Terre Albert

"We focused on partners that would help with marketing so we could stretch our marketing dollars and have more presence," he said.

Previously, Albert had worked for 12 years at the Sam Houston Race Park as the promotions director and then marketing director. He also worked as director of sponsorship there.

Under Albert's leadership, the directors at the Renaissance Festival have become more involved in the surrounding communities through local chapters of the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary. Albert is treasurer of the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce and has been a board member there for three years.

"We brought a new sense of community involvement," he said. "It's a way for us to work with city leaders to make traffic better, make sure we drive commerce there when we can."

The festival also supports local nonprofits, including donating $50,000 to nonprofits in Magnolia.

"I think it's helped to change the impression of what the Renaissance Festival is," Albert said. "We are building a reputation as being a community leader, and I think that has done wonders for us."

And, in turn, businesses in Magnolia are welcoming the Festival.

"They are embracing the Renaissance and they should see better business because of it," Albert said.

The Texas Renaissance Festival has been held in Plantersville off FM 1774 since 1974. It started on 20 acres and has grown to 55 acres.

The festival spent $500,000 in improvements throughout the last year, including a new stage and expanding the campground by 30 acres and adding new showers. There are 5,000 campers this year, the largest number of campers the festival has had, he said. The 200-acre campground can hold up to 10,000 campers.

The festival employs 2,000 local, part-time employees, from vendors to performers, and all must be in costume and character.

Albert is hoping for attendance this year to reach 570,000 people during the festival. The goal for each day is to bring in 30,000 people. On opening day, Oct. 12, there were 28,453 people who attended, and that was a rainy day.

"We're well on our way to doing that," Albert said. "It was a good opening weekend."

And as the festival grows, the economic impact on the local communities grows as well.

"As we grow, businesses around us grow," Albert said. "They have to be feeling the impact of our growth."