All's Faire in Texas
Texas Renaissance Festival unveils enchanting events lineup for 2025
The Texas Renaissance Festival returns October 11.
The country's largest Renaissance fair is gearing up for another year in Todd Mission, Texas, about a three-hour drive from San Antonio. The Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) has shared its lineup for 2025: aside from classics like turkey legs, jousting, and markets, fans can look forward to a variety of one-of-a-kind signature experiences like a royal feast and blacksmithing. The season will run from October 11 through November 30.
Fifty years ago, TRF began with just three stages and 15 acres of land. The first few years were made up of small improv troupes and a bevy of merchants selling their wares. Cut to present day, and TRF covers more than 70 acres with a 16th-century English village, camping areas, and rides, and hosts more than half a million visitors each year.
Since 2024, it's become even more famous (or infamous) on HBO thanks to a dramatized docuseries, followed by a lawsuit determining the festival had to be sold and the founder's 2025 death.
"All of the vendor contracts are in place for 2025," attorney Hanszen Laporte told CultureMap Houston in May. "Everyone who was already there will be there this year. Maybe one Dippin' Dots guy here and there will be swapped out with another, but we're sticking with what works."
Suffice it to say, TRF has all the basics and more in its robust daily schedule; the signature activities are good option for those who want to dive a little deeper into the Renaissance world. Here are some notable signature activities for this year's festival season.
All ages:
- Escape Room Adventures: Guests can solve puzzles, unlock secrets, and outwit pirates, wizards, and dwarves in these immersive and themed escape rooms. Prices range from $19.99-$29.99 per person, depending on the game. Private bookings are available (and encouraged!) with a four-ticket minimum.
- Dragon Forge Experience: Here, festival-goers can forge their own keepsake, guided by a master blacksmith. Prices range from $35-$600, depending on what sort of "armament" guests select.
- Tea and Strumpets: Those who have been to the Renaissance Festival before know it can be a cacophony of noises and activity. To create an escape from the chaos for a while, TRF offers a tucked-away tea room above the revelry. Guests can choose between high tea (with snacks) or a Sunday-only Renaissance Tea. The price is $65 per person.
21 and up:
- Odin’s Table Wine Tasting: This interactive journey will guide guests through five distinct Haak wines, where each sip is paired with bard-like storytelling and finished off with a chocolate and Madeira dessert. The price is $34.50 per person and includes a commemorative TRF wine glass.
- The King's Feast: For this special feast, guests are invited to join the King and Queen of the Renaissance Festival themselves for a two-hour interactive dinner theater. Expect bawdy songs and a six-course feast with plenty of libations. The price varies depending on where you want to be in the King's court; general seating is $130 per person, while VIP seating is $250 per person.
- Wyrmwood Public House: Imagine a Renaissance-style speakeasy with craft cocktails, vaudeville curiosities, absinthe tastings, burlesque, circus performers, and magic acts all under one lavish roof. This multi-story building includes different (adult-only) delights on each floor. Prices range depending on your chosen level of debauchery. Green Hour Shows (including vaudeville acts) range from $93.50 to $325.40, and absinthe tastings cost $55 per person.
Participants at last year's inaugural Yuletide Festival. Photo courtesy of Sherwood Forest Faire 
The CultureMap City Rink will be open through January 5, 2026. Photo by Ashley Gongora 
