Scarborough Renaissance Festival’s 41st season begins this Saturday, April 9, 2022, with a new themed weekend, new shows, new food & drink, and over a dozen new artisans to compliment long-time Festival favorites.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival is a full day of interactive fun for everyone, 16th Century Style that will run Saturdays & Sundays and Memorial Day Monday, April 9 through May 30, 2022. Visitors will enjoy full combat armored jousting, Birds of Prey exhibitions, the Mermaid Lagoon, Knighting ceremonies, a 75+ member performing company, and 20+ stages of interactive and unique entertainment. They can discover exquisite one-of-a-kind treasures at the hundreds of Scarborough shoppes and be amazed by authentic artisan demonstrations. There are also Renaissance rides, games of skill, and so much more.

The 2022 season kicks off with the Travel Back in Time & Kids Free Weekend on April 9th & 10th. Kids are free all weekend with up to three children (ages 5-12) admitted free with each paid adult. Children 4 and under are always free. Seniors 65+ also get a special discount this weekend as well with half priced tickets at the gate. Everyone can participate in the all-new Scarborough Quest discovering characters and challenges along the way as they become a part of the “Scarborough Village”! Details for participation in the Quest can be found at the Village Armoury between 11:00 am – 2:00 pm.

The guest performers opening weekend are The Accidental Acrobats, Zilch the Tory Steller, and Emrys Fleet – the Big Rat Show. Guest Artisans are Bird Marie’s Pottery, Bad Badger Horns, The Quirky Cork, and Spirit Song Ocarinas.

The themes for the daily Beer and Wine Tasting events for April 9th & 10th will be wines of Spain and beers of Texas. Visitors can purchase their tasting event advanced discount tickets at SRFestival.com

“All of us at Scarborough Renaissance Festival are tremendously excited to begin our 5th decade of providing one of the most unique entertainment experiences in North Texas! In addition to the exceptional entertainment, one-of-a-kind crafts, artisan demonstrations and other attractions; we have made significant improvements to the Festival site that we can’t wait for everyone to see. So come join us at the 41st Annual Scarborough Renaissance Festival!” – Helaine Thompson, Director of Marketing & Communications

Incredible new shows for the Festival’s 41st season will feature a sword swallower, comedians, a Renaissance style gameshow, a verbal joust, a hammered dulcimer musician, and the Big Rat Show! Scarborough’s performing company (Scarborough Academy of Performing Arts) is back to pre-pandemic levels with over 75 members and has been hard at work creating merry new characters and refining long-time favorites, (including the 2022 reigning monarch, Margaret Queen of Scotland and the Isles), who will bring the re-created 16th Century Village of Scarborough to life!

Scarborough’s new 2022 artisans/shoppes showcase artistry such as cast concrete art, sculpted horns, Macrame jewelry, hand crafted chocolates, Henna body art, sculpted wearable puppets, bone sculptures & jewelry, leather accessories, handmade ocarinas, tapestry handbags, pottery, stick horses, woodworking, hand-dyed silk clothing, and clay sculptures.

New beers and wines will also be available, and a new mead is being introduced. Texas Mead Works Mead is a semi-sweet mead with a balanced floral bouquet and light sweet honey finish that visitors are sure to enjoy. Plus, for the first time ever, most of the food, drink, and pub locations will be accepting credit/debit cards!

Visitors 21 and over can partake in Texas Mead Works Mead, a wide selection of craft, domestic and imported beer; wine, and other adult beverages at one of the 12 pubs and taverns. For those with more discerning palates there are daily wine and beer tasting events with each weekend having a different theme. Tastings require a separate ticket that can be purchased in advance for a discount. Seating is limited and the tasting events regularly sell out, so it is recommended that you purchase your tickets in advance.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival is family friendly with many activities for kids such as the Children’s Knighting Ceremonies, the Mermaid Lagoon, the EwePets Petting Zoo, Keet’s Landing (bird aviary), the Unicorn Experience, Renaissance Rides, games of skill and much more! Kids’ favorite shows include Accidental Acrobats, Cirque du Sewer, The Don Juan & Miguel Show, Emrys Fleet’s Big Rat Show, The Nature of Mercy, Shakespeare Approves, Harmless Danger Juggling Show, Syndicate School of Sword & Skill, and many others.

There are some shows that are geared toward a more mature audience (16+). They include Arthur Greenleaf Holmes the Wildly Inappropriate Poet, Bettina Bawdeville, Menage a Moi, and the King’s Pub – Pub Sing. Take a look below as some of the new shows for 2022.

New Entertainment

• Bettina Bawdeville (PG-16) – Risqué original pub songs, mixing the bawdy with hints of vaudeville. Not for the delicate sensibilities. (May 7 – May 30 Only)
• Cy the Sword Swallower – A man of skill, of danger, and some would say… a complete lunatic! Witness him swallow a whole armory of swords of different shapes and sizes!
• Emrys Fleet, the Big Rat Show – A hilarious comedy show featuring Pesky the Wonderous one-eyed rate and Wilbur the Dancing weasel! (April 9 – May 1 Only)
• Menage a Moi (PG-16) – Top-shelf comedy stylings that are humorously indecent and always discreet.
• Name that Sonnet – A Renaissance style gameshow that that most certainly leads to a lot of fun, laughter, and perhaps a little education.
• Robin Hood Charity Show – Join this “secret meeting” to create ideas for causing mischief in the Village
• The Verbal Joust – A humorous improvisational language lesson on the value of creative insults!
• Vince Conaway – Hammered Dulcimer – Bringing history to life by weaving storytelling with an enchanting array of Celtic, Renaissance, and Baroque music! (May 7 – May 22 Only)

Scarborough Renaissance Festival 2022 is open Saturdays, Sundays, and Memorial Day Monday, April 9 – May 30, 2022, from 10 AM to 7 PM rain or shine. Located in Waxahachie, Texas, Scarborough Renaissance Festival is just 30 minutes south of the downtowns of Dallas and Fort Worth on FM 66 off of I-35E and an hour north of Waco.

Admission is $37 for adults and $17 for children, ages 5-12. Children ages 4 and under are always admitted free. Discount tickets are available at www.SRFestival.com or at North Texas Tom Thumb & Albertsons stores. There are also discounts at the gate for Seniors 65+ and active Military.

For more information visit www.SRFestival.com or follow us on Facebook & Twitter (SRFestival) or on Instagram (theSRFestival).