The first truly organized, large Renaissance Festival to be held on an annual basis was the Renaissance Pleasure Fair which has been held every year in Irwindale, California since 1973. These days however the title of best attended Renaissance Festival belongs to the Texas Renaissance Festival. In the 2012 season it broke its own attendance record, attracting 606,694 people over the course of its six week run. Now that is an awful lot of people!

What Makes the Texas Renaissance Festival So Popular?

Most Renaissance Festivals have a lot of elements in common these days. Often the same actors and vendors travel to a number of different Festivals every year so what is it that makes the Texas Renaissance Festival, which is actually staged in a small suburb just outside of Dallas called Todd Mission, not the most metropolitan of places, so very popular?

The theme of the Texas Renaissance Festival is a little different to the majority of others. Where most Renaissance Festivals are set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the 1st the Texas Renaissance Festival 'takes place' during the height of King Henry VIII's power which means that there is a slightly more menacing edge to some of the proceedings as the King could be known to be not a very nice chap indeed and certainly very fond of eliminating anyone who got in his way!

Reflecting that one of the biggest draws at the Texas Renaissance Festival is the rather creepy Slayer's Castle that shows off the more gruesome side of Tudor justice (heads on stakes anyone?) and just what happened if you got on the wrong side o the temperamental King. On the other hand you could choose to attend the King's Feast, a very authentic banquet presided over by the monarch himself in one of his better moods.

Another big draw are the people who attend the Festival themselves. Most people who attend the Festival are definitely very much into the idea of dressing up. There are some truly weird and wonderful sights to be seen every day and many of the very best costumes belong to the Festival-goers and not the performers!

Other Great Renaissance Festivals

The idea of the Renaissance Festival has become so popular that wherever you happen to live there is probably a good one held fairly near you at some point during the year. Just when that is depends upon the local climate as almost all Renaissance Festival activities are outdoor events. Renaissance Festivals like the Texas Renaissance Festival and other events that take place in states that have milder winters are usually Fall, or even Winter events but the festivals held in the North east like The New York Renaissance Festival are summer affairs and the truth is that you could actually spend all year traveling around the country and find a Renaissance Festival to attend almost every weekend!

For more information about Texas Renaissance Festival visit: http://www.mrf.info/texas-renaissance-festival/