In 10 years, I missed one TRF. Then I moved away two years ago and haven't been able to get back. Thanks for this video, I know every inch of the fair you showed, and it brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. Thanks.
i just wanted to say, you have some of the most epic outfits, im honestly stunned by you. im a dork at heart so i appeciate how much effort you put into you outfits! stay slayin queen!
Went to TRF in 1999. Loved it. I got Full length custom leather boots made and custom leather gauntlets made for shooting my bow. It has GROWN so much, especially the jousting. The Lions Club put on the Archery booth and I, since I was 13, shoot a longbow. They let me shoot my bow at the booth and it drew quite a bit of attention. I was even asked to come on as staff because I could Robin Hood an arrow 2 out of 3 times at 20 yards. I couldn't though :( I was stationed out there in Louisiana so I couldn't commit. WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT FUN THOUGH!!! Thanks for posting and bringing back some wonderful memories!!!!
When we lived in Houston, this was a staple event for us every year. It is massive! Good idea to stay closer than Austin - Just getting into the parking lot can take 3 hours since it's outside of a small town with absolutely inadequate roads. But the Faire itself is wonderful. Great shops, fantastic costumes, great performers. I highly recommend for anyone into RenFests.
@@MrSqueamishJam Glad to hear it. When we would go, we'd leave early to arrive about 45 minutes before opening and traffic wasn't too bad. I remember one year my in-laws went with us. They showed up late and we sat in traffic for 3.5 hours around opening time.
I missed you by a day! Glad your group had such a wonderful time. My family and I go every year. I've been going for the past 25 years, since I was a teen. There is so much to see and do there. It can be overwhelming. Now that I've gone so much, my favorite part is talking with the shopkeeps and the actors. So much history, lore and stories with all of them. Everyone is so friendly, even Skid Mark can be fun.
It was a trip watching this having been many many times, i recognized just about every area you went to. The shows I recommend are adam crack fire whip, clan tynkr, cast in bronze, and birds of prey. If you wanna get drunk and rowdy catch a show at the pirate ship she showed near the end of the video. Some advice if your a first timer, you wanna either go pretty early or more into the evening, if you go at peak times traffic is a nightmare getting in. If your there at opening its ok, and if you go more around noon-1pm most of the traffic has died down. While it is a huge faire and really fun, its not cheap. You can just buy tickets and wander around and watch shows, but your gonna see food and drink you want, and tipping shows you enjoy is good etiquette.
Glad you had such a fun time at TRF. I photograph at TRF every year and yours was the first video I've seen where Ive been caught in the background so it was quite a surprise. If you ever come back make sure to see some of the other stage acts as there are some delightful ones that dont travel outside of Texas and it's three big fairs.
Thanks for the vid. I grew up in SE Texas and worked TRF every year of high school in the late 80s. My friends parent's owned a booth out there. I was a barker and model and did some stuff with the SCA. I moved away after graduating and went into the military. I have only been back a couple of times and seeing your video really makes me want to make a trip back. Maybe this year. THANK YOU.
I've gone to TRF every year since I moved back to TX in 2012, moved to PA in 2021 and have had to miss it since, I loved your video because it made me feel at home!
I have been going to the Renaissance Festival since they moved to the new location in the late 80's. Always a great time! Love your videos. See you there in the future!
I lived in Houston, a little over an hour from the TRF site for over a decade. I think it spoiled me. I moved to Raleigh and then Seattle, and always felt the Ren Faire selections outside of Texas were… you know… fine, I guess. I sold off my sword when I moved to France, but I’ve kept the rest of my garb, just in case. I’ve even attended a wedding at TRF (friends of friends). Honestly, their wedding deal is not bad. You pay a flat rate, they provide the space for the ceremony, another space for the feast, the actual food and drink, plus an officially registered clergyman (in vaguely accurate clergy garb) to perform the ceremony. No need for florists, caterers, band, etc. And anybody who’d be willing to attend in the first place (you still have to purchase a ticket to enter) almost certainly has their own garb already. I honestly felt kind of like a tourist, because most of the other attendees were hardcore SCA folks, with full suits of armor and padded swords. My sword was actual metal, because I was 100% sure I wouldn’t be swinging it at anybody. (I’m pretty sure that if I’d tried swinging it at somebody, the SCA folks would use their padded weapons to beat me to a pulp anyway. I’m all about dressing weird and having a fun weekend, but the SCA does not f-k around. And they won’t break character the whole time they do it.)
When you come back to TRF, would recommend a sit down experience the Kings Feast is an all you can eat Feast and Show with a variety of acts that do other individual shows at different venues within TRF (they do have Vegan options) and this is also an extra paid show with a Mead, Wine and Beers included. We live in Magnolia, which is 5 miles from TRF so we go 1-3 days throughout the Festival. another great show is Opal and Jade, it is an Adult Comedy show. There is also a Burlesque show in TRF, which is an extra paid ticket admission.
@@greendragon5603 pauvre chaton qui se vexe pour rien parce que c'est même pas adressé a lui, c'est juste content de voir que d'autres pays s'intéresse à la culture de mon pays !!! Et si tu ne veux pas que l'on se moque de toi.....évite de parler français, gamin !!!
I am so happy that you had fun at TRF. I worked there for a number of years, met my wife there, proposed at the water gardens while wearing full platemail armor, we got married at the chapel and we try to go back every year for our anniversary. Unfortunately, life happens and we weren't able to attend this year. Maybe we'll see you next time, show you some of our friends and and not sit in the French area of the arena.
Glad you enjoyed the Faire and the Last Call Pub Sing! I am one of the founding members of the Pride of Bedlam, the Pirate band performing during the Pub Sing. Feel free to stop by and say hello when you are back in New Market!
P.S. I second the recommendation of checking out the Sherwood Forest Faire! We just had our First weekend so you have seven more to come join the fun! I'm there as a Hostess for the front gate Henna Booth! Hope to see you there!!
TRF is my home faire. My favorite thing is the pub sing at the Sea Devil Tavern that you captured. Besides that, I love Tartanic and Arsene. Always get me Scotch eggs and Steak on a Stick. There’s so much that you can’t see everything even if you go every day of the season. And then there’s the shenanigans at camp. The campgrounds are a whole world of its own. Starting with The Call of Booty’s “Plunderdome”. The ultimate after party experience.
Aha! Capt’n Megan! That looked great fun. Looks like the kind of place l could get to aid my archery skills! Its the sort of place to share with loved ones and friends, and your group looked like great fun. Thanks for a great video.
I simply MUST visit TRF sooner or later. I'm in Iowa along the Mississippi River, and so far have been to the Four Kingdoms Faire in Rock Island, Illinois; Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Stronghold Olde English Faire in Oregon, Illinois; and the Tennessee Renaissance Festival in Arrington, Tennessee. Your videos capture a lot of the fun of days at the faire, and your transition shorts introduced me to a great Nickelback song I'd never heard before. Subscribed to your channel today.
I’m glad you enjoyed TRF! Just to let you know, this time of year the other two biggest Texas faires overlap by a month. You could come for a weekend and visit Sherwood Forest faire near Austin then drive up to near Dallas for Scarborough Renaissance faire.
My brother and I camped out over the All Hallow's Eve weekend. We set up on Thursday around noon, and then it monsooned from about 6 to 11pm. It rained so hard we felt it misting through our rain flies! The water flowed down the campsite alley so hard and so thick it was lifting our respective tent floors off the ground. We were sleeping in sleeping bags atop like 8 inch tall air mattresses, and it felt like we were floating on waterbeds! Our separate communal canopy overturned during the storm, but fortunately we put everything fragile or sensitive into the truck before. The frat boys next to us said they went floating down the main road through the parking lot until it got too fast for comfort. We hung everything out to dry Friday, and figured that was our penance for all the fun we were about to have. And did we ever! It'e a totally different feel not having to get up early to drive there, and just moseying up to the gate wheneverthehellyoufeellikeit. The town just felt like an extension of the camp, instead of a show. It felt like we belonged. And leaving there each night was rough. So addicting! However, while the rain was gone, cold weather swooped in. We dropped from 85 to 55 Sunday afternoon, with the wind agusting. Crashed early Sunday night. And it dipped to 38 overnight. We dragged butt breaking down camp on Monday, savoring every last bit of the experience until we finally rolled out of there about 10:30am. Vive la France!
I was there the same day, did almost all the same activities! Down to placing the favor on the knight's lance on the opposite side of the joust arena for the German knight!
I really enjoy TRF. I go a few times a year. I mainly enjoy the atmosphere and people watching. Thanks for sharing your experience. I can't wait for this coming season.
thank you for your ren faire videos! ive been going to AZ renfest since I was 8 (so, a really long time lol) and have been missing it. this makes me want to visit so many other events, and gives me a little taste of it until the season rolls around again!
My favorite part was the fairy gardens! The Singing Fountain and the Nightingale were two fantastic acts there last year when I went. Glad you had fun!
This was such a trip to watch! I grew up in Houston, so TRF is my home faire. I recognized all the sights you were showing at the faire! I can't wait to check out more faires, but TRFholds a special place in my heart.
I never thought that I would ever enjoy watching a group of people attend a Ren Faire. But watching you completely enjoy yourselves with all your peeps warmed my heart. I really liked the part that showed you making the Tik Tok. A whole video showing how you do that would be awesome.
TexRenFest is huge and the different themed dates sort of change it up a little. Some friends got married in the TRF so that was certainly fun. Weather can make or break the day, so keep your fingers crossed that it’s nice and cool! Hazahh!!
I have to say, I've been to TRF about 20 times over the last 30 years and I've never managed to make it past dusk. Seeing how amazing it looks makes me want to start staying later. Funny thing, I was there that Saturday (didn't see you) and my brother, who used to work for the sheriff's department, was doing security there all weekend.
I was out that weekend, wish I could have run in to you. Tis a fun show, definitely need to go multiple times to catch everything, or most of it. If your ever back in Texas, the Austin show is a great show, come see Sherwood Forest Faire in the spring.
One would think starting a pirate channel three months ago I'd have plenty of pirate attire, but everything I find in central Florida is Disney themed. Working on it! Keep up the great videos! CRR
I used to love going to the Renaissance Festival. I would get my hair braided, drink some mead, and do a lot of shopping. The music was always great, and it was fun dressing up for it I haven't been able to go for the last several years due to health issues, but hopefully I'll be able to go again.
I went to TRF about 10 yrs ago, then moved, but I'm back in Texas and gearing up for this year!! Also managed to get to Sherwood earlier this year (outside of Austin)
I've worked TRF for going on 20 years, but I haven't been in the past few, this was a lot of fun playing "Where's Waldo" with my friends in the background.
My wife and I plus my sister, brother-in-law, and Best friend always go to TRF on this weekend. Been going since I way 13 and it is always magical. I will say one year if you get the chance check out the fields of New Market Camp grounds. It adds a whole new element to the Faire! And we hope to see you if you ever return to TRF!
I have a friend who goes to TRF every year. I'm closer to Maryland, which is the second largest Ren Faire in the US, and I try to get there at least once a year. Vive la France!
I miss the old days at TRF, The Flaming Idiots ( those guys are brilliant), The original Ded Bob, Penn and Teller, and the late great Harry Anderson (Night Court fame, yes he did a magic act at TRF long ago). And also the Chariot races they used to have, so much better than the joust.
Was there for last year's pirate weekend. Didn't get to see everything (next year, if life doesn't go sideways, plan to go for the full last weekend), but the joust and the shops.
I've been to a lot of Ren Faires in my day. 14 different states over a long time (don't even remember when I started). I wish I could have had a girlfriend/wife like you, who is really into that stuff like I was. It's so much fun to do. My one piece of advice... don't ever stop enjoying these times. I did for a while with my ex wife, because she didn't like it. But my current wife loves it and we have a lot of fun together now. So keep being yourself and enjoying what you love. oh, and keep sharing with us as well :)
I was at the fair that Friday you were there, though I left early because the weather was a bit rough. I’m glad you enjoyed it, and hope to spot you the next time you come out there :)
Hi Megan! I was the manager at The Enchanted Palace where you bought your hat! I'm So glad you guys had so much Fun at my home show! Did you lose your orange feather? I'd love to replace it for you if you did. Feel free to resch out to me. Love and Light! Hope to see you again next year!!
Hi!! Aww thank you for commenting :) I love that hat! I ended up just buying the black feather and not the orange one (I was just trying it on) but that is so sweet of you, thank you for offering! 🥰 hope to see you next year as well!
@@MeganCiafre btw my husband is one of the people who recognized you and asked for a picture! He was Super Excited to see you and told me about it that evening. Today a friend told him I was in your video helping with your hat and he sent it too me right away. I can't wait to see your other content! Thank you for putting together a Lovely video of TRF and some of the fun to be had there. 😊😁😊
The next time I visit my cousins in Texas, I am going to talk them into going. Ohio's Renaissance Festival is entering it's final weekend and then they are going to get it ready for the Yuletide Village. I have been a couple of times this year and next year on going more.
This looks like an amazing experience it’s a shame we don’t have many of these renaissance fairs in the Uk 🇬🇧because if there were I would definitely go to one, much love to you and yours !! PS: your outfits are amazing!!
⚜️💚 i was the French Joust Maiden the day you guys were there… I don’t remember a lot of people, (we see so many faces day by day) but trust 😂 I remember your group
