For the sixth weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival, the theme was Barbarian Invasion and a lot of people attend on that weekend. It’s a lot of fun and the garb that people wear is great.
I arrived at 7:15am and parked in my usual spot on row six.
Thousands will walk down this pathway to a fantasy land of Barbarians and Beauties.
I love getting to the festival first and seeing everything clean and ready for the day.
The employees blow off the entrance plaza with leaf blowers and everything looks great for the patrons.
On this day, over 20,000 people will enter these gates to the Kingdom.
Once inside New Market Village, everything has already been cleaned and looks nice.
So much activity will occur in this area once the day begins. I like seeing it so peaceful in the mornings.
I got my morning throne pic by Ace. He has gotten really got at taking my pic the way I prefer it. He told me that his friends went on my site and liked these pics. Ace told them that I instructed him how to take and he shoot them.
I usually get a photo with Ace and Willie because these are two of my favorite people in the Kingdom.
It was a little cold on this day so I wore my STORM Jacket. You’ll see more of it later.
The Beefeaters are used to me asking for a pic and are happy to oblige me. They love seeing their photos on the website.
I see Abner almost every morning. On this day, he brought several Steins for the people at the Front Gate and I was lucky enough to get one.
This is a real German Stein with a Peuter top.
I love the artwork on it and will drink hot chocolate from it this Winter.
The Royal Guard are some of the funniest people in New Market Village. You’ll see something really funny later on in this story.
I enjoy getting a pic with them when I can.
MJ was getting her face painted on this Saturday morning.
It was the first time that she ever had her face painted and she loved it. She looked great as a Barbarian Beauty.
This is the group of TRF Photographers that work at the Front Gate. They take pics of people entering the Kingdom and capture memories for them.
My morning pic with the cannon crew.
Alan told me that this little pin was made out of a metal that wouldn’t cause a spark. You’ll see why next.
The cannon is loaded with a charge that causes the explosion. This little pin pokes a hole in the gunpowder.
Then he puts a little gunpowder in the hole made by the little pin that reaches the charge.
This is where the person that ignites the cannon places the lit fuse to shoot it off.
Here is the still frame of the firing.
And here is the video of it going off.
Phil always look the part when he is at the festival and I love that.
In this next pic, I had the idea a few weeks earlier but Phil wasn’t at the TexRenFest so I had to wait until he was back. I put the camera on video and a friend shot me jumping up and down a few times. Then when I got to my office, I took a still frame from the video at the exact right time to look like he is lifting me up. My comment was, “Don’t ever get on Phil’s bad side.”
I ran into Kevin on this morning and got a pic with him. He’s a great guy.
I learned that this morning ceremony is called the Morning Proclamation. There is music, dancing and a message from the King.
The Royal Guard led the King and subjects out before the crowd.
I took a pic with MJ again. She’s always so nice.
This big man had just purchased his two new furs and they looked great on him.
I haven’t had a pickle yet this season but there’s still time.
I had an assistant with me on this day so I got a pic with Julie.
She was serving a baked potato and I snapped a pic of it.
It looks delicious.
Elizabeth, Hannah, Amber and Ariel always look great for every weekend.
I love the hat that Kelsey is wearing. It looks warm.
Haley was a true Barbarian Beauty.
Her eyes looked fantastic.
And she always lets me get a photo with her, which I like.
I enjoy getting large group shots because I get to please a lot of people with one photo.
Mickey works at the Wyrmwood Public House as a bartender and serves up some great drinks for me. He always dresses so sharply and looks great every weekend.
Opal is a Fairy and one of the most beautiful ladies in the Kingdom. The children love her.
These furries were warm in the chilly weather.
Skidmark was up to his usual self, making people laugh.
I love walking through New Market Village and hearing nice music.
I tired the Pork on a Stick at the Bread Bowl food booth from Kylee.
It was delicious and should be tried when at the festival.
I passed back by these Barbarian Beauties and got a photo with them.
A fun group of guys that were enjoying their day.
Lolo always looks super and is nice enough to take a pic with me.
I stopped by the Tease of the Seas show at the Thirsty Pirate Pub and the ladies looked and sounded fantastic.
My assistant gave me an Astros World Series ring. He got two at the ball park for free and his son didn’t want it. I was glad to add it to my collection and it is a great conversation piece.
My STORM Jacket was nice and warm on this day. 113 was my radio number as a Lifeguard Supervisor at WaterWorld that was next to AstroWorld. Great memories from my teens and 20’s.
I worked there for 13 years and was a Lifeguard Champion 13 times.
I got a photo with Shelbelle, who always dresses so well.
After the show, these lovely ladies will pose for pics with fans. I love that. This is from left to right, Cara Cherie, Valentina Jadore and Captain Abby Cadabra.
I always wanted a pic with this sign and got one finally.
Another fun group of Barbarians.
The birthday girl. We gave her $20.
She let me spin her accessory.
Only at the TexRenFest.
I passed by the Steak on a Stick booth and had the beignets, which were warm on a cold day.
So good.
Too cold for me to dress like the guy on the right.
I saw High Seas Barbie and got a pic with her. Lilly is a lot of fun.
Erika had another great hat on that looked very warm.
Taylor has one of the best smiles in the land.
The cigar looks great.
It never rained and everyone that attended the festival this Saturday had a great time.
I love being in New Market Village where everyone can be whatever their heart desires.
One of my favorite places to get a pic is on the Tea and Strumpets upstairs patio.
The TRF photographers at their posts.
Myself and my assistant had a good time and enjoyed some good food and met some fun people this day.
On Sunday, the weather was better so I didn’t need a jacket.
My morning routine pic with Willie and Ace.
Ace was taping a ticket at every gate. Kids get in for free. When a child arrives, the Beefeaters will scan this taped down ticket so TRF will know how many children visited this day.
Willie likes to get a pic with the first patrons of the day and I like that he calls me over for this.
The Royal Guard had a wedding.
“And now you may kiss the bride.” I told you they were funny.
Jade, looking spectacular as usual.
Angela, on the right, is in charge of costuming for the festival.
She always looks really good.
A morning photo with the cannon crew.
The still frame of the cannon firing. Cool pic.
The video of it going off.
The Queen and a few Barbarian Beauties.
The Mud Show guys are funny.
Their show always draws a good sized crowd.
Kristina and Jade are so beautiful.
Rudy is showing the gang sign of a Bagpipe player. Funny.
I would have loved to ride a pony as a child. So much fun for the children.
Elizabeth and Amber, two of my favorite people at TRF.
Another fun interview with Elizabeth, Hannah and Amber.
Two very nice ladies that I usually see as I walk around the Kingdom. That’s Julie on the right and I believe that’s Sara on the left.
Thousands every season enjoy the shows at the TexRenFest.
The many 400 shoppes and booths have a large variety of things for sale.
Julie and her daughter, Kylee, got an escort to the Chimney Cake booth by the Royal Guard.
I’ve never tried a pretzel but people love them.
Catalina Longview was at a different booth on this Sunday and I got her pic.
These ladies are always fun to talk to and visit with.
Getting a pic with Jessica and Stephanie was great.
I also enjoy getting a photo with the Steak on a Stick ladies.
Haley was looking fantastic again. Love her garb every weekend.
She would be in my fantasy TRF Beauty Pageant.
The Red Lion Tavern staff is one of the best in the Kingdom.
A favorite photo of mine.
This Jesus opened up his Bible and gave me a Vanilla Wafer and said, “The body of Christ” like it was communion.
Great looking outfits.
Some dapper dudes.
Crystal and David were a couple of great Barbarians.
I did an interview with them and it turned out great.
I got a pic with Crystal.
The Sausage Song sung by Vendella, Angela and Reagan at the Cajun Food booth.
A pic with Erika and Alex at the Asgardian Armory.
Two more well-dressed patrons.
Such a great photo opportunity.
Just spectacular is all I can say about this beauty.
He looks warm. Great look.
Another Barbarian Beauty.
I’ve never been on the Pub Crawl but it looks fun.
This booth always has a crowd.
Interesting stuff for sure.
Another great looking booth.
I stopped by the Royal Nuts booth.
This kind lady gave me a bag of coated pecans for free. I ate them while I was editing and loading pics later that day in my office.
Another cool looking building at TRF.
I like this pic.
George told me that he was in a band with Wendy O. Williams called the Plasmatics. Some will remember that band from the 80’s.
This building reminds me of going to parties in my 20’s. Trippy paint job.
They issued a pair of 3-D glasses to walk through this exhibit. A fun time for sure.
I love Steampunk and they looked awesome.
A funny thing about this lady on the right.
She wanted me to take a photo from behind her to show the back of her outfit. So I did.
These lovely ladies work at the Sea Devil Tavern and are a lot of un.
I stopped by the Fish and Chips booth and tried the crab cakes from Julie.
So good.
The Sea Devil Tavern has a great photo op area.
I’m sure that they loved this photo. It looks great.
Another beauty in a fantastic hat. Love it.
Barbarian Beauties abound on this weekend.
One of the prettiest ladies that I’ve ever photographed at the TexRenFest.
Another great group of Barbarians with Angela, the costume designer for TRF.
Jade was getting ready to go to the Costume Contest at the Joust arena.
Another cool couple that follow The STORM factory.
I was invited to a show and meal at the Feast Hall by the Marketing Department.
Brandywyne was there also. She is a TRF Ambassador.
Getting a ride through the Kingdom is the way to go.
Love the costume. Very cool indeed.
Todd is the Marketing Director that invited me to the show and meal at the Feast Hall.
The meal started with an appetizer plate that was tasty.
I had never been in the Feast Hall before and enjoyed it very much.
The show was very entertaining.
They gave out souvenir mugs.
Next was the salad. The dressing was very good and I liked it.
The Pride of Bedlam stopped in to sing some songs.
Next up was the potato soup which I enjoyed.
These ladies are very talented and this show should be seen.
The entree was delicious and later they added roast beef also.
Everyone was thoroughly entertained.
They then gave out whipped cream shots. They would walk by with a can of whipped cream and shot it in your mouth. I had some.
The dessert was a great way to end a super meal and good time.
The King and Queen stopped by also.
They thanked everyone for coming and had some nice words to say about the Marketing Department that invited us all.
I got a photo with the ladies from the show, which was fun.
This concludes this blog post about Barbarian weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
To see all of the photos and more, visit the site below and click on Photos.
