AndiStep back in time at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Get your cosplay on and come here for arts, crafts and shows centered on the renaissance era. The festival is celebrating its 40th year! Here are 10 Must Do’s at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.
But first….
What is it:
A festival held to celebrate the 16th century. Imagine 35 acres of shows, artisan demonstrations, crafts, shops, and food in a recreated little English Village.
When is it:
It’s held every Saturday and Sunday from April 10th – May 30th. Plus Memorial Day on May 31st.
The hours are 10am to 7pm.
Where is it:
The fair grounds are located in Waxahachie about 30 minutes south of the Dallas/ Fort Worth area.
2511 FM 66 Waxahachie, TX 75167
Cost:
Admission is $37 for adults and $17 for kids aged 5 through 12. You can purchase tickets online here.
Discount tickets are available at select T Mobile, Tom Thumb and Albertson’s locations. Plus they offer a military and senior discount.
Parking is free
10 Must Do’s at Scarborough Renaissance Festival:
1. Dress the Part at Scarborough Renaissance Festival!
Get in on the action! A good majority of the people that come will be in some sort of costume. It can be hard to tell the difference between an employee and a guest. They have specialty shops that sell clothing and accessories. Everything from full costumes to masks and crowns.
If dressing up isn’t your thing, there’s still plenty of people in regular clothes too.
Another tip: Wear comfortable shoes! It’s a lot of walking. Plus wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. If it’s rained, there will be LOTS of mud.
2. Buy a Program
They sell programs at the entrance for $3. It’s a great guide to have on hand through out the day with out wasting your phone battery. It has a map of the area plus ALL the different show times on each stage. It has descriptions of each show, plus a food and shopping guide.
3. Musical Show
Catch one of the musical acts to hear bagpipes, accordions, drums, singing, the harp, a glass harmonica and more.
Here are a few to choose from: Drone, The Inheritance, Celtic Legacy, Ironhill Vagabonds and Gypsy Rox. We caught the Donal Hinely Glass Harmonica show. It was fun to watch him turn glasses of water into music.
4. Fire Whip Show
That being said, there are a few shows that I think are must sees. The Fire Whip show is definitely a must see! It’s high energy, exciting and the guy is hilarious. He is amazing to watch when he gets the whip cracking. Plus adding fire to anything is awesome!
5. Birds of Prey
A show on the art of falconry. Watching these amazing birds of prey is a unique experience. The falconer does a great job of explaining the history of falconry and why it’s still a necessary skill. Seeing a bald eagle close is pretty awe inspiring!
6. The Joust is one of the must do’s at Scarborough Renaissance Festival!
The Knights of the Realm perform three shows daily however the first show did not have a full jousting tournament. Not sure if that’s usual or just a fluke, but check out the later shows just in case. Either way it’s fun to see what they can do on horseback.
7. Bring the Kids
Kids will love it here! There are so many things to keep them entertained.
Best kid shows: Accidental Acrobats, Emry’s Fleet Rat Show, Kamikaze Fireflies and the Joust.
Other kid favorites include the Mermaid Lagoon, Unicorn encounter, animal rides, and man powered rides.
8. Knighting Ceremony
They have daily knighting ceremonies where your kids can be knighted by the king and queen! Mine did this years ago when they were younger and loved it!
9. Eat
There’s nothing like eating a whole turkey leg while wandering through this quaint village. However my favorite food would have to be Shepard’s Pie in the Rose N Crown Pub.
There’s a ton of options if none of those appeal to you. They’ve got fajitas, wraps, sandwiches, pasta, stir fry, plus so much more. Even the pickiest eaters will find something to nibble on.
10. Artisan Demonstration
There are so many cool demonstrations that it’s hard to pick just one. A few of my favorites include hand blown glass, blacksmithing, stone sculpting, candle making and thrown pottery. Highly recommend watching one or a few.
Bonus #11 – Shopping in one of the Must Do’s at Scarborough Renaissance Festival
There are so many one of kind treasures here! There’s the above mentioned art that you may want to take home, plus clothing, swords, jewelry, baked goodies, armory, teas, salts, candles and more! There was one shop that sold only brooms, like Harry Potter style!
5 Tips for enjoying Scarborough Renaissance Festival:
- Bring cash!!! Most of the vendors only take cash so keep this in mind. There are several ATM’s around if you forget.
- Research before coming! There’s too many shows and demonstrations to see it all in one day or even one weekend. Have a game plan of your must see’s.
- Get there before opening. There’s a small ceremony 15 minutes before they open.
- There are nice bathrooms and port a potties, so know that you have options. One of the nice bathrooms is by the elephant rides.
- Tip the performers if you liked the show. This is how they make money. They really do add to the ambiance of the whole festival so please budget accordingly.
These are my 10 must do’s at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Have you been before? Did I miss anything?
