Ren Fest playing to smaller crowd
Largest outdoor event since state closures in March now open with newrules in place
TODD MISSION — The Texas Renaissance Festival feels a bit more authentic this year with the COVID-19 pandemic mimicking the bubonic plague of that era.
The largest outdoor event held in Texas since the state shut down in March opened Saturday in Grimes County, about 50 miles northwest of Houston, to a crowd of roughly 11,250. The Houston region reached 203,016 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,491 deaths that day, a toll that has been climbing for nearly seven months now.
“We knew we were in trouble when the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show closed down,” festival manager Joseph Bailey said.
Since Gov. Greg Abbott announced his task force to reopen Texas, Texas Renaissance Festival organizers worked with state officials to make sure the event could open in some capacity. The 60-acre park’s capacity is capped at 50 percent of the usual crowd size, meaning fewer lines and congested walkways.
The nine-week festival drew
more than 460,000 in 2019. On opening weekend, attendance was down about 3.5 percent this year compared to last year, according to spokeswoman Marlena Solomon.
An optional free COVID-19 testing booth welcomes guests at the gate. Masks are recommended — but not mandatory — in outdoor spaces. Event organizers placed hand sanitizing stations so that at least two are visible fromany vantage point. Staff members and vendors are tested daily. In the event of a positive case, a section of the park would shut down for cleaning.
“The Department of State Health Services looked at our plan and said this is going to be the benchmark for outdoor events,” Bailey said.
About 15 percent of vendors chose not to participate in the festival this year, he said. “We know the 85 percent of vendors who are here really want to be here,” Bailey said.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is one of the only chances someof these vendors will have to sell their wares in-person this year.
Virgil Jones’ leather goods shop has participated in three events since March. In a normal year, the company would have attended at least 40 festivals and conventions.
After states banned large gatherings, Jones, who owns Crimson Chain Leatherworks based in Ohio, laid off his entire 20-person staff. Jones no longer cuts himself a paycheck.
“This festival is absolutely crucial to my bottom line this year,” Jones said.
He has only one more opportunity to make a profit this year — the St. Louis Renaissance Festival — as organizers of other events are already postponing 2021 festivals.
Despite face masks, fewer vendors and smaller crowds, guests said the Texas Renaissance Festival felt like a return to pre-pandemic life.
Sara Bertrand of Houston has attended with her husband for nearly two decades. They said mask and social distancing compliance was mixed, but noted lines never formed around vendors.
“Because a lot of people are rebelling against the masks, some people are walking around with masks off,” Bertrand said. “I knew that was going to happen, but there are people who care who are wearing their masks even outside.”
Festival workers shout reminders — in old English — to wear masks and social distance. In addition to the costume contest this year, the festival will award the person who best integrates a mask into their costume.
The festival is scheduled to open every weekend from Oct. 3 to Nov. 29, as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving.
“It’s definitely a bit of a risk, given the pandemic that we’re in, but it’s a step towards normalcy,” Bertrand said. “I’m pretty sure we’re all craving a bit of normalcy right now.”