Austin made the most of the final month of summer, celebrating Texas culture and escaping the intense heat as back-to-school approaches, students return to campus and fall sports begin. Check out these images by American-Statesman photographers that celebrate August in Central Texas with everything from state politics to Austin Pride and the Bastrop Rodeo.
This video created with the assistance of AI.
Choosing Texas: From murals to bull riding
From a watertank mural celebrating Armadillo World Headquarters to the best places to buy cowboy boots and learn to 2-step to an evening under the lights in the heat and dust at the Bastrop Homecoming Rodeo or watching Austin’s professional bull riding team compete at Gambler Days, the American-Statesman photographers photographed what makes Texas, Texas.
Artist Bill Tavis, left, and his assistant, Nathan Giovinazzo, work on Tavis’ mural covering a water tank on Armadillo Road in South Austin on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The mural, depicting an armadillo playing a guitar outside Armadillo World Headquarters, celebrates the history of the legendary Austin music venue and wraps the 80-foot-tall water tank, spanning about 14,400 square feet. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Jadie Ledezma competes in mutton busting during the Bastrop Rodeo at Mayfest Park on Saturday, August 1, 2026 in Bastrop, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Micah Edwards performs at Sagebrush on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Lee Miller, owner of Texas Traditions, shapes the toe of a boot in his work shop at Texas Traditions on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Austin Gambler Jesse Petri is thrown off a bull during Gambler Days at the Moody Center on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
State politics heat up: Data centers, AISD’s possible takeover and more
The midterms are approaching and the Texas State Capitol is becoming busy, from hearings and protests about data centers and border wall construction to press conferences from state leaders. Local politics intensified as AISD moves a step closer to takeover and the City of Austin released its budget. Statesman photographers stayed busy covering state, local and city politics this month.
Sammy Frias, 2, of Austin, plays a toy guitar alongside musicians protesting border wall construction in the Big Bend region outside Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters in Austin on Aug. 19, 2026. The demonstrators gathered ahead of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s annual public hearing, where advocates planned to urge the commission to intervene in proposed border barrier construction inside Texas state parks. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick holds a copy of ‘Let’s Talk About It,’ just one of several books he called “dirty, filthy and vulgar” during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol, Aug. 19, 2026, during which he said many schools have failed to remove books from shelves and proposed that schools not complying will be knocked down a letter grade in the accountability system. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Daphne Hoffacker chants during a news conference announcing the launch of the Keep Austin Schools Independent coalition, which opposes a potential state takeover of Austin ISD, at Eastside Early College High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Ready for fall: It’s football season
Austinites also spent the month preparing for fall. Students return to the classroom and freshman University of Texas students move into the dorms. Fall sports began practicing, including No. 2 ranked Texas volleyball and Texas football led by quarterback Arch Manning as well as the Texas State Bobcats, who are preparing for their first season as part of the Pac-12. High school sports are back as well, including several Central Texas volleyball teams that could make state title runs.
Teacher Vanessa Sibaja comforts a 4-year-old pre-K student on the first day of school at Parmer Lane Elementary School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Students at Parmer Lane Elementary School returned to class Wednesday for what will be the campus’s last year. The school is one of four elementary campuses that Pflugerville Independent School District is closing at the end of the 2026-2027 school year for cost-cutting measures. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Lindsay and Brandon Holley drop off their 4-year-old son, Cameron, for his first day of prekindergarten at Casey Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
The Austin American-Statesman Top 10 pre-season high school volleyball athletes, Aug. 6, 2026. From left: Georgetown’s Amelia Albright, Round Rock’s Kerington Thornton, Lake Travis’ Gentry Barker, Round Rock’s Isa Cordaway-Dreier, Anderson’s Chloe Frizzell, Weiss’ Ava Jackson, Lake Travis’ Xyanna Stephens, Johnson’s Mya Ibarra, Westlake’s Geralynne Byers-Veal and Bowie’s Jazzlyn Hepburn. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Texas Longhorns libero Anja Kujundzic (16) returns a serve during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) leaps to catch a ball during a drill as Texas holds their second practice of the summer in preparation for the 2026 season, Aug. 6, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Bobcat wide receiver Chris Dawn Jr. (1) sprints during a drill at Texas State football practice at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)
In the news: Ambulance theft, flea market fire and more
American-Statesman photographers took some amazing images of news in Austin this month, including from a Southwest Airlines discovery day, the aftermath of an ambulance theft turned deadly and a flea market fire. Tesla’s mysterious Giga Factory outside of Austin continues to dominate headlines as well.
Crockett High School student Curren Henderson covers his ears from the noise while touring a commercial aircraft as Southwest Airlines hosts a discovery day for local high school students at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. Students toured various Southwest operations stations, met aviation professionals and learned about career paths like ground operations and pilot programs. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)
Texas Rangers work at the scene on the upper deck of I-35 in Austin on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, after Texas Department of Public Safety troopers opened fire on an ambulance that had been reported stolen out of Fort Worth. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Work continues on the construction of the Optimus factory at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Firefighters put out hot spots after a fire at Austin Country Flea Market on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Austin stays weird: Pride Week, Lezfest and AutoZone mechanics
It wouldn’t be a month in Austin without a few weird happenings around town. Austin’s Pride Week featured the first annual Lezfest, with jello wrestling and a “Breast in Show” pageant. Minor Mishap Marching Band brought their big band sound to 13 boats in the middle of Ladybird Lake for their annual Canoe Show and the Statesman covered the viral story of mechanics offering their services in an AutoZone parking lot.
Rudy, left, and Samuel, two of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, replace a CV axle on a Hyundai Santa Fe on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Teresa Dickinson and Erika Mendoza wrestle in Jell-O at Lezfest at Hotel Vegas in east Austin, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)
Members of Minor Mishap Marching Band, a 25-piece brass band, perform their Canoe Show on Ladybird Lake in Austin, Aug. 17, 2026 after being forced to reschedule due to flooding and the closure of the lake in July. The band played in more than a dozen canoes attached together as people gathered on the trail and in boats to enjoy the music. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Lindsey Palkovic dances with Austin Samba in the Austin Pride Parade on Congress Avenue through downtown Austin, Aug. 22, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
This article originally published at Austin in August: Pride, Texas football and all the weirdness in between.