Ren Fest Gears Up for 50th Anniversary Season Next Month

Ren Fest Gears Up for 50th Anniversary Season Next Month

HEAR YE, HEAR ye! The Texas Renaissance Festival has announced its plans for its 50th anniversary season, which opens on Oct. 12 and is preceded by a series of exciting events of magic and merriment.


Texas Renaissance Festival, which runs on weekends through Dec. 1, says this year's will be its biggest yet and include several new attractions. Already the largest event of its kind, the Renaissance Festival is attended by more than half a million revelers every year. It was the subject of a three-part docuseries called Ren Faire, which aired earlier this year on HBO and portrayed the battle for who might succeed octogenarian founder George Coulam in running the festival. (Officially, the Texas Renaissance Festival issued a statement distancing itself from the film.)

Ahead of the party in Todd Mission, Texas, those in Houston can experience adventure and enchantment at several kickoff events this month. On Sunday, Sept. 18, the Once Upon a Symphony concert in The Woodlands "transports visitors to far off lands" in a celebration of some of fiction's most fantastical fairy tales. The next day, Sept. 19, Ren Fest and Karbach kick off the Karbachtober Fest at the brewery. St. Arnold also has an Oktoberfest on Oct. 4.

Then the gates open on Oct. 12, with the Ren Fest's own Oktoberfest celebration taking place Oct. 12-13. "Journey back in time to old Bavaria ... . Show off your lederhosen in our daily costume contest or participant in our bratwurst eating contest," beckons the website. Other themed weekends include "Pirate Adventure" and "Heroes and Villains," inviting the likely-already-dressed-up attendees to put on even more costumes and gear.


Art + Entertainment
Wellness Pro LeBrina Jackson on Gratitude at the Holidays: It’s a ‘Reset Button for my Mind’

LeBrina Jackson

AS WE GET into the holiday season, we’re reminded of what we have, what we want and what might be lacking. As Sheryl Crow says in her song, Soak up the Sun, “It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you've got.” We caught up with LeBrina Jackson, owner of Escape Spa in Cypress, Texas, and learned how she tackles the holiday season with hope, love and most importantly, gratitude.

Keep Reading Show less

Braxton Berrios and Alix Earle (photo from @alix_earle on Instagram)

WHILE HOUSTON IS still mourning the loss of Alex and Reagan Bregman’s move to Boston, a new power couple is about to touch down in H-Town. Influencer Alix Earle’s boyfriend Braxton Berrios was drafted to the Texans this week.

Keep Reading Show less
Style

Marla Hurley, Ben Berg, and Laura Goodson

NEVER TURNING DOWN an excuse to dress up and get down, Houston VIPs descended upon Ben Berg's The Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse to celebrate the opening of the Rodeo's only sit-down restaurant, now back for a fourth year running.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties