Century Square, a 60-acre development right next to Texas A&M’s campus, holds restaurants, retail shopping, entertainment venues, apartments and two upscale hotels, according to their website. Century Square hosts over 250 events annually, all free to the public, with monthly summer events like Century Square Cinema, Front Porch music concerts and Shopping on the Square, said Century Square marketing strategist Maddi Poland.
Shopping on the Square is held from 1–4 p.m. every third Saturday of the month, Century Square Cinema from 8:30–10 p.m. every second Thursday of the month and Front Porch Live Music from 7–10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
These events are all held on The Green, an open turf area with an outdoor stage at the center of Century Square. The shopping center is conveniently located right across from A&M’s campus on University Drive, making it a frequent stop for some Aggies.
“A lot of students walk by it anyways trying to get to class or you see it driving down University, so it’s in a prime location where you can’t really miss it,” industrial distribution engineering junior Samuel Castillo said.
Century Square’s Shopping on the Square is a monthly vendor market hosted by The Brunch! Official. This year marks the second season of Shopping on the Square, which is held in the spring and summer. The final vendor market will be held on Aug. 19 from 5–8 p.m.
At this month’s previous Shopping on the Square, vendors sold items such as quilts, jewelry, tumblers and vinyl art. Services like Renewal by Anderson, a window and door replacement company, had a booth at the market. Free merchandise from the headlining sponsor of The Brunch! Official, Topo Chico, was also available.
“They pass out free Topo Chico all day and swag and engage with the community,” co-founder and coordinator of The Brunch! Official Manuela Gómez-Rhodes said. The Brunch! Official started in 2017 in Houston with ten vendors and has grown to a vendor list of over 800 small businesses.
“Our goal in coming here was to provide an opportunity and a platform for local vendors from College Station to have a market that they can go to monthly to showcase their work and connect with other vendors and to get their name out in their own community,” Gómez-Rhodes said. “Before our vendors from Houston followed us here, it kind of expanded their horizons, but now we’re seeing more of people from here that are finding us, that are coming to shop in their local market.”
Having a variety of upscale and homemade products helps Century Square provide a shopping experience for anyone, Poland said.
“We have luxury brands like Lucchese and Onward Reserve, but we also have smaller brands like the local vendors or like Hemline, Grass Stains, Galleria Spa Salon Boutique [and] Apricot Lane Boutique,” Poland said. “Those small vendors get to all be a part of it and be together so no matter what you’re shopping for, no matter what your typical demographic is, there’s something for everybody here during those days.”
Century Square Cinema, an outdoor free movie screening, has been held at Century Square since the summer of 2021. This year’s movie lineup featured “Tangled” in June, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in July with “Spiderman: No Way Home” finishing it out on Aug. 17.
Animal science junior Kaitlyn Owens attended the July Century Square Cinema screening of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” with fellow Fish Camp counselor and nutrition junior Jane Moore as well as a screening of “Frozen 2” at last year’s summer Century Square Cinema.
“We came for the ‘Frozen’ movie with our Fish Camp … and it was super fun, super inviting, great atmosphere, lots of people, lots of fun lights, great food, just a great area all-around,” Moore said.
Outdoor movie screenings are few and far between in College Station, so Moore especially appreciates the opportunity that Century Square provides to enjoy that, she said.
Kinesiology senior Claire Guynes attended Century Square’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” screening with her friends and enjoyed a few games of cornhole on The Green. Guynes often visits Century Square to eat at restaurants, study at Harvest Coffee Bar, hang out with friends or attend concerts.
“I think I just enjoy being outside with people a lot, I work inside most of the day, so it’s kind of nice just being outside,” Guynes said.
With ambient string lighting and restaurants on all sides of The Green, the Front Porch music concerts offer an outdoor space to enjoy live music, said Poland. The Front Porch music concerts are Century Square’s most trafficked event, and people can attend, no reservation necessary.
“It was really nice to sit out on The Green and just hang out with people and listen to music,” Guynes said.
Poland looks forward to more events at Century Square including their biggest event of the year, Beer Garden, to kick off the Aggie football season. The Beer Garden is a tailgate-themed event equipped with cornhole, games and live music. After the day out, guests can ride shuttles that take them from Century Square directly to the A&M football games at Kyle Field. In addition to the home game festivities, Century Square hosts watch parties for every away game.
