Texas Renaissance Festival to open October 3 – November 29 for its 46th Season

PUBLISHED: 30 September 2020

Huzzah! The Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) is back for 2020 with all its treats for the season, and the King and Queen are anticipating your arrival! Each year over 450,000 patrons enter through the gates of the festival into a 16^th Century European Village where performers immerse you in an enchantment that features 21 stages of music and stage acts, 400 shoppes, artisans, and a world tour for the taste buds. With its old-fashioned rides to its delightful bites (turkey leg, anyone?) and one-of-a-kind shopping, the Ren Fest – located just one hour north of Houston - is fun for the whole family. Season dates are Saturdays and Sundays, October 3 – November 29, 2020.

We dropped in at the festival grounds for what they call “Media Day” but what I’ve been calling my “playdate” because of all the fun I had. During my visit, I chatted with so many of the royals (it’s nice to have friends in high places, ya know), watched a jousting contest, slid down the much-faster-than-it-looks Dragon Tower slide (check out the Instagram post here), watched a snippet of The Washing Well Wenches – a hilarious new show added to the festival this year, took a spin on the colorful, human-propelled DaVinci Flying Machine, applauded a fire-eater, received a balloon corsage, and sampled delicious sugar-dusted empanadas, sausage on a stick, and chocolate-coated strawberries.

Speaking of The Washing Well Wenches show, it’s good "clean" fun that you’ll certainly want to put on your agenda for the day. Here are some of the funny signs adorning the stage area for this performance.

When I visit again this year with my entire family, I know my kiddos will enjoy the elephant rides, rope swings, and henna tattoos, and my 6-year-old will try to convince me to purchase a bird whistle (she lost the one from last year’s festival) and a furry tail (they have plenty to choose from at Crimson Chain Leatherworks – a new vendor to join the festival for 2020).

Ah, you’ll notice these "plague"-reducing signs at the entrance and throughout the festival, so let’s discuss. The festival has taken some impressive steps to help combat the spread of germs this year, which we know our readers will appreciate. All TRF staff, performers and vendors will be required to wear a face mask during the season. If there is a state face mask mandate (as there currently is in Texas), patrons will be required to wear face masks anywhere in the festival where social distancing is not achievable. If there is no state mandate in place, patrons will not be required to wear masks, but will be strongly encouraged to do so.

We were able to interact with so many Renaissance characters during our preview – including the King and queen – and I can say with certainty that their mask-wearing did nothing to detract from the interactive experience that I’ve grown to know and love about the festival over the past few decades that I’ve been enjoying it.

The powers that be have really thought of everything to make your visit as comfortable as possible while complying with mask-wearing guidelines. Approximately 20 mask-free zones throughout the festival will allow patrons an opportunity to take a break from mask-wearing. Also, patrons who attend the festival will have the opportunity to participate in a daily face mask contest that will be judged on creativity and coordination with the costume or themed weekend.

TRF’s will perform decontamination prior to festival and camping days and nightly when the festival is open, nightly cleaning of the shoppes, and spot cleaning and sanitizing throughout the day as required by state protocols. 80 hand sanitizers will be installed at the festival, while 50 will be located throughout the Fields of New Market Campground. Full 2020 TRF Safety Guidelines can be found at www.texrenfest.com/safety-guidelines.

Anticipating capacity limitations, the Texas Renaissance Festival moved to date-specific tickets with no ticket sales at the gate. You’ll be able to purchase festival admission tickets in advance online at www.texrenfest.com/tickets-season-passes, Groupon and at H-E-B stores. More information can be found at www.texrenfest.com.

And yippee - TRF will continue its tradition of Kids 12 and under get in free on Sundays. Keep your eyes on the WoodlandsMommy.com Facebook page for your chance to WIN tickets for your family!