RenFest runs every weekend from October 11 through November 30 at the fairgrounds in Todd Mission, west of Montgomery County.
TODD MISSION, Texas — In just 10 days, the Texas Renaissance Festival will once again welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for a season full of music, magic and medieval flair. This will be its first season without controversial and colorful founder George Coulam, who died by suicide in May.
Now in its 51st year, it’s one of the largest Renaissance-themed festivals in the nation. Costumed characters gave KHOU 11 a sneak peek Wednesday at what is in store for this year’s festival, which kicks off October 11 and runs for eight weekends through November 30.
Musician Jim Lillquist, who has performed at the festival for more than 40 years, said the energy of the crowd never gets old.
“It’s great, and it raises the hairs up, you know, it’s fun,” Lillquist said. “Children are happy. People are dancing.”
With an estimated half a million visitors each year, festival organizers said the event is now a crowd-pleasing staple for generations of Texans.
“This has become quite an autumn tradition for the Houston area, and we’re certainly glad to have been a part of it for 51 years,” The King, one of the festival performers, said.
This year, the lineup includes new talent. There will be a comic stunt juggler, and the Ravenswood Brass will be performing music for the crowds of visitors.
“They will be playing here on the New Market Gazebo, as well as at Ravenswood Balcony,” Texas Renaissance Festival Assistant General Manager Lauren Croft said.
Behind the scenes, the festival will have a different feel minus “King George,” as Coulam was called.
Croft said she, and so many others working the festival, feel Coulam’s absence deeply.
“It’s weird. There are a lot of feelings involved in it. It’s going to be a weird one. For me personally, I was used to seeing him every single day of the festival,” Croft said.
His death left the ownership of the massive festival in legal limbo. Just weeks before Coulam’s death, a judge ordered the $60 million sale of the festival following a civil lawsuit that alleged Coulam backed out of a major sale agreement.
KHOU 11 asked festival management for the latest details on the sale situation.
“There’s a lot of balls in the air,” Croft said. “We are going to keep the festival moving.”
According to attorney Anthony LaPorte, who represents the buyers, Coulam’s estate still owns the festival as of now. LaPorte said that nothing will change before this year’s event.
“Nobody’s moved in any direction just yet. But the defendants are continuing to mount a challenge to the court’s judgment of August,” LaPorte said.
LaPorte added that the transfer of ownership could move forward by late November or early December if Coulam’s estate does not appeal the judge’s order by then.
“Then the process for the exchange of ownership will start to take place,” LaPorte said.
Despite the ownership uncertainty for future festivals, organizers said they remain focused on delivering the same memorable experience for festivalgoers this year.
Traffic has been a challenge in the past, but according to the Texas Renaissance Festival website, construction concerns have mostly been resolved. Organizers are also urging visitors from Houston to use Highway 249 to get to the festival grounds.
“There’s just so much that people can experience,” said The King. “They can get everything that they need at TexRenFest.com.”
The Texas Renaissance Festival is in Todd Mission, Texas, west of Montgomery County and about 54 miles northwest of Houston.