A Very TRF Halloween

Ghoulies and ghosties arrive for some scary good Fun.

Some people might cite Pumpkin Spice Day as the unofficial onset of spooky season. But for me, fall kicks off when when the opening cannon sounds through the warm, humid, morning air of the Texas Renaissance Festival campgrounds. Every year, the lanes of New Market Village come to life for 8 themed weekends of magic and revalry. From swashbuckling pirates and highland nobles to devious villains and brave heroes, fantasy costume aficionados are sure to find something to delight in. Over the past decade or so (has it really been that long??), Stephanie and I have been loyal attendees of this annual festival, making an effort to visit on different weekends and experience the many faces of this annual tradition. So far, my personal favorite has been Pirate Weekend. Now, after 12 years (yes, I just checked my Facebook photo albums and confirmed it has been that long), this season is particularly significant for us as we’re preparing to cross off the final themed weekend from our list: All Hallow’s Eve.

Okay, full disclosure, since we’ve started attending the festival, the opening weekend theme has changed from Oktoberfest to the Queen’s Birthday. So while we haven’t *technically* visited for the Queen’s Birthday, we have attended opening weekend. I think that still counts, but if you disagree, I guess that just means we’ll have to plan another opening weekend trip in the future and come up with some garb fabulous enough to celebrate Her Majesty. Darn. 

Anyway, back to my goal motivated personality. Now that we’re about to cross off our final weekend, the next milestone is obviously to built themed garb for each weekend. As fans of mashups, these themed weekends offer us the perfect opportunity to unleash our imaginations. I’m not lying when I say they have lead to some of my favorite cosplays we’ve ever created (looking at you Avenger Pirates and Disney Villains). We don’t have time to take on full, new builds this fall, so we’re getting creative and adding a beWitching twist to one of our existing cosplays. It’s amazing how a few clever accessories can instantly transform an outfit to match the vibe of the spooky and mysterious ambiance of All Hallow’s Eve weekend. After this year, we’ll be halfway through to my (newly set) goal of making weekend-themed garb for the full TRF season.

The Queen’s Birthday

1001 Dreams

Pirate Adventure

All Hallow’s EVE

HEROES AND VILLAINS

BARBARIAN INVASION

HIGHLAND FLING

CELTIC CHRISTMAS

 If you’ve been following us for a while, you might ask why I didn’t cross Celtic Christmas off the list. While we did wear our Frozen 2 Anna and Elsa cosplays during Celtic Christmas, they aren’t *actually* Christmas themed (Even though anything Frozen seems to get roped into the holiday season). So it doesn’t feel right to count them. And that just gives us an excuse to go all out with a holiday build some day.

 As we prepare for All Hallow’s Eve weekend extravaganza, we’re excited to share our adventures with others and inspire fellow faire-goers to have fun and embrace their spooky sides. That’s all for now, see you at the Joust!