Scarborough Renaissance Festival
- Dates
- Apr 10 to May 31, 2027
- Status
- Announced
- Venue
- 2511 FM 66
- Price
- Not announced
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Aug 22, 2026
The experience
What's special
Scarborough Renaissance Festival - also known as Scarborough Faire - recreates a 16th-century English village each spring on the edge of Waxahachie, south of Dallas and Fort Worth, with more than 20 stages of continuous entertainment and over 200 shoppes in its artisan marketplace. Its signature is full-combat armored jousting three times a day, alongside falconry, artisan demonstrations, daily 21+ wine and beer tastings hosted by resident characters (including a Certified Cicerone-led beer session), a self-guided haunted castle tour, a faire-wide live RPG, and a wedding garden with Renaissance wedding packages. The 2026 season celebrated the festival's 45th year, and the same grounds host Scarborough's Hollow, a separate fall fantasy event.
What people love
Attendees consistently praise the pretty, tree-lined grounds and an unusually engaging cast - the roaming improv performers are called some of the best around, the joust carries a storyline through the day, and the daily all-cast parade is a favorite moment. The food earns repeat superlatives, especially the meats-on-sticks, and the costume culture is welcoming without pressure, helped by a rental shop at the gate. The consistent warnings: highway backups and parking queues on peak-season Saturdays can run well over an hour, food lines grow long by midday, Texas heat builds hard through the late-spring season, and the clay ground turns to serious mud after rain - regulars go early in the season, early in the day, and in thick-soled shoes.
Listen
No official playlist linked yet. Find Scarborough Renaissance Festival on Spotify.
Lineup
Getting there
How do I get to Scarborough Renaissance Festival?
By train 1
No passenger rail serves Waxahachie. The nearest Amtrak stop is Dallas Union Station, about 30 miles north, where the Texas Eagle calls once daily each direction on the Chicago-San Antonio run. From downtown Dallas the remaining leg to the festival is a ~40-minute drive or the Greyhound/FlixBus connection to the Waxahachie Exxon stop
Book / info →By bus 1
Waxahachie has its own intercity coach stop, the Exxon at 3300 N I-35E Service Rd, served by Greyhound and FlixBus with direct connections from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. The stop is about 6 miles northeast of the festival grounds, so plan a short rideshare or taxi for the final leg. Coaches run daily year-round (not festival-specific), which suits the festival's weekends-only spring season
Book / info →Taxi & rideshare 1
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) is the main fly-in hub, roughly 50 miles / 45-60 minutes north of the festival; rideshare picks up from app-assigned zones on the arrivals level of each terminal, and taxis queue at every terminal. Dallas Love Field (DAL) is a similar drive at about 40 miles. No DART or TRE commuter rail reaches Waxahachie, so the airport leg is a straight drive. On peak spring Saturdays the I-35E exit and FM 66 approach back up, the festival publishes alternate back routes, so allow extra time in both directions
Book / info →🅿 Parking
On site parking available. Cost Included in the adult ticket price; earlier arrivals park closer to the main gates. Prepay via No prepay platform, parking is included with admission. On busy peak-season Saturdays the parking queue and the I-35E/FM 66 approach can run well over an hour, and the festival publishes alternate back routes for busy days. Attendees' standard advice is to arrive at or before the 10 am opening
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire
The practical option for most fly-in attendees: the festival is a rural site 40-50 miles from both DFW and Love Field with no rail and only a 6-miles-away coach stop, parking is included with admission, and both airports have on-site rental car centers
Search car hire →Live price search coming soon.
Where
Venue
2511 FM 66
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Scarborough Renaissance Festival?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Mid-range hotels 3
2020 Civic Center Ln, Waxahachie, TX
Book direct →Luxe hotels 1
716 W Main St, Waxahachie, TX
Link coming soonAirbnb & private camping
Waxahachie's historic downtown and surrounding countryside carry a modest but characterful short-term-rental stock (Victorian homes are the local signature); with the festival running eight spring weekends, Saturday nights book ahead of Sundays. Staying in south Dallas suburbs along I-35E (Red Oak, DeSoto) widens the pool at a 20-30 minute drive
Search Airbnb →The festival offers no on-site guest camping, but its own lodging list names three nearby RV resorts: Flying Dutchman RV Resort directly across the street from the grounds (2356 FM 66), Whiterock RV Resort about 7 miles southwest in Maypearl, and Northside RV Resort about 9 miles northeast, an RV pitch across the road is the closest overnight option of any kind. Private-land Hipcamp listings in the Ellis County countryside add tent options
Search Hipcamp →Pricing
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