Scarborough Renaissance Festival Royal Is Family Fun. Each spring in North Texas it is possible to step back in time to 1533 and spend a day in quirky  English village with King Henry VIII and an eclectic assembly of royalty, knights, jesters, musicians, an assortment fairies and an occasional elf.

   
For more than three decades Scarborough Faire has been maintaining a weekend Renaissance portal. When our family first attended the faire it was much smaller in size, more authentic, and easy to manage with little ones. Two decades makes a difference. SRF now spans 38 acres.  The trees are still there; the music is authentic; the costumed performers still move about engaging visitors; there’s a royal parade and jousting every day; it is still possible to get a giant turkey leg and face painting is still popular. 

The contemporary version of SRF is multi layered adding fantasy/sci-fi geekery (think Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings extras) to a loosely framed Renaissance time frame. A Renaissance purist would be appalled but the parents I spoke with were enjoying every moment. With the right attitude, it is still a terrific way to spend a day away with your kids or grandkids.  

The price of admission includes access to more than a 20 staged shows throughout the day performed by professional, talented artists. Shaded open air theaters host musicians, storytellers and comedy acts. You will find a mermaid lagoon, jousting, turtle races, belly dancers, a royal parade, assorted carnival games, and a knighting ceremony for youngsters. And the people watching cannot be beat. 

Where else can your child swing in a human-powered dragon or ride a racing horse slide. There are elephant and camel rides and a clever castle maze. Because we were there with a two-year old petting zoo was one of our favorite stops. In addition to sheep, goats, bunnies, chickens, ducks, and little pigs, we also got up close and personal with a llama, a tortoise, and fluffy cattle from the Scottish Highlands. 

In addition to the interactive activities and scheduled entertainment, Scarborough Renaissance Festival village features more than 200 shops selling costumes, enchanting puppets, hats, candles, soaps, jewelry, clever, hand-crafted children's toys, clever games, swords, and even musical instruments. Scarborough Renaissance Festival® is one of the largest outdoor "juried" craft shows in the country and each day, artisans demonstrate glassblowing, blacksmithing, candle making, face casting, printing on a Guttenberg Press, leather crafting, broom making, armor making, and coin minting.

 
The best tastes associated with the faire include the King's Nuts, yummy lemon chill, tasty dill pickles, soft-baked oh so chewy pretzel, and very tempting kettle corn. I found the spinach pie to be a perfect lunch.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival is among the five top Renaissance festivals in the country and home to the best jousting group (Noble Cause Productions), the best musical group Tartanic (bagpipers) and the best children’s entertainment “Fool Hearty”.

Location on the planet: Located 30 minutes south of DFW Metroplex in Waxahachie on FM 66 just off I-35E; 1 hour north of Waco. 2511 Farm to Market 66, Waxahachie, TX 75167.

Make it happen. Reserve a time travel day with your kids any weekend from early April until the end of May.  (972) 938-3247 www.srfestival.com

HUZZAH! For more Renaissance feastval ideas checkout our Ren Faire folder.