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Shilo Urban
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Shilo Urban
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Shilo Urban
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Shilo Urban
Knives fly through the air. Acrobats flip. Belly dancers jiggle, flaming whips break the sound barrier, and knights on horseback joust at full tilt. Colorful dresses swirl as ladies carouse around a maypole, their hair braided up with velveteen ribbons. Dodging fairies and barbarians, you follow the aroma of cinnamon-roasted pecans through a village of half-timbered shops. A fiddler serenades a smattering of tiny elves. Artisans peddle handcrafted books and ink-drawn maps of Middle-Earth. You realize you can’t live without a flower crown or a battle-ready Saxon sword. You throw an axe — or maybe a tomato — and then try to conquer the mighty turkey leg with naught but a tankard of ale as your squire. You chat with a mermaid about her trip on a trailer from Galveston Bay, then find yourself oddly excited to glimpse King Henry VIII as he swaggers past. Wait — did you just say huzzah!?
Welcome to the magical realm of Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Every spring more than 200,000 people flock to the Waxahachie event, which is consistently rated as one of the top 10 such fairs in the country. Opened in 1981, the festival is still owned by the same two families that first raised their banners on a small patch of pastureland south of Dallas. Today, that patch is much bigger.
The enduring success of Renaissance fairs was born in the post-war era when American boys came back from the battlefields with new interest in European history. Hollywood fanned the flames with epics about Robin Hood and King Arthur, and in 1962, California schoolteacher Phyllis Patterson hosted the first true Renaissance festival in her Hollywood Hills backyard. The idea caught fire.
Now there are hundreds of Ren fairs in existence, largely in America. Europeans — with their authentic castles and real medieval towns — tend more toward living history approaches, while Americans go all-in on fun and entertainment (as we do). Renaissance festivals like Scarborough embellish history into an immersive fantasy that lights up all five senses, from the billowing smoke at the blacksmith’s forge to the Italian ice scooped into orange rinds. English village architecture, archaic parlance, and an abundance of bodily adornment come together to create a shared world, an unconventional sense-scape with rich environmental texture and contagious mirth.
Shilo Urban
“You can leave your problems behind and escape,” says performing artist Mick Moreau, who’s growing a beard to portray King Henry VIII this season. The notorious monarch had two of his six wives beheaded and is beloved by history buffs, who delight in knowing the past is far more scandalous than the dusty dates we learned (or didn’t) in school. After all, true events inspired many of the ghastliest scenes in “Game of Thrones,” like the Red Wedding and the crown of molten gold. But you don’t have to worry about losing your head at Scarborough (except in a good way). “All of us are totally approachable,” says Moreau. His Royal Highness will oversee knighting ceremonies aside wife No. 6 Catherine Parr and stroll the grounds to hobnob with the plebs. “We do our best to intermingle with the guests and give them moments to remember.”
A tactile escape in a digital world, the Renaissance fair is an earthy antidote to modern life and its meaningless, made-for-Instagram vapidity. It’s the definition of untrendy and decidedly low-tech. All the rides and games are human-powered. You’ll find no screens, no cutting-edge special effects, no app to speed you from one attraction to the next. Corporate sponsors are thankfully absent; there’s no Pepsi stage or Toyota lane. Spectators actually watch the joust instead of recording it on video … for the most part. Either way, it’s a far cry from the ocean of phones you see held aloft at many performances these days.
“The moment you walk through the gates, you are transported to another time and place, and all your stressors disappear,” says woodcarver Sherrie Phillips, who’s at Scarborough every day to run her shop Wondrous Works in Wood.
“You feel like you’re in a different world,” agrees Helaine Thompson, the festival’s spokeswoman for the past 14 years. “People really love escaping themselves, and the Renaissance festival is one of the few places where we celebrate that.” While Ren fairs of the ’70s had a crusty hippie vibe, today’s events are much more influenced by pop culture phenomena like cosplay, Star Wars and Marvel.
All this creates a human spectacle unique in its audacity. In addition to more than 100 roving performers in full historical dress, many patrons arrive in costume as well: men in kilts, women in corsets, dragon children, and even a Klingon here and there. People-watching doesn’t get any better than this.
“Scarborough has always been inclusive,” says Phillips, “even when we’re talking about costumes. It doesn’t matter how cool you are or what you look like or how old you are or if you’re special needs or not, everybody loves you at the festival.” You can go all-out on your garb or show up in a polo and khakis and fit right in. “Everyone’s welcome,” adds Moreau. That includes all ages; Scarborough is one of the most family-friendly Ren fairs around. “We do have some shows that are a little on the bawdy side and geared toward 16-plus, like Arthur Greenleaf Holmes,” says Thompson. But in general, it’s PG. “You can feel very comfortable bringing your kids.”
Drawing jovial crowds to a tucked-away tavern, Holmes’ “Wildly Inappropriate Poetry” is not recommended for those with sensitive dispositions.
“People often ask me how dirty my show is going to be … but they never ask me how poetic it’s going to be,” chuckles Holmes aka Gordon Boudreau. His verses may be vulgar, tasteless, and completely irresponsible — but they’re also quite lyrical. “I can draw people in with a use of language that some of them haven’t gotten in a while … before I pull the rug out and make them laugh or turn red.”
Shilo Urban
Salacious poetry is just the beginning of the eclectic amusements at Scarborough. You’ll also encounter sword swallowing, Scottish bagpipers, circus cats, and combat competitions — more than 200 performances each day spread across 25 stages. You can learn to courtly dance or practice wielding a sword. Pet a purple-maned unicorn or sing a sea chanty. Duck raptors as they swoop. Watch artisans blow glass and chisel gargoyles out of stone. Are you not entertained?
The word “artisan” has lost some of its meaning lately; even McDonald’s has an “artisan” sandwich. But at Scarborough, these are true artisans. Candlemakers carve, scribes illuminate, weavers twist and plait. Live demonstrations and hundreds of shops ignite a riot of creativity, a celebration of makers like the woodworker Sherrie Philips and her crew of nine. Opened by her father in the early ’90s, Wondrous Works in Wood is a three-generation affair — that’s Phillips’ niece you’ll see beside the wooden mugs and goblets. Multigenerational allure is an essential facet of the festival for vendors as well as guests, who shop a kaleidoscopic array of goods like steampunk bone art, drinking horns, and wearable puzzles. Ninety-five percent of everything is made by hand.
Scarborough’s food scene is just as diverse with heirloom recipes from the bakery and feasts of fresh pasta at Prince Pasquali’s Palace of Pasta Pleasure. Steak-on-a-stake is a perennial favorite. Many people head to the Ren fair mainly to eat, drink, and be merry, a ritual of carnivalesque revelry with deep roots in Western civilization. Ancient Romans let loose at Saturnalia, Greeks had the Anthesteria, Brazilians have Carnival — and Americans dress up for Renaissance festivals.
Such celebrations turn normality on its head in favor of joking, play, and debauchery. Class boundaries go out the window, and the rules need not apply. The silly, protean nature of the carnivalesque engenders a level of public playfulness that adults rarely encounter, especially today. More than ribald parties, however, these events provide invaluable social steam valves: liberation from the monotony of life. Businesswomen become bosomy wenches, and accountants turn into Teutonic warriors … then they go back to work on Monday renewed, like travelers returning home from a foreign land.
And in a way, they are. We all know that Scarborough Renaissance Festival isn’t actually in 16th century Europe … but it’s not quite 21st century America, either. It’s somewhere in between, neither here nor there. Called liminality by anthropologists, this ambiguous state is a threshold between two worlds — and a place where magic is afoot. Numerous cultures have considered crossroads to be mystical hotspots where spirits hang out, from the Yoruba of West Africa to the early Hindus and Odin-worshiping Norse. Offerings at intersections are still a common sight in some countries. The Chinese avoid stepping on thresholds, and Texan brides are carried over them. Even the enduring mythos of the American Frontier owes some of its appeal to its liminality between civilization and the wilderness.
A liminal space doesn’t just invite magic, it also prompts a vividly felt camaraderie between the “travelers” who pass through it together. At the Renaissance fair, this sense of fellowship is further enhanced by the fluid boundary between stage and audience. Performers wander the lanes and interact with the crowd, spilling jokes and kissing hands with chivalrous flair. If you wear a crown, they’ll bow and address you as Your Majesty. “Our cast is totally interactive,” says Thompson. “It’s a very unique experience that you just don’t find anywhere else.” This first-person interplay draws you deeper into the imaginary world, and the more you participate — the greater the escape. “There is such a connection between the audience and the performers,” adds Boudreau. “There’s a real communal feeling.”
And perhaps this is the most powerful magic of Scarborough Renaissance Festival: the human connection and the simple magic of merrymaking with friends, our phones put away and a hearty huzzah! on our lips.
(Scarborough Renaissance Festival is open from April 8 through May 29 on Saturdays, Sundays, and Memorial Day Monday.)
Shilo Urban
Scarborough Renaissance Festival by the Numbers:
- 20: Tons of turkey legs sold each year (that’s 261 pounds per hour)
- 8: Themed weekends including celebrations of Vikings, Celts, and Legends of the Seas
- 68: Beer and wine-tasting events this season
- 15: Different foods on-a-stick, including macaroni and cheese on-a-stick and peanut butter pie on-a-stick
- 3: Jousts per day
- 1543: The year the festival is set
- 5,000: Calories consumed each day by the real King Henry VIII (13 courses per meal and zero vegetables — he thought they were for peasants)
- 7: Hours he spent feasting every day
- 400: Pounds he weighed when he died at age 55
Maketh the Most of the Festival: Insider Tips
“Get there early and wear comfortable shoes,” advises Phillips, who says it’s common for first-timers to underestimate the vastness of the village and the amount of time they’ll want to spend there. “Plan on having a full day of fun and festivities.” Early arrivals also get the best parking!
Highway 287 is the shortest route from Fort Worth but taking I-35 to FM 916 through Grandview avoids the traffic from Dallas— and FM 916 is a pretty, rural stretch of road to put you in the time-traveling headspace.
Bring cash. Most shops and all food/drink outlets accept credit cards, but additional attractions require cash (like the petting zoo and monster museum, $5 each). Games and rides are also cash-only, and you’ll probably want some greenbacks for tipping performers.
Want to dress up? Costume rentals are available just inside the entrance for $25 to $150 and are thoroughly washed and sanitized after each use. You’ll also find surprisingly affordable costumes to purchase online before you go.
“Pay special attention to what’s happening on the street. Be open to people approaching you … you’ll see some really funny stuff,” says Boudreau. “Say, hello,” adds Moreau. “Be part of the show.”
You may want to see a few signature acts, like the jousts, birds of prey, or whip master Adam “Crack” Winrich (who holds 30 Guinness World Records). But otherwise, just wander, says Thompson. “I think people enjoy the festival most when they don’t try to follow too much of a schedule because there are so many wonderful things that you’ll just come upon as you’re exploring the village. That’s when you really feel the magic.”
“You can’t see it all in one day — there are so many shows, there’s so much good food, and there are options all day long,” says Moreau. “If you don’t catch it the first day, come back and see us again later.”
