Sunny skies and a light breeze brought record crowds to the opening weekend of the Tennessee Renaissance Festival (TN RenFest) on its 40th Anniversary.
“Opening weekend ticket sales were slightly over 19,000 this year,” said Kerri Hudson, Public Information Officer, Williamson County Parks and Recreation.
“We had a 66% increase in ticket sales from opening weekend last year.”
Since taking over the coordination of the TN RenFest from founder Mike Freeman, owner of Castle Gwynn, Williamson County Parks and Recreation
has been working hard to grow the event from the strong foundations built by Freeman. In previous years, the entertainment and activities were static from weekend to weekend, but Parks and Recreation has slowly added unique events each weekend and new entertainment each year while keeping past
favorites.
Several years ago, a Courtly Tea, which requires an additional fee, was added to the event, and it continues to be a big hit with participants. Queen
Elizabeth I acts as hostess of the event in a tent just off the Area of Valor, which is an open field to the left of the TN RenFest entrance. The Area of
Valor also offers a place for the demonstration of Armoured Martial Arts by The Shire of the Rising Stone, local members of the Society for Creative
Anachronism (SCA). SCA is an inclusive community dedicated to pursuing research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat and
culture. This is their first year with the festival.
A new group of knights are jousting this year. For more than 30 years, Combatants Keep has been providing audiences with a fast-paced presentation of the sport of jousting. They also explain all of the different types of activities that knights participated in during the Middle Ages and Renaissance to keep up their skills on the battlefield needed during times of war.
Chase Treasure, which also performs on the Trader’s Gate Stage, sang on opening day at the Courtly Tea. They sing frolicking drinking songs, folk tunes, and original parodies. They have something for every music lover. No two shows are the same.
Another new event requiring an additional fee is the Courtier School. Members of the queen’s court teach three different types of etiquette – language of fans, court etiquette, and sword dueling rules. Broken into three groups that rotate, anyone participating has the opportunity to learn all forms
of court etiquette.
Kids love fairies, and fairies love kids. This year, for an additional fee, children are invited to come to dance at the Fairy Glen, and to learn Flower Crown
Making.
Starting the second weekend of the Festival, Queen’s Promenade Dance Classes begin. Also requiring an additional fee, these classes began a few
years ago and are very popular. Taught by Williamson County Parks and Recreation Rhythm and Spirit dance teachers, each week they explore dance
from the 15th through early 19th centuries.
Opening weekend, Jacques ze Whipper performed his dazzling feats with an Indiana Jones-type whip on the Human Chess Board stage. Whipper is a
circus performer whose wit and skill have made him a social media sensation. Damh and Dove, which mixes the power of Highland Bagpipes with the heart
pounding beat of the drums, will take the stage in his time slot for the four additional weekends.
Adamo Ignis, a fire eater and fire breather, who made her debut at the festival last year, is back again this year. She is one of the few solo female-
fronted fire and danger shows. Humans have long been drawn to the flame, and she delivers.
While dressing in costume to go to a RenFest has long been a tradition, the TN RenFest has a reputation for drawing more people in costume than many
similar festivals. And this year, festival organizers have made it easier to participate by adding Belrose East Costume Rental. Their tent is located
near the Arena of Valour.
Back at the Mermaid Cove again this year are the aquatic beauties who offer meet and greets in their grotto four times a day. And four times a day there are displays of the art of glass blowing by Dragon’s Breath Glass Works at the intersection of Celtic Knights Lane and Rojahn Pass.
Other activities include a D and D Spectacular, offering a clue-based scavenger hunt, and the Royal Dating Game, which pits audience members
against the ladies of the court.
Tours of Castle Gywnn’s grounds are also possible. Freeman began building the castle in 1980. Its grounds served as the venue for the annual May event for years until the building of I-840. He operated the festival for 35 years before gifting it to Williamson County. He and his wife, Jackie, spent over 50 years designing and building the castle, which is modeled after a 12th-century Welsh border castle.
For information, visit the TN RenFest website. The TN RenFest takes place every Saturday and Sunday in the month of May, plus Memorial Day. The festival opens at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. daily.
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