| Sherwood Forest Faire | |
|---|---|
 Performance featuring Robin Hood | |
| Genre | Renaissance fair |
| Dates | Weekends in March and April |
| Location(s) | 1883 Old Hwy 20 McDade, Texas 78650 |
| Inaugurated | 2010 |
| Area | 23 acres [1] |
| Website | www |
Sherwood Forest Faire is an annual Renaissance fair in McDade, Texas. [2]
Sherwood Forest Faire, LLC was established in 2008 by George Appling and Eric Todd. [3] The first annual festival took place in 2010 and was set in the year 1189; each subsequent year of the festival is set one year later. [4] [5] The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and fair performers created virtual content to entertain would-be visitors. [6] [7] The festival returned in 2021 but was delayed by one month, taking place during April and May. [8]
As of 2024, the event features 170 artisans and 150 daily live shows, including a falconry demonstration, improv troupes, belly dancers, and musicians. [9] [10] Many of the Sherwood Forest Faire's shows and attractions are inspired by Robin Hood. [1] [11] [12] For example, the Sherwood Forest Players perform theatrical skits throughout the day featuring characters such as Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. These performances are connected to an overarching storyline that changes each year. [13]
Because the structures associated with Sherwood Forest Faire are permanent and stay on the property year-round, the grounds are used for other historical and fantasy events in addition to the annual Renaissance fair. The site hosts summer camps for children and adults and an annual Celtic Music Festival & Highland Games festivities in December. [14] [15] Throughout the year, the grounds are the site of Hynafol, a series of immersive live action role playing events organized by The Texas Larp Company culminating in a five-day festival in November. [16] [17]
In 2016, the Sherwood Forest Faire site hosted the Sound on Sound Fest music festival, the successor to Austin's annual Fun Fun Fun Fest. [18] According to festival organizers, the event was scheduled to take place at the site the following year until prominent investor backed out. As of 2024, the music festival has not returned to Sherwood Forest Faire or any other location. [19]
Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, having a historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The Brobdingnagian Bards are a Celtic music group from Austin, Texas, United States.
A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular events, while others recur annually in the same location. Occasionally, a festival will focus on a particular genre, but many attempt to bring together a diverse lineup to showcase a broad array of popular music trends.
A Renaissance or Medieval fair is an outdoor gathering that aims to re-create a historical setting—most often the English Renaissance—for the amusement of its guests.
Maker Faire is a convention of do it yourself (DIY) enthusiasts established by Make magazine in 2006. Participants come from a wide variety of interests, such as robotics, 3D printing, computers, arts and crafts, and hacker culture.
The New York Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance faire located in Tuxedo, New York off New York State Route 17A. In 2022, the faire celebrated its 45th season. The 65-acre (260,000 m2) faire comprises permanent structures and has twenty stages and more than 100 shops. The fair runs seven weekends beginning in late August, plus Labor Day Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 fair to be cancelled.
The folkloric hero Robin Hood has appeared many times, in many different variations, in popular modern works.
The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a 25 acre renaissance themed amusement park. The festival is set in a fictional storybook village of "Fairhaven". The open air village and artisan marketplace contain permanent cottages and bungalows based on 16th century European architecture. Sixteen outdoor stages are used for comedy theater, dance, and circus-like entertainments. Featured, live-action shows include knights on horseback ; presentations of the art of falconry; and live swimming mermaids. The festival is held annually on Saturdays and Sundays in October and November. An average of 195,000 visitors a year attend the festival during its Fall season.
Fun Fun Fun Fest was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. The festival was the only genre based festival in the United States, featuring stages that focused specifically on hip-hop / electronica, indie rock, punk / metal, and comedy.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is an annual Renaissance fair located in Todd Mission, Texas, about 55 miles northwest of Houston.
Sterling Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance Festival that operates in Sterling, New York. Since 1976, it runs for seven consecutive weekends through July and August and features music, comedy, and interactive theatre performances as well as the work of artisans and craftspeople.
Randell Obrain Jones, known by his stage name Kydd, is an American rapper, producer, and singer from Austin, Texas.
The Alabama Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance fair held annually in downtown Florence, Alabama on the fourth full weekend in October each year.
Sound on Sound Fest was a three-day music, comedy, action sports and camping festival held 35 miles east of downtown Austin, Texas, at the Sherwood Forest Faire, home to an annual renaissance fair, and medieval-style village, set on 23 acres and located in the heart of the Lost Pines Forest region of Central Texas.
Krysta Gonzales is an Afro-Latinx playwright and actress based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her 2015 play, Robin Hood: An Elegy.
Ren Faire is an upcoming three-part American television documentary series directed and produced by Lance Oppenheim that is set to premiere on HBO. The series explores a succession crisis at America's largest Renaissance fair, the Texas Renaissance Festival.
