Official Description
The Texas Renaissance Festival opened in 1974 with just three stages and 15 acres of what was once an old strip-mining site. Today, the festival has grown into an incredible dream world spanning nearly 60 acres, featuring eight-themed villages lined with close to 400 unique shoppes and a cast of thousands entertaining patrons from all over the world!
Hundreds of thousands of patrons journey through the Royal Gates each season to experience the merriment and magic of the New Market Village by interacting with jugglers, minstrels and fortunetellers while exploring the variety of hand-crafted works of pottery, sculpted metal, woodcarvings, jewelry and other unique treasures found throughout the realm. Magical gardens, festive games, hands-on demonstrations and colorful costumed characters enhance the atmosphere while continuous entertainment takes place on more than 25 stages around the grounds. The TRF, the largest Renaissance themed festival in the Nation, continues to grow, from just 33,000 patrons opening year to a record-setting 606,694 patrons in attendance in 2012!
True to its mission, the TRF provides an adventure-filled escape back in time where one can delight in the pleasures of a simpler age. The sights and sounds of the festival are reflective of the period which inspired its inception. In addition, hundreds of pines and other native trees and landscaping have been carefully designed and planted around the grounds and beside shoppes, which also stay true to the architectural styles of the Renaissance period, from their turrets to their deeply pitched roofs. Entertainers, shopkeepers and staff are dressed in 16th century attire and speak the tongue of lords, ladies, paupers and wenches, all of which create a truly authentic atmosphere.
