Weekend Guide: Scarborough Renaissance Festival

Lords and Ladies! We bid thee welcome to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival! We recently took a trip to Waxahachie, Texas to check out the festival and we were not disappointed.

If you are not familiar, the Scarborough Renaissance Festival recreates an experience of an old English village celebrating the visit of young King Henry VIII, his beloved wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his royal court with a festival of entertainment, artisans, and food.

According to Scarborough, “The reign of King Henry the VIII is the start of the English Renaissance; a time when great advancements in science, art, literature, and philosophy existed side by side with older traditions of chivalry, ceremony, and superstition.

There are several things to see and do at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Here are our top 3 things to do:

1. Opt to Dress up

All festival workers and most goers are decked out in medieval clothing! You’ll see everything from jerkins and tunics to bodices and dresses. We gave major props to those who wore a hoop skirt and corset!

What we really liked about the festival was their ability to really commit to the Renaissance theme.

What we really liked about the festival was their ability to really commit to the Renaissance theme. For example, there isn’t any electricity within the festival village, all clothing and jewelry vendors are required to sell a good that are mostly handmade, and the food is made fresh by hand. There wasn’t any power, manufactures or chemicals in the 15th century and, thus, the same goes for Scarborough.

2. Activities

The festival has plenty of activities for you to enjoy. Face painting, hair braiding, henna, massages and stage acts.

Our favorite activity was Flynn’s Wine Tasting. The name of the show we went to was called “Wine of the Americas” with sailor Flynn Markley! Our Certified Sommelier helped us taste our way through the making, history, and art of wine from the Americas. He gave us tips on how to taste wine, pair wine, and food.

Each tasting features six wines, a fruit and cheese plate to enjoy at your table, and a commemorative wine glass as your souvenir.

3. Food

Like we said earlier, all the food is made fresh by hand. There are tons of eateries to choose from. We elected to eat at Queen’s Kitchen in Pecan Grove. Surprisingly, there were vegan options at Prince Pasquali’s Palace Pasta Pleasure. We ordered the broccolini pasta in white wine and the green garden salad. It was so good and filled us up!

For my non-vegans, there is plenty of options for you to eat. Macaroni on a stick, Scottish eggs, to turkey legs and pretzels, they have it all.

After you eat, you can grab a beer at one of their twelve pubs and taverns.

When to go

If you ever thought about visiting, now is the time! The festival runs through May 27th! Plus, there is a special event on May 12th.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, Scarborough Renaissance Festival invites visitors to treat Mom like a queen with the Mother’s Day Brunch for the whole family. The scrumptious Scarborough Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet will include Quiche Lorraine, ham, roasted potatoes with rosemary, mixed fruit and freshly baked bread along with Mimosas*, coffee & tea. The Mother’s Day Brunch will take place at 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm at the Crown Pavilion both Saturday, May 11th & Sunday, May 12th.

FYI - This is a separately ticketed event (in addition to Festival admission) - $20 for adults (ages 13+), $10 for children (ages 5-12) and children 4 and under are free. The Brunch sells out fast so get your tickets online today at www.SRFestival.com

What questions do you have about the Scarborough Renaissance Festival? Let us know in the comments below.

Until Next Time,

Tay

“Your life is happening now. Make it amazing!”