At Thy Majesty's Request

Ah, October.  I love this time of year.  The weather is starting to get cooler (theoretically) and the holidays are on the horizon.  Of course that also means that tests and project due dates are also coming up, which is not as happy.  Don’t let yourself get burned out!  Take one weekend to do something fun!  One event that has been delighting Texas natives and tourists alike for the last 38 years is the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest Renaissance themed festival in the United States.  I know I am not alone in saying that many fond memories and novelty jewelry items in my collection came from the Texas Renaissance Festival.

When George Coulham founded the festival in 1974, it consisted of only 15 acres of land in an old strip mine in Plantersville, Texas with three stages, a small group of performers, and a few vendors.  It has since grown to be 60 acres with eight themed villages, almost 400 vendors, and thousands of performers.  You can literally spend all day there and not see all there is to see.  Between the shops selling anything and everything from food (try the fried mushrooms!) to pottery, woodcarvings, jewelry, and clothes and the many games, rides, and shows there is something for everybody to stay entertained.  The festival is a great way to escape to another world, even if it is just for the weekend. 

The festival is open for themed weekends.  The themes that are coming up include:

Pirate Adventure – October 20^th & 21^st

All Hallows Eve – October 27^th & 28^th

Roman Bacchanal – November 3^rd & 4^th

Barbarian Invasion – November 10^th & 11^th

Highland Fling – November 17^th & 18^th

Celtic Christmas – November 23rd, 24th,& 25th

For more information check the Texas Renaissance Festival Website. I look forward to seeing all my fellow Coogs there.

Images provided by the University of Houston Digital Library's Houstonian Yearbook collection. The Houstonian Collection is a great source for not only University photos and information but also images from Houston's history.