Scarborough Renaissance Festival is HERE!

Opening weekend for their 41st season begins on Saturday, April 9th! They have added a great deal to their offerings since last year. My family and I are so excited to go! I wanted to share some of the information they sent to bloggers to show you what else you can look forward to. I hope to see you guys there! 

First, you need to remember that each day is full of interactive fun for the whole family. This isn't a show you can sit and watch. This is full immersion! It really does take you back to the 16th century. Each Saturday and Sunday from April 9th to May 30th is an adventure.

You can watch full combat armored jousting, see a Birds of Prey exhibition, visit mermaids in Mermaid Lagoon, join in the Knighting ceremony - all thanks to over 75 members that perform! There are over 20 stage productions to choose from. Many, if not all, of them are interactive with their audience. I also love being able to find one-of-a-kind treasures as gifts for others. Their artisans are top of the line!

If that isn't enough fun for you, there are also rides that you can partake of. Just remember to bring cash for those! You also might bring cash to tip the showmen. This is their livelihood after all. There are games of skill you can plan to play. See how well you'd stack up in the Renaissance days. 

This first weekend kicks off with the Travel Back in Time and & Kids Free Weekend. Kids will be free all weekend with up to 3 children (5-12) admitted per paid adult. Children 4 and under are ALWAYS free. Seniors get half priced tickets at the gate this weekend as well. There will be an all-new Scarborough Quest that you can participate in to discover the characters and challenges as you venture through the festival. Check it out at the Village Armoury between 11:00 am - 2:00 pm. For this opening weekend, you have these performers to look forward to:

The Accidental Acrobats

Zilch the Tory Steller

Emrys Fleet – the Big Rat Show.

Guest Artisans are Bird Marie’s Pottery, Bad Badger Horns, The Quirky Cork, and Spirit Song Ocarinas.

If you are looking to wet your whistle, the themes for the daily Beer and Wine Tasting events for April 9^th & 10^th will be wines of Spain and beers of Texas. Visitors can purchase their tasting event advanced discount tickets at SRFestival.com

“All of us at Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® are tremendously excited to begin our 5^th decade of providing one of the most unique entertainment experiences in North Texas!”, says Helaine Thompson, Director of Marketing & Communications. “In addition to the exceptional entertainment, one-of-a-kind crafts, artisan demonstrations and other attractions; we have made significant improvements to the Festival site that we can’t wait for everyone to see. So come join us at the 41^st Annual Scarborough Renaissance Festival^®!” 

Helaine Thompson is an amazing woman. I was able to meet and interview her last year. You can check that out here. I am hoping I will get to do more interviews while we go this time.

Incredible new shows for the Festival’s 41^st season will feature a sword swallower, comedians, a Renaissance style gameshow, a verbal joust, a hammered dulcimer musician, and the Big Rat Show! Scarborough’s performing company (Scarborough Academy of Performing Arts) is back to pre-pandemic levels with over 75 members and has been hard at work creating merry new characters and refining long-time favorites, (including the 2022 reigning monarch, Margaret Queen of Scotland and the Isles), who will bring the re-created 16^th Century Village of Scarborough to life! 

Scarborough’s new 2022 artisans/shoppes showcase artistry such as cast concrete art, sculpted horns, Macrame jewelry, hand crafted chocolates, Henna body art, sculpted wearable puppets, bone sculptures & jewelry, leather accessories, handmade ocarinas, tapestry handbags, pottery, stick horses, woodworking, hand-dyed silk clothing, and clay sculptures. 

New food offerings are the Wonton Lotus Bowl (I can't wait to try this one!), Fryed Jalapeño Slices (Yep, gotta try these too), Philly Cheese Steak, Polish Sausage Sandwiches (there goes the diet again), Ribbon Fries, Quesadillas, Fruit Hand Pies, Royal Brownie Sundae (I'm going to gain weight there for sure), Loaded Totchos, and Chili Cheese Tater Tots. The Original Lemon Chill will also be returning. (Can you tell I am a total foodie??)

New beers and wines will be available, and a new mead is being introduced. Texas Mead Works Mead is a semi-sweet mead with a balanced floral bouquet and light sweet honey finish that visitors are sure to enjoy. Plus, for the first time ever, most of the food, drink, and pub locations will be accepting credit/debit cards!

Games and rides are still cash only, so we strongly encourage visitors to bring cash for their visit. There are 8 ATM locations throughout the Festival to serve guests.

Each weekend has a different theme that include:

Artisan’s Showcase, which is the one we went to last year (4/16 & 17)

The All-New Viking & Ale Weekend, the one we plan to go to this year (4/23 & 24)

Live the Fantasy & Spring Celebration (4/30 – 5/1)

Celebrating Chivalry Weekend (5/7 & 8)

Legends of the Seas (5/14 & 15)

Celtic Weekend (5/21 & 22)

Last Huzzah (5/28, 29 & 30)

Each weekend also has a variety of special events and activities including costume contests, special entertainment, the return of the Royal Ale Festival (21+) on April 23^rd & 24^th, and the All-New Chocolate Sensations Tasting Event (21+) on May 7^th and 8^th. 

Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® offers “Food Fit for a King” that is a step above the traditional “fair food”. Visitors can feast on the famous giant smoked turkey legs (over 20 tons are consumed each season, and is my husbands favorite), Scottish Eggs, the largest food-on-a-stick selection in Texas or try some of the daily special creations at the Pasta Palace and Scarborough Bakery. The full-service restaurant & bar, the Rose & Crown Inn, will be offering signature items like Shepherd’s Pie, Bangers & Mash, meat pies, and Muffulettas along with daily specials as well. 

Visitors 21 and over can partake in Texas Mead Works Mead, a wide selection of craft, domestic and imported beer; wine, and other adult beverages at one of the 12 pubs and taverns. For those with more discerning palates there are daily wine and beer tasting events with each weekend having a different theme. Tastings require a separate ticket that can be purchased in advance for a discount at www.SRFestival.com or at the Festival (on festival days). Seating is limited and the tasting events regularly sell out, so it is recommended that you purchase your tickets in advance. Participants must be 21+ to attend.

2022 Daily Wine & Beer Tasting Themes

April 9 & 10

Wines of Spain and Beers of Texas

April 16 & 17

Wines of Italy and Beers of Belgium

April 23 & 24

Wines of the New World and Blind Date (Beer)

April 30 & May 1

Wines of Germany and Beers of Germany

May 7 & 8

From Grape to Glass (wine) and Barley, Hops, & Yeast Oh My! (beer)

May 14 & 15

Wines Down Under and Beers of the New World

May 21 & 22

Wines of France and Beers of the Celtic Isles

May 28, 29 & 30

Flynn’s Favorites (wine) and Seamus Suggests (beer)

Things to Note

• New for the 2022 season: Most food, drink, and pub locations will now be accepting credit cards

• Entertainer tips, games and rides are still cash only so visitors are strongly encouraged to bring cash for their visit. There are 8 ATM locations to serve guests including two new locations.

• Costumes are welcome at Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® but are absolutely not required.

• Daily special events include full combat jousting (three times a day), Birds of Prey Exhibitions, Children’s Knighting Ceremonies, and the Grande Parade.

• Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® is family friendly with many activities for kids such as the Children’s Knighting Ceremonies, the Mermaid Lagoon, the EwePets Petting Zoo, Keet’s Landing (bird aviary), the Unicorn Experience, Renaissance Rides, games of skill and much more! Kids’ favorite shows include Accidental Acrobats, Cirque du Sewer, The Don Juan & Miguel Show, Emrys Fleet’s Big Rat Show, The Nature of Mercy, Shakespeare Approves, Harmless Danger Juggling Show, Syndicate School of Sword & Skill, and many others.

• There are some shows that are geared toward a more mature audience (16+). They include Arthur Greenleaf Holmes the Wildly Inappropriate Poet, Bettina Bawdeville, Menage a Moi, and the King’s Pub – Pub Sing.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival’s 2022 Season offers many exciting new additions to the Festival along with long time favorites for everyone to enjoy!

New Entertainment

• Bettina Bawdeville (PG-16) – Risqué original pub songs, mixing the bawdy with hints of vaudeville. Not for the delicate sensibilities. (May 7 – May 30 Only)

• Cy the Sword Swallower – A man of skill, of danger, and some would say… a complete lunatic! Witness him swallow a whole armory of swords of different shapes and sizes!

• Emrys Fleet, the Big Rat Show – A hilarious comedy show featuring Pesky the Wonderous one-eyed rate and Wilbur the Dancing weasel! (April 9 – May 1 Only)

• Menage a Moi (PG-16) – Top-shelf comedy stylings that are humorously indecent and always discreet.

• Name that Sonnet – A Renaissance style gameshow that that most certainly leads to a lot of fun, laughter, and perhaps a little education.

• Robin Hood Charity Show – Join this “secret meeting” to create ideas for causing mischief in the Village

• The Verbal Joust – A humorous improvisational language lesson on the value of creative insults!

• Vince Conaway – Hammered Dulcimer – Bringing history to life by weaving storytelling with an enchanting array of Celtic, Renaissance, and Baroque music! (May 7 – May 22 Only)

 

New Artisans

 

• Aisling Designs – Cast Concrete Art

• Bird Marie’s Pottery – Functional Pottery

• Cultivate Outdoors – Bonsai, Succulents, 2-D Art

• Dancing Glass Studio – Macrame Beaded Jewelry (April 23 – May 1 only)

• Delicious Doom Chocolates – Hand Crafted Chocolates (May 7 – 8 only)

• Henna Envy – Henna Body Art

• Hornucopia – Sculpted Horns

• Hullabaloo Henna – Henna Body Art

• Imaginarium Galleries – Sculpted Wearable Puppets

• Madame Macabres House of Curiosities – Bone Sculptures, Jewelry

• Meraki Moon – Macrame Beaded Jewelry with large Semi-Precious Stones (May 14 – 15 only)

• Native Texas Craftsman – Stick Horses & Woodworking

• Silk Road – Handy Dyed Silk Clothing

• Spirit Song Ocarinas – Handmade Ocarinas (April 9 – 17 only)

• Untamed Tapestries – Tapestry Handbags

• White Wizards – Clay Sculptures (May 21 – 30 only)

 

Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® 2022 is open Saturdays, Sundays, and Memorial Day Monday, April 9 – May 30, 2022, from 10 AM to 7 PM rain or shine. Located in Waxahachie, Texas, Scarborough Renaissance Festival^® is just 30 minutes south of the downtowns of Dallas and Fort Worth on FM 66 off of I-35E and an hour north of Waco.

Admission is $37 for adults and $17 for children, ages 5-12. Children ages 4 and under are always admitted free. Discount tickets are available at www.SRFestival.com or at North Texas Tom Thumb & Albertsons stores. There are also discounts at the gate for Seniors 65+ and active Military. 

For more information visit www.SRFestival.com or follow us on Facebook & Twitter (SRFestival) or on Instagram (theSRFestival).