Yesterday the family and a select group of friends traveled to Plantersville, TX to visit the 34th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival. (That’s 35 years continuous running, every Fall!) This year the Festival runs every weekend from Oct. 11th through Nov. 30th. The RenFest is held in a large, private park about six miles south of Plantersville, in a beautiful pine forest. That’s about a three hour drive for us, so we had to be on the road by 6:30 AM to get a full day in.
The weather was gorgeous, cool and clear with just a touch of breeze. We’d had rain through the area on Wednesday and Thursday, but there was no sign of mud at the park entrance. Mud and flooding has been an issue in past years; we went once when it rained fourteen inches the night before.)
The site sports a dozen or so stages and show venues, games and attractions, and over 350 shops (food, drink and less important items like clothing, jewelry, toys, art, chain mail and so on). There’s tent camping and RV camping areas, and you can buy discounted all-weekend passes.
Many people go to the RenFest for the shopping, others go for the shows (over 200 showings in a weekend!). Mostly, I go for the music! (And the food, of course, but you have to be selective. More on that later.)
There are several groups that return each year to the RenFest, and I have my favorties among these: The Gypsy Guerrilla Band, Jim Hancock (a.k.a. The Burly Minstrel), Wyndnwyre, Istanpitta, Cantiga, I Madrigali, The Texas Brass and Tartanic. Once you’re thirsty you can stop by the Sea Devil Tavern and grab a frosty brew and listen to the clear voices (and bawdy lyrics) of Iris and Rose.
Fairly new groups include Crannog, the Bilge Pumps, and my favorite, Wine and Alchemy. Wine and Alchemy is a reconstituted ensemble, with Mark Varelas on bouzouki, guitar, mandolin, accordion, penny whistle and percussion. He was with e-Muzeki previously at the Festival and had built a nice following. In the last year, though, that group folded and W&A took its place.
I found their musing to be riveting in its power, variety and complexity. Roxanne Bruscha adds wonderful vocals, reminiscent of Loreena McKennitt‘s great songs. They put on a great show! Although I have sentimental favorites in the Gypsy Guerrilla Band and Jim Hancock, who have been at the RenFest for more than 20 years now, I think Wine and Alchemy may have moved towards top spot this year. At least for now.
There are many shows at the Festival as well. The only two I purposely seek out are the Ded Bob Sho and Arsene. Ded Bob has been a staple for a couple of decades, and Arsene has been doing his fine mime work for several years now. Okay, the shows are always the same; somehow, that’s a comfort more than a drawback.
No, I didn’t forget about the food!
There are some sit-down eateries in the park, including the King’s Feast and the Arborhouse. But most of the over 400,000 folks who visit each weekend grab their food from the various themed food stalls; there are over sixty of them! Spanish, Mexican, Italian, French, German, Polish, English and Greek, with lots of other snacks available too: candied nuts, fruit, sweets and more.
The stall choices are quick to fix and serve, of course. Meats on sticks, fried potatoes, turkey legs, sandwiches and so on. Some seafood too. Of course, I samples as much of the stuff as I could stuff in without laying down and rolling. And drinks abound, both the ordinary (sodas, water, fruit drinks) and the adult (margaritas, pina coladas, and more). And yes, I felt obliged to sample those too. Fortunately, there were several other dirivers along for the return trip.
Speaking of adult beverages, the Faire now has a brewery that show how ales were made back when: The Brigadoon Brewery and Brew School. Other pubs include the Taverna d’ Vino and the Royal Meadery, Indulgences and the Prince of Wales Pub. That’s just the ones I remember…
In all, it was a great day in the park. The Renaissance Festival is really more than you can experience in a single day, if you really want to see it all. So go, experience, laugh and enjoy. Just don’t let the kiddies see Ded Bob…
Enjoy the (New World) Heat!
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