Scarborough Renaissance Festival: a turkey leg lover's delight and much more

Did you know that more than 20 tons (yes, tons) of turkey legs are sold at Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie each season? That roughly averages out to 3,400 turkey legs consumed each of its eight weekends!

And there’s no reason to think consumption will be any less when the storied venue kicks off its 44th season Saturday, April 5, at its location off of Farm-to-Market 66 just west of Waxahachie.

“We are set in the days of King Henry VIII and his reign in England,” festival spokeswoman Helaine Thompson shared in a recent interview with In The Know Ellis. “This was a time of discovery and art and just a lot of excitement that was happening during that time. And we celebrate that.”

Throughout its history, the festival has focused on a theme involving King Henry VIII and one of his six wives, with the 2025 season again featuring the former monarch and his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr.

For historical context, here’s a breakdown of the wives:

• Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509-1533, divorced)

• Anne Boleyn (m. 1533-1536, beheaded)

• Jane Seymour (m. 1536-1537, died in childbirth)

• Anne of Cleves (m. 1540, divorced)

• Catherine Howard (m. 1540-1542, beheaded)

• Katherine Parr (m. 1543-1547, outlived Henry)

Set as it is, in a small English village whose inhabitants are being visited by their king and queen, Scarborough provides a way for the festival’s 200,000-plus annual guests to “step back in time.”

“We really strive to say, once you’ve gone through our gates, you’re entering another world,” Thompson said. “It’s getting rid of today’s cares, and you’re really stepping back and being involved in what we’ve got going on.”

It’s the festival’s interactivity that’s a main draw for people, she said, noting the engagement that occurs between cast members, artisans, and entertainers, and the guests around them. It’s an interactivity that goes to “a different level and really allows you to be a part,” Thompson said.

Throughout the festival grounds, which comprise 30-plus acres, attendees can enjoy food, entertainment, shopping, and more.

A shopper’s delight

For the shopper, there are more than 200 “shoppes” tucked in and around the venue, with the 2025 season featuring more than two dozen new artisans, some of whom will be on site the full season and some for only special engagements.

“There are hundreds of incredible artisans showcasing their exquisite, handmade creations in one of the country’s largest outdoor juried craft shows,” Thompson said. “There is something for everyone, at every price point.”

She also notes that many of the artisans on site give demonstrations of their “age-old techniques” throughout the day during the festival.

The food

When it comes to food, Scarborough serves up plenty, and there’s something to fulfill any taste one might have across its five food courts. Besides the festival’s signature turkey legs, the following are offered, including what Thompson describes as “the largest food-on-a-stick selection in Texas” along with Scotch eggs, handmade pastas, fresh from scratch pastries, German specialties, stir fry, gyros, shepherd’s pie, muffalettas, and more.

What’s new this year at Scarborough, food-wise? According to Thompson, the menu additions include peach cobbler, s’mores on-a-stick, pickle pops, Italian icebergs, salad-in-a-cup, jumbo corn dogs, Mexican street tacos, smash burgers, jalapeno cheddar sausage on-a-stick, wonton cheese sticks and frozen drinks (Dr Pepper, Big Red, and Hawaiian Punch).

“On top of all that, for the more discerning taste, we have beer and wine tastings every day of the festival,” Thompson said. “It’s a wonderful one-hour experience that people can come in and actually learn about wine in the different regions and have a tasting experience as part of their day at Scarborough. And the same thing on our beer side.”

The performing troupe

Thompson has nothing but praise for the festival’s “amazing” 100-plus member performing company.

“They really love bringing people into their world and playing with them and making you feel like you’re a very special part of this world that we’ve created at Scarborough Renaissance Festival,” she said, noting that several of the cast members have been performing with Scarborough for more than 25 years.

All Scarborough performers wear a special badge that identifies them as troupe members; it’s a way to differentiate them from the almost 35% of festival-goers who attend each year in themed costumes.

The entertainment

Scarborough’s 2025 season will feature a new jousting troupe, with jousts occurring three times a day throughout the festival.

“It’s going to be just top-notch excitement and entertainment in combat,” Thompson said. “I think people are really going to enjoy what we’re bringing to the festival this year.”

In addition to the new jousting troupe, Scarborough is welcoming about a dozen new performers who’ll be on hand alongside the ones who’s taken the stage for years at the festival.

“This is their profession; this is what they do for a living,” Thompson said. “It’s a very different type of entertainment because it’s more vaudevillian types, so you’ll see everything from sword fighters to flame eaters to sword swallowers to jugglers to acrobatics. It’s a very different type of entertainment, and they come from all over the United States.”

Family-friendly

Thompson points to the family-friendly nature of Scarborough Renaissance Festival as one of its biggest draws, an attribute that’s led to it being named among the top three family-friendliest Renaissance festivals.

There is something, entertainment-wise, for all ages to enjoy, Thompson said, noting especially the opportunities for younger visitors that include several stage performers geared toward children, daily knighting ceremonies, a mermaid lagoon, and more.

And as people age, they find new things at the festival to enjoy, with Thompson noting that’s something she’s seen in her son, who first started attending at age 4.

“I’ve seen that evolution on the things that he enjoys doing at the festival change throughout the years, and I think that is really a fascinating part of what we have, and the fact that we’ve had, you know, customers that come out and having been coming for years and years, or come back after many years, and they discover a whole new side of Scarborough that they didn’t even know existed,” she said. “And that’s really a great thing to see as well.”

She also noted that the festival grounds underwent some major upgrades, including to its parking, the past off-season.

“There’s gonna be a lot of new things that people are gonna find when they come into the festival,” she said, adding, “You can discover so much every single time you come out because we’re such a large site.”

For more information and tickets, visit online at https://www.srfestival.com/. Search @SRfestival on Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok and @theSRfestival on Instagram. The festival runs Saturdays, Sundays, and Memorial Day Monday, April 5-May 26 this year.

Written by Jo Ann Livingston/ITKE.