I recently visited friends in Houston and went to the Texas Renaissance Festival for the first time. It was well above and beyond what I had imagined even with my friends there hyping it up.
Hilarious live performances were certainly a highlight of the fair, pictured here Sound & Fury performing "Testaclese & ye Sack of Rome".
Numerous elaborate costumes could be seen everywhere, and lots of real plate armor and chainmail.
One of the things that consistently impressed me at the fair was how many permanent buildings had been erected on the grounds, and the level of detail that went into them. More elaborate then Fantasy Land at Disney Land by far, apart from not having a large castle with a moat in the middle.
What medieval reenactment would be complete with out staged violence in a jousting arena.
At dusk every night of the fair, the sky lights up with flying boom sticks.
One of the things I was also not expecting, is how crazy things would be outside the fair. There are campgrounds where some spend the night to enter the fair the next day, and some who just come to make their own festivities outside with no intention of actually going in the fair. Until late in the night or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it, there were fires and dancing, music and glow sticks. Hippies tripping out, frat kids getting hammered and everything in between.
There was lots of amazing craft works out there, and with so many who take a great interest in these Renaissance Fairs and role playing, it keeps a fairly vibrant economy of hand made goods alive.
All and all it was an awesome and memorable experience, one certainly worth the trip out there.
Posts
