There is only one land where kings and queens still rule with an iron fist, where knights joust for their country’s honor and where the most magical creatures roam.
Welcome to the Renaissance Festival.
This year, the Texas Renaissance Festival, the biggest Ren Fest in the world, celebrated its 49th anniversary by once again opening its gates to the modern world. Open Oct. 7 to Nov. 26, guests were welcome to explore the 77 acres of festival grounds, which include shops, food kiosks and performances.
On Nov. 8, a group of nine students from the Madrigal Choir attended the magical festival. They spent nine hours at the festival, arriving at 8 a.m. and leaving around 4 p.m. The weekend they went was Highland Fling-themed, which encourages traditional Scottish costumes.
Some members of the group, like junior Nicolas Olivares, have already been to the Renaissance Festival before. Olivares attended in middle school just before COVID hit.
“It was a great experience,” Olivares said. “I think I had more fun [this year] with my friends because it’s a different mentality. They’re all such a positive group of people that I like being around, so it definitely made the experience more enjoyable.”
But six out of nine in the group, like sophomore Emmerie Napier, attended for the very first time.
“I wanted to go to the Renaissance Festival because all my friends were going, and I also had never been to a Renaissance Festival,” Napier said. “When I was little I would always see YouTubers go, and I always wanted to do that.”
Many people who attend the festival take the opportunity to dress up in renaissance-era clothing. Some wear elaborate dresses, armor or themed outfits, while others might just wear a hat.
“I borrowed some stuff from one of my friends,” junior Ryan Fahed said. “Half of us dressed up, but nothing big.”
The group’s favorite event of the day was the jousting performance where four countries, Spain, France, Britain and Germany, sent a knight to fight for their country’s honor. Each knight had their own part of the stadium. Guests could choose where to sit and which country to cheer for.
“We were seated on Spain’s side,” Napier said. “There are some places you’ll go where the actors won’t really be convincing but they were really doing it like it was real.”
The jousting in the Texas Renaissance Festival is performed by the Hanlon-Lees Action Theatre as an accurate depiction of a joust with actual weapons, armor and costumes for the horses.
“I think the country that actually won was Britain,” Fahed said. “But one of the peasants knocked him off his horse and ended up winning.”
Though the joust was the only performance the choir group saw, the Ren Fest was filled with much more performances around the festival including Full Steel Combat, Birds of Prey and endless other shows.
Along with themed performances themed food was in no short supply.
They all ate lunch at the festival, gobbling turkey legs, pretzels and big pickles. After lunch, the students also walked around, looking at the surrounding sights and shops.
Looking for food and going around shopping did bring up the one issue the group had with the festival: the prices.
“It was [all] very expensive,” Fahed said. “One of my friends has gone multiple times, almost every year, and he said this [year] was way more expensive than previous years.”
Unfortunately, most of the goods sold at festivals can raise in prices every year. Even water bottles were around five to seven dollars.
However, the struggles with pricing didn’t stop the group from enjoying the better parts of the festival. Many members bought souvenirs and gifts, such as crystals and dice and continued to enjoy themed food throughout the day.
The group plans on returning next year, either with more people from the choir or other friends.
“I wouldn’t say it’s educational, but it’s bordering on it,” Napier said. “It was just a really nice experience with friends.”
