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My husband Marc, my daughter Emily and I traveled back in time to 1189 AD yesterday.  We took a drive out to the Sherwood Forest Faire east of Austin.  And we had a fabulous time.

This is a new (first year) for this Renaissance type festival. And what made this so special was the feel of the place. Marc and I worked at the Renaissance Festival in Magnolia back in the early 80′s – yes, a long time ago!  Marc was a monk and I was a wench!!  Back then you felt as if you had stepped back in time.  That festival has grown so large and commercialized over the years that if has lost that feel for us.

In Sherwood Forest, we found a wonderful primitive atmosphere where everyone is so incredibly friendly and totally into character.  I heard “Good day, m’lady” all day long.  The craftsmen were very interesting, the old games were fun (Emily hit the jester in the face with her tomato!), the entertainment was fantastic with music absolutely everywhere, the elves, fairies and centaur were all so into character with all their antics, the food was great, and the prices were extremely good.  Emily had her hand dipped in wax in a peace sign with rainbow colors for $10, had a copper necklace made from an old mint press with 2 designs for $22 and purchased a bar of homemade scented soap, after a lot of smelling, for $5.  I got lost in the maze, enjoyed the big swing, and loved the joy of the parade.  Marc tried to prove how strong he is and ended up in the stocks.

Most of all we loved the feeling of being removed from reality and transported to another place and time.  Truly!!  I dozed off on the drive back to Houston, opened my eyes to the freeway, billboards and businesses, neon lights, crazy drivers and felt as if I had be transported forward in time after spending a day at the Faire.

Obviously, I am so thrilled about this new fantastic “source of entertainment” that I wanted to share it with you all.

Most places have priced themselves way out of our budget.  It was refreshing to visit such a place of quality and have such a great time.  The day starts with a “hear ye, hear ye”  and ends with fireworks!

Jane Ann R., Houston TX

When I first heard that a new Faire was starting up my first thought was… oh, another dreamer wishing to create his own Texas Renaissance Festival / Scarborough Faire. I was intrigued the more I read about this dreamer’s ideas that he posted on Renaissance Festival. com. I contacted Rengypsy when he posted looking for a logo artist. I worked up a black and white sketch and being busy with life and my own pressing art schedule I didn’t give it much thought afterward. Gradually I was drawn back into following the steady postings on the reality of this new little faire coming to be more than a dream.

With more impulse than intent we decided at the last moment to attend the opening weekend at Sherwood Forest. Grabbing our garb and an overnight bag we drove down from the DFW area on Saturday afternoon planning to find the faire, then a hotel in the area then attend Sherwood on Sunday. The way was surprisingly well marked by signs pointing the way to Sherwood. The drive went faster than we expected and after wandering down the long unpaved road we came upon the parking lot and stockade entrance. The obvious expense and expertise that went into the faire was evident from the first impression at the gate. I had such a rush when I saw the rendering of my logo (with modifications) brought to life in a 3- dimensional wood carving centered over the front gate.

We bought season tickets immediately knowing we were making the right decision. Even though we had less than two hours before closing time we decided to make a quick run through before finding a place to spend the night. Inside the front gate the vista was stunning, we felt as if we had taken a step back in time. The woods spread out before us in natural beauty while the building and colorful tents blended and complimented the environment to form a harmonious combination.

The first character we met coming into the faire was the famous, easily recognized Robin Hood. He was perfectly cast, he not only fit the imaginary image I had of the character, but he was charisma and kindness personified. I was tempted to mistake friar Tuck for little John, but he too was able to pull off the casting with irrepressible glee. The lovely Queen Bonnie was also perfectly cast and it was wonderful to find her in such a perfect element so suitable to her mystical, enchanting character. I wish I could mention each and every character we encountered over the weekend, but this missive would run on much too long.

We were drawn to the standing stones by the magic of music only to find ourselves captured by the essence of the Seven Sisters. The joyous dancing and the primitive lure of drums was soul satisfying in a way that is beyond description. Our slow wandering took us less than half way around the faire grounds. Before full dark the full moon started its leisurely rise in an indigo sky, its pale round face shimmering between the bare branches. More than one patron paused to admire that sight. A skipping, dancing fairy child paused in her expression of joy to point out the sun and the moon sharing the moment.

We could not have planned a better time to discover Sherwood Forest. We returned on Sunday and plan many more trips back in time to Sherwood Forest Faire.

Thank you for creating a wonderful place to share your dream.

Renee, Alvarado TX

This past Saturday, March 6 2010, my girlfriend, her sister and I made our first visit to Sherwood Forest Faire. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much. I’ve been going to the Texas Renaissance Festival every year for the past 10 years and, unfortunately, any new festival has a lot to live up to by comparison. I’ve attended other renaissance festivals in the past during their inaugural years and have been sorely disappointed.Imagine my surprise when we arrived at Sherwood Forest Faire. As soon as I saw the perimeter fencing, I knew we were in for a treat. Once we entered the grounds, I immediately noticed all of the trees. I loved how the various booths and tents were all worked into and around the forest, rather than cutting all the trees down to make room for everything. I especially liked all the various bridges placed throughout.

The vendors and attendees were all very cordial and accommodating and the food was delicious! Needless to say, I was extremely impressed by Sherwood Forest Faire and I am confident that the future is very bright for Texas’ newest renaissance faire. Huzzah!

Steve E., Austin TX

My husband and I looked forward to opening day of Sherwood for many months, and boy was I pleased we attended on that Saturday. We were so impressed! The grounds are gorgeous, buildings beautiful, vendors wonderful, and the food was yummy!

We showed up at 9:15 AM to get in with the early crowd and see the grand opening. It was so much fun to be part of the history! We stayed until 7:30 PM and left that early only because we had to meet with family that evening.

Here are some positive comments from our experience I thought others would like to hear.

·       Grounds are lovely. Trees are beautiful and the area was completely spotless at all times. I never saw anyone cleaning the grounds, but it was always clean – maybe I was so entranced with the surroundings that I didn’t notice the cleaning crew.

·       Love the vendors! Everyone was welcoming, and there was a great mix of products to choose from. Many vendors said it was the best first year opening day experience they have ever had.

·       For a first year faire, I didn’t expect the quality and variety of food that was available. We certainly didn’t go hungry and it was all excellent! Dragon Toes are great! Oh, and thanks for making sure coffee was available at some of the vendor stands – a must for my husband before 10:00 AM.

·       Love the bathrooms. Lots of room and always clean – even still clean at 7:00 PM. I will costume next time knowing that I can get my large skirts in and out of the bathrooms. Sounds like more were already added by Sunday, which is great.

·       Loved that so many people were costuming. We didn’t costume as we weren’t sure what to expect for opening day, and I have to say we were definitely in the minority – there many people in costume which was really fun.

·       From what we could tell, of the few trees that may have needed to be cleared on the property, it looks like they were all used in some way. Nice little tables/stools made out of the stumps, and maybe some of the trim on the buildings were made from trees from the grounds? Not sure if this is the case, but I love that the resources from the property look like they were used in some way.

·       We enjoyed wandering from vendor to vendor so much that we didn’t get a chance to watch the shows. We will be back in a few weeks to see the entertainment for sure.

·       Really enjoyed the fireworks. Fun!

·       Although I’m sure it was crazy trying to keep up with everything on opening day, the craziness was mostly transparent to us as patrons. There were a few hiccups, but nothing that took away from the experience. In fact, it added to our opening day experience, as everyone had such a positive attitude in working around the very few glitches.

Brava on a wonderful, wonderful opening day. We will never forget the experience!

Jennifer. S., Hempstead, TX

My husband, sister and I attended the Sherwood Forest Faire last Sunday. We had such a wonderful time! The festival I attended several years ago might have been bigger and flashier, but it sadly lacked in authenticity. I really felt more like I was at some bawdy Mardi Gras party! Your faire was so much better in every way. I loved the giant swings, the jousting was fun and informative, and the Falcon show was magnificent.  Thank you so much for the wonderful experience!

Angela C.

My children, Cody and Nicholas, and our friends, William, Rachel and Ron, had our first opportunity to visit Sherwood Forest this past weekend.  Being HUGE TRF fans, having followed the progress of Sherwood on-line, and sending many emails about accommodations (which were always answered promptly and with much patience), I was a little afraid that our excitement and expectations may have reached an unrealistic level for Sherwood to match in their first year.

We were wonderfully surprised when Sherwood exceeded those expectations!

The grounds were beautifully designed, with so many glorious trees that you truly felt you had stepped back in time.  The mixture of booths and small stages and tents and performers around every corner gave an authenticity to the faire that is lacking in some of the larger, more commercialized faires.  The staff and performers and artisans were so kind and welcoming and willing to spend time talking to myself and my kids when we had questions about how things worked or were made or why things were portrayed the way they were; never once did we feel like our questions were an inconvenience or keeping them from the next sale.  My son, Nicholas, even bought a horn made from a cow’s horn and several different artisans, including the wonderful gentleman who made it at Lady Max’s, offered him tips and techniques so that by the end of the day, we heard a truely melodious sound from it!

Tracy B.

I just wanted to say what a grand time I had opening weekend!  Ever since I saw the link on The Bard O’Neil’s website, I was excited to have another faire to go to.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Ogre Legs!  All day on Saturday I kept hearing people I’ve seen at other faires say how impressed they were.  I was too!  The love, vision, and imagination that was (& is) poured into Sherwood was evident everywhere.  One of my favorite moments was when I sat down to nibble on the Dragon Toes & sip my Tranquility tea.  I chose to sit on the ground against a lovely pine tree.  The wind was blowing gently & the air had a bit of magic in it.  As I was picking up my tea, I noticed movement to my right.  Was I about to be rousted by the sheriff?  Nay, ’twas a lovely faerie flitting ’bout the woods!

I plan to bring my friend back to feel the magic for herself!  Huzzah on creating a welcome respite from the hustle & bustle of the modern world!

Jennifer C., Dallas, TX