From Jousting to Turkey Legs

Your guide to merriment this season at the Texas Renaissance Festival

Ready to trade the ordinary for a little medieval magic? The Texas Renaissance Festival is gearing up for another season of jousting, feasting, shopping, live entertainment, and plenty of opportunities to embrace a favorite fantasy.

Celebrating its 52nd anniversary in 2026, the festival is leaning into the theme “Magic and Memories,” inviting guests of all ages to rediscover the wonder of childhood, dress up, play along, and create new memories inside the gates of New Market Village.

It's open every Saturday and Sunday, 9 am-8 pm, from October 10-November 29, plus Black Friday, on November 27.

The Texas Renaissance Festival has certainly earned its reputation as one of the country’s premier Renaissance celebrations. During its 50th anniversary, the festival welcomed an impressive 530,000 guests, cementing its status as the nation’s largest Renaissance festival.

There’s a lot to see — and even more to do. The festival features 21 stages packed with entertainment, from thrilling jousting matches and magical performances to jugglers, acrobats, musicians, and other colorful characters. With entertainment around every corner, there’s always another show to discover.

Then there’s the shopping. Nearly 500 shops, artist vendors, concession stands, attractions, and bars are scattered throughout New Market Village, creating a veritable treasure hunt for visitors. The festival also features 34 demonstrating artisans and craftspeople, who showcase traditional techniques and technologies inspired by the 16th century. Watching these talented makers work offers a glimpse into craftsmanship from another era.

There is so much to explore. Photo courtesy of Texas Renaissance Festival

Photo courtesy of Texas Renaissance Festival

All hail the Texas Renaissance Festival King and Queen.

Of course, no trip to the Renaissance Festival would be complete without something delicious to eat. Festival fare ranges from classics such as turkey legs, steak on a stick, and barbecue to Polish and Greek specialties.

More than 1,000 types of food are available throughout the grounds, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. There’s even a 100-percent stand-alone solar-powered fruit stand for a particularly modern twist on the medieval feast.

Eight weekends, eight ways to play
The festival’s themed weekends, introduced in 2005 to encourage guests to join in the fun with costumes, are back for 2026. This year’s lineup includes Oktoberfest, 1001 Dreams, Pirate’s Adventure, All Hallow’s Eve, Heroes and Villains, Barbarian Invasion, Highland Fling, and Celtic Christmas.

Whether the goal is to arrive in full costume or simply enjoy watching the elaborate ensembles parade through the village, each weekend offers its own personality and plenty of photo-worthy moments.

And for those who want to extend the adventure, the Fields of New Market Campgrounds offers more than 230 acres of camping space. More than 70,000 campers visited during the 2024 season, and the campground boasts more than 1,200 reservations each season.

It’s also the second-largest campground in the United States, with prime views of the festival’s weekend evening fireworks. Children ages 12 and under camp for free.

There’s even a royal way to make the festival part of a very special occasion. TRF Weddings offers fairy-tale celebrations inside the charming English Village, with packages designed for a range of budgets and wedding styles. From carriage rides to receptions, couples can create a 16th-century-inspired celebration with help from an experienced wedding planner.

Texas Renaissance Festival but make it romantic.Photo courtesy of Texas Renaissance Festival

With its colorful characters, immersive entertainment, artisan craftsmanship, enormous food selection, themed weekends, and festive camping scene, the Texas Renaissance Festival is much more than a day at the faire. It’s an invitation to step into another world — and, in 2026, to make a little Magic and Memories along the way.

The Texas Renaissance Festival is located at 21778 Farm to Market 1774, Todd Mission, TX 77363.

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Movie Review

Anne Hathaway's busy 2026 continues with meta-thriller Verity

Photo by Alisha Wetherill

Anne Hathaway in Verity.

Anne Hathaway has been inescapable for movie fans in 2026, starring in no fewer than five different movies across multiple genres, including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, and The End of Oak Street. The actor (who’s pregnant and about to take a well-earned break) is wrapping up her supremely busy year with the psychological thriller, Verity.

Hathaway plays the title character, Verity Crawford, a hugely successful author who writes beach read thrillers, often from the perspective of the villain. An unpublicized car accident renders her immobile and mute, and her husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and agents make the decision to recruit someone to ghostwrite her next book in order to continue her legacy.

The person hired for the job is Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), an aspiring author whose books mostly get ignored. She’s eager to take on the project, but the reality of Verity’s situation throws her for a loop. When she discovers a secret file that seems to be Verity admitting to some very bad things, Lowen starts to spin even more, imagining situations that may not actually be happening.

Directed by Michael Showalter and adapted by Nick Antosca from the book by Colleen Hoover, the film initially has a nice rhythm to it, setting up the three main characters well and building up tension. Though current day Verity can’t speak or move, the film gets to the heart of her through old interviews Lowen watches to get to know her mind better. Using that footage and other small moments at the house, a type of rivalry develops between the two characters.

Strangely, though, Showalter and Antosca fail to capitalize on the early momentum. The story stagnates about halfway through the movie and never delivers on what it seems to be promising. Whether they’re too true to Hoover’s original story or change things too much is difficult to tell for those who haven’t read the book, but either way, the result is a big tease with not much in the way of a payoff.

What’s most disappointing about the film is its inability to decide on a tone. There are some points where it feels like over-the-top, campy fun, and others where it seems like the filmmakers are going for a straight-up horror vibe. The down-the-middle approach that they land on serves neither the story nor the characters well. Moments that should be full of suspense or could get laughs often fall flat because of the indecisiveness of the filmmakers.

Due to her character’s affliction, Hathaway is reduced to a supporting role in the film, but she gets by on presence alone and still has a few scenes where she demonstrates her star power. Johnson delivers a good performance despite her typical lack of emotion. Like many of her roles, it’s her body that seems to get more attention than her acting. Hartnett is on a roll thanks to recent roles in Oppenheimer and Trap, and he puts in solid work here, as well.

Verity has the bones of a tense thriller, but it’s filled in with a bunch of questionable story beats that don’t prove as satisfying as the premise. The meta-plot of the authors of thrillers becoming involved in a thriller themselves should have been juicy and full of great twists, but ultimately it’s as catatonic as Verity herself.

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Verity is now playing in theaters.

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From Jousting to Turkey Legs

Your guide to merriment this season at the Texas Renaissance Festival

Movie Review

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