Live dabke dancing, authentic Lebanese cuisine, and headline concerts from Fares Karam and Hisham El Hajj make North America’s largest Lebanese festival a weekend worth circling on the calendar.
Midtown Park, Houston, TX — October 17-18, 2026
Houston’s Lebanese community throws open the doors every October, and this year marks the 8th edition of what’s widely considered the largest Lebanese festival in North America. Organized by the American Lebanese Cultural Center, the festival returns to Midtown Park, located at 2811 Travis St, for a weekend built around Lebanese food, music, and culture, and it’s open to absolutely everyone in the city, not just the Lebanese community.
That’s actually the whole point. The festival’s mission centers on uniting the local Lebanese community while introducing Lebanese heritage to a broader Houston audience, and the event’s welcoming, public nature reflects that goal directly. Whether you grew up with Lebanese food on the table or you’ve never tried a bite of it, you’re invited.
The festival runs Saturday, October 17, through Sunday, October 18, and delivers a full sensory experience across both days. Attendees can expect authentic Lebanese cuisine, live music paired with dabke, the energetic traditional Lebanese folk dance performed in a connected line, cultural exhibits highlighting Lebanese heritage, and family-friendly activities throughout the grounds.
Music lovers have real reason to circle this one. Saturday night’s concert, starting at 7 p.m., headlines Hisham El Hajj and Aline Lahoud, while Sunday night’s show, starting at 8 p.m., brings out Fares Karam, a major name in Lebanese and Arabic pop music.
Ticket options give visitors some flexibility. A $25 general admission ticket gets you into the festival after 4 p.m. with Zone C concert seating included. For those wanting a closer view, $150 buys festival admission plus one Zone B seat for either Saturday or Sunday’s concert, while $270 covers Zone B seating for both nights. Thanks to the festival’s use of Zeffy for ticketing, 100% of proceeds go directly to the American Lebanese Cultural Center’s mission, with no processing fees skimmed off the top.
Beyond the celebration itself, the festival carries a genuine charitable purpose. A percentage of net proceeds benefits the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon, and funds raised have also historically gone toward ALCC’s long-term goal of building a dedicated Lebanese cultural center and museum right here in Houston.
Founded in February 2014, the American Lebanese Cultural Center has spent over a decade working to promote, preserve, and celebrate Lebanese heritage and cultural traditions within the Houston community, while fostering cultural exchange with the wider city around it. This festival remains its biggest annual showcase of that mission.
Whether you’re coming for the music, the food, the dancing, or simply a chance to experience a culture that’s helped shape Houston’s own diversity, the 8th Houston Lebanese Festival offers a genuinely welcoming way to spend an October weekend.
