The Texas Renaissance Festival throws open its gates in Todd Mission on October 10 for its 52nd season, running weekends through November 29 plus Black Friday, with 21 stages, nearly 500 shops and vendors, and more than 1,000 types of food waiting behind the castle walls. It is the festival's first full season since the death of founder George Coulam and the completion of a court-ordered sale that ended his half-century reign over the grounds he built from an abandoned strip mine.
Coulam and his brother David founded the festival in 1974 on just 15 acres, drawing 33,000 visitors that first year, according to Wikipedia. The event has since ballooned into the largest Renaissance festival in the country, and last year's 50th anniversary season alone welcomed 530,000 guests, according to a season preview from CultureMap Houston. Coulam also incorporated the surrounding land as the city of Todd Mission in 1982 specifically to protect the festival grounds, and he served as its mayor until his death, per Wikipedia.
That death came in May 2025, when Coulam was found dead by suicide at his Todd Mission home at age 87, just weeks after a Grimes County court ordered the sale of his festival estate, according to Community Impact. Hoodline previously covered King George's death as it unfolded amid the legal fallout.
A Forced Sale Ends a Half-Century Standoff
The upheaval traced back to a soured $60 million deal. Coulam had agreed to sell the festival to real estate investor Meril Rivard, then backed out, prompting a lawsuit that a Grimes County judge resolved by ordering the sale to proceed anyway and awarding $22 million in damages against Coulam for breach of contract, according to Houston law firm Hanszen Laporte. Hoodline reported on that ruling in an earlier court judgment story. By August 2025, the same firm reported that a final judgment had confirmed Rivard's $60 million purchase of the festival.
Attorney Anthony LaPorte told CultureMap Houston in May 2025 that incoming owner Rivard — whose son is married into the Wilson family, the festival's longtime Greek food vendors — intended to keep existing vendor contracts and fair operations unchanged. The Wilson family and the festival's internal power struggles were the subject of the four-part HBO documentary series “Ren Faire,” released in June 2024, which chronicled Coulam's eccentric rule and the chaotic succession battle among staff and vendors, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
What's New — and What Isn't — for 2026
Despite the ownership shakeup, the festival's operators say the on-the-ground experience stays largely familiar. This year's theme is “Magic and Memories,” and the grounds in New Market Village will feature 34 demonstrating artisans and craftspeople showcasing traditional techniques and technologies inspired by the 16th century, per the CultureMap Houston preview. Visitors can expect jousting matches, magical performances, jugglers, acrobats, and musicians spread across the festival's 21 stages.
Themed weekends, a festival tradition introduced in 2005, return with familiar names: Oktoberfest, 1001 Dreams, Pirate's Adventure, All Hallow's Eve, Heroes and Villains, Barbarian Invasion, Highland Fling, and Celtic Christmas. Food remains a centerpiece of the fair, with more than 1,000 types of food on offer, including turkey legs, steak on a stick, barbecue, and Polish and Greek specialties, along with vegetarian and gluten-free options. The grounds even include a stand-alone fruit stand powered entirely by solar energy, according to the same CultureMap Houston report.
Camping, Weddings and Getting There
The Fields of New Market Campgrounds, billed as the second-largest campground in the country, spans more than 230 acres and logs more than 1,200 reservations each season, drawing over 70,000 campers during the 2024 season alone. Children 12 and under camp free, and campers get views of the festival's weekend evening fireworks. For couples looking to make it official, TRF Weddings offers fairy-tale ceremonies inside the English Village, complete with carriage rides, receptions, and an experienced wedding planner, with packages built for a range of budgets and styles.
Getting to Todd Mission has gotten considerably easier in recent years. The Texas Department of Transportation opened an extension of State Highway 249 into Grimes County in November 2022, creating a direct four-lane corridor to FM 1774 near the festival that eased what had been severe traffic congestion on local two-lane roads, according to KPRC 2. The festival sits at 21778 Farm to Market 1774 in Todd Mission and runs 9 am to 8 pm on open days.
Tickets, Parking and Safety Rules
Admission tickets for 2026 are date-specific and non-refundable, though a $5 exchange insurance add-on lets patrons swap their attendance date before entry, per official festival ticket policy. General parking is free with admission, while preferred parking near the entrance runs $25 and valet service costs $40 online or at the gate until 4 pm or until capacity is reached.
Costumed attendees carrying period prop weapons such as swords, daggers, and axes must keep them sheathed and “peace tied” with zip ties or straps at all times, and real firearms are strictly prohibited, according to festival rules. Non-compliant weapons are confiscated or turned away at security checkpoints. Fifty-two years after opening on 15 acres with three stages, the festival now sprawls across more than 50 acres of village grounds and 230 acres of campsites — a run that continues this fall under ownership its founder never wanted to give up.
