GLAMPING AT REN FEST IS NOT FOR PRUDES
WADE TYSON, LEFT, AND HIS WIFE MELISSA, OF HEMPHILL, SHARE A LITTLE PRIVATE TIME IN THEIR RENTED CABIN IN THE FAMILY CAMPING AREA AT THE TEXAS RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL.
It’s the day of the Astros’ first game in the American League Championship Series and I’m sitting on a log, glued to my phone while surveying Twitter for updates about the game, just like our medieval forefathers would have done. You know, if they had the Internet. And smartphones. And baseball.
The sacrifice of missing this game is part of the experience of camping at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission, a place that comes alive each fall weekend with people who celebrate the aesthetics of medieval times — from crowns and royalty to giant turkey legs to language with a lot of words like “ye” and “thee.”
But for the people who don’t want to leave the realm of medieval role playing during the night, this is how you can stay in character all weekend, camping on the site about an hour and a half northwest of Houston proper.
Though, this is “glamping,” which means there’s glamour to this endeavor, a type of upscale camping option that has become part of festivals all over the world.
At the Renaissance Festival, glamping includes tan tents set among the trees a half mile from the base of the action. It’s a comfortable hooch with two cots and a bottle of Messina Hof wine chilling on ice when I arrive an hour or so after nightfall. I’m roughing it with only my smartphone.
Nearby, a bonfire is lit as the sun goes down on this warm Friday night, so clothes are minimal, but something tells me weather isn’t the deciding factor for that fashion choice as the flames attract a drum circle and the random topless person. I’m the only one wearing an Astros shirt.
This area of the ren fest is darker, secluded and a little more seductive. There are only our tents, trees and vehicles. Oh, and pirates.