Posted: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:00 AM - 13,541 Readers

By: Taylor Short

The Hill Country Galleria will bloom with music, arts and family fun April 30 when the fourth annual SpringFest arrives in Bee Cave.

The event will feature more than 150 local and regional artisan vendor booths, a “KidZone” with a gaga pit, bounce houses, reverse bungee, hamster wheels and face-painting.

“We tried to make the event bigger and tried to focus more on kids’ activities,” said Will Mitchell, SpringFest's chairman. “It is a family-oriented event, so that’s our target market.”

In addition to shopping, there will be a beer garden and a barbecue cook-off area where judges will determine the best bloody mary and the best cook by deeming him or her the Lake Travis Rib King.

Live music, sponsored by the American Bank of Lakeway, includes PAIYH Dance Studios, TexARTS, the Carson Brock Band, Andrea Marie and The Magnolia Band, Duck Soup and Bruce Robison. Lexus of Austin, Sail & Ski and Austin Boats and Motors will also have various vehicles and watercraft available to view.

The organizers expect about 10,000–12,000 attendees to this year’s event—about 2,000 more than 2010—but hope to keep that small town sense of community.

“It’s big for our community because it’s a time we all come together,” Mitchell said. “I think everything we have appeals to everyone in our community.”

The event begins at 11 a.m. at 12700 Hill Country Blvd.

Visit www.laketravischamber.com/annualevents/springfest for more information.