The Texas Renaissance Festival returns for its 45th season Oct. 5-Dec. 1 to the 55-acre festival grounds in Todd Mission. The festival season features nine weekends of Renaissance-themed live entertainment, interactive characters, and food and shopping vendors as well as camping opportunities.

Festival officials announced the lineup of weekend themes in a news release March 7. A new "Return to the Renaissance" theme celebrating the festival's anniversary will take the place of the Roman Bacchanal themed weekend this year.

"We wanted to do something special to celebrate our sapphire anniversary," General Manager Joseph Bailey said in the release. "We thought why not [do] a throwback to the original concept that made the festival the great success that it has become."

Bailey joined the festival as the new general manager in February.

Themed weekends were not added to the festival until 2005, according to the release.

"For the first 30 years we were a traditional renaissance festival set in Tudor England," Entertainment Director Jeff Baldwin said in the release. "In 2005, we added a specific theme for each weekend, based on the characters and costumes we saw our patrons wearing as they came through the gates."

Additional festival information can be found at www.texrenfest.com.



Oktoberfest
Dates: Oct. 5-6






1001 Dreams
Dates: Oct. 12-13






Pirate Adventure
Dates: Oct. 19-20






All Hallows Eve
Dates: Oct. 26-27






Return to the Renaissance*
Dates: Nov. 2-3
*New theme






Heroes & Villains
Dates: Nov. 9-10






Barbarian Invasion
Dates: Nov. 16-17






Highland Fling
Dates: Nov. 23-24






Celtic Christmas
Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 1