth Williams. “Thanks to Eileen Conley, Bert Bronaugh and Elaine Purvis, just to name a few, for all their hard work in keeping the event going.”

“I feel encouraged about the future of the Budafest tradition. The spirit that was brought to this event over the past 33 years was embraced by the City, and I feel it will be in good hands,” said Budafest Organizer Bert Bronaugh.

“The accomplishment of running an event for over 37 years is unprecedented in Buda for sure and there are many people over the years that I have worked with that helped to mold and make it successful and a boon to the community, helping to boost the economic needs of churches, community organizations, Main Street merchants, as well as all the arts and crafts booths participating,” said Budafest Organizer Eileen Conley.

Conley also wanted to thank Carol Whisenant and Danny Levin, along with the many others who took part in Budafest over the years.

“Hundreds of scholarships for college or trade schools, as well as needful organizations received proceeds from Budafest over the years. It has been an honor to serve the community all these years,” said Conley.

Like Budafest, the new festival will include a Christmas parade, entertainment, carnival, and over 125 artisans selling handcrafted items. Santa Claus will also be on hand to take pictures with the kids.

“The City of Buda’s Tourism and Main Street Departments are coordinating with the Parks Department to shape a new holiday tradition we can all be proud of and we look forward to carrying on the tradition started by the original Budafest group,” said Williams.  

The Budafest Committee’s dedication and hard work throughout the years is much appreciated. With the City’s continued growth and higher attendance at local events, the Budafest Committee determined that the City would be able to provide additional resources to ensure the festival’s continued success.

“Budafest is a time honored tradition. It’s important to our community and the City that we honor the legacy that the Budafest Committee has worked so hard to build over the years,” said Tourism Director Lysa Gonzalez.  

The City’s Main Street Program will play a major role in the new holiday festival. Buda was designated a Texas Main Street City earlier this year.  The Texas Main Street Program is a revitalization program for historic downtown and neighborhood commercial districts. As we are revitalizing our downtown, we also want to take a look at how we can revamp our downtown events.  

The original Budafest group will assist the City in planning the upcoming holiday event.

Those interested in being a vendor at the event can contact the Buda Tourism Department at 512-295-7170.