As patrons flock to Todd Mission this fall for the 46th season, here are a few things to know.
Admission
Festival attendance will be monitored via newly installed electronic people counters at the entrance and exit gates of the festival, which provide real-time counts of how many people are on the festival grounds, according to festival information.
With capacity limits, all tickets for the 46th festival season are date-specific, and no general admission tickets will be sold at the gate, according to festival information. Gate tickets will still be available for military, first responders, students and seniors with identification. Ticket quantities are limited; however, tickets can be purchased via H-E-B, Groupon and the festival's website.
If sick or symptomatic, guests may exchange their tickets for later days in the season, depending on availability, or for 2021 festival tickets, according to festival guidelines, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.
Ticket prices are $24 for opening weekend adult general admission and $30 for adults on following weekends, according to the festival's website.
Weekend themes
Tickets are date-specific this fall, unlike previous years. The festival's nine weekends include various themes.
- Oct. 3-4: Oktoberfest
- Oct. 10-11: 1001 Dreams
- Oct. 17-18: Bacchanal
- Oct. 24-25: Pirate Adventure
- Oct. 31-Nov. 1: All Hallows Eve
- Nov. 7-8: Heroes and Villains
- Nov. 14-15: Barbarian Invasion
- Nov. 21-22: Highland Fling
- Nov. 27-29: Celtic Christmas
Health, safety measures
The Texas Renaissance Festival is offering free COVID-19 testing via oral swab for festival staff, participants and patrons throughout the nine weekends of the festival Oct. 3-Nov. 29, according to a Sept. 16 announcement from the festival. The tests are provided by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, according to the announcement.
Testing will be by oral swab with results coming within 24-48 hours; negative results will be given my email or text, and positive results will be relayed via phone, according to the announcement.
The testing site will be set up at Shop 166, located outside the festival's front gates, from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. No appointment is needed, but ID is required. Individuals are not required to carry health insurance to receive a free test.
All festival staff and participants will be required to wear face coverings, and patrons will be asked to wear face coverings to comply with the state mandate, as Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. However, the festival has added 20 mask-break areas throughout the festival grounds where patrons can remove their masks while social distancing, according to the guidelines.
Capacity limits will also be enforced at shops and entertainment venues as well. Festival guidelines encourage guests to practice social distancing and keep at least six feet away from others. As such, seating has been spread out across the festival and venues to allow guests to remove their masks and social distance while eating, as Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.
The festival has also installed about 200 hand-sanitizing stations throughout the grounds.
View more health and safety guidelines as well as the social distancing plan for the campground here.
New attractions
While some vendors will not return to the festival this year, the grounds will also include 16 new vendors and 11 guests vendors as well as new entertainment.
New vendors include the following.
- Bug in the Box
- Gem Stone Mine
- Elisabella's Royal Closet
- Sabersmith Swords
- Kiyan's Cove
- Petrified Dragon
- Primal Dreams
- Journeyman Leather
- Pandora's Box
- Artemis Designs
- Scribal Workshop
- Crimson Chain Leatherworks
- H&H Glass Castle
- Blackbeard's Booty
- John's Wood
- Widgets and Gizmos
Guest vendors include the following.
- Beaute and the Bath
- Two Tarts' Toppers
- Blooms and Shrooms
- Green Faerie Apothecary
- Legacy Forge
- Tipsy's Woodworking
- Henna Body Art
- Hullabaloo Henna
- Face painting by Shandi
- Stone Wick
- Mischief Masks
New entertainment includes the following.
- Performers
- The Washing Well Wenches
- Singer, songwriter and accordionist Amanda Kitchens
- Dangerous Curves
- Thomas Wood, the Pyrojuggler
- Attractions
- DaVinci's Flying Machine
- Dragon Tower Slide
- Airy Botter's Escape Room
- Pirate Museum
- Other
- Kackle King (find drunken chicken and pork)
- Wyrmwood Public House (find tastings, cocktails and drinks)
Entertainment changes
Changes for the upcoming season include suspending The After Dark Saturday evening entertainment experience until 2021, not offering costume rentals this season and canceling the annual School Days event, as Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.
A face mask contest will be held in addition to the daily costume contest; it will be judged for the weekend's theme and for creativity, according to previous reporting.
