Dear
Texas Renaissance Festival Patron and Partner,
Greetings TRF family! Our hearts and thoughts go out to each of
you with hopes that you and your loved ones are well. After significant preparation and
collaboration across the TRF team and local and county agencies, we are excited
to welcome you back to the Kingdom to celebrate our 46th season Oct. 3 - Nov.
29, 2020!
We are prepared to welcome patrons this Fall with exciting new
venues, merchants, food, and entertainment - maintaining our top priority: the
health and safety of our guests, staff, and partners.This means the festival will look a little
different this year, as follows:
Social Distancing - 2020 ticket sales are date-specific, and
quantities issued will be limited at each ticket outlet (HEB, Groupon, and texrenfest.com)
based on our mandated capacity limits. Capacity limits will be enforced at all shoppes and entertainment venues
as well. Seating at the festival will be
adjusted or marked and signage placed throughout to promote distancing.Creative changes to our entertainment will
maintain our immersive quality while keeping our entertainers and guests
safe. We have almost 60 acres of outdoor
festival grounds and 220 acres of campgrounds that will allow patrons to be
comfortably distributed.
Facial Coverings - All TRF staff and participants will be
wearing facial coverings. Patrons will
be required to wear a mask per the guidelines and mandates of the State of
Texas. Note, if facial coverings are not
mandated by the State, Patrons should bring a mask as Texas guidelines still
recommend facial coverings indoors or outdoors in areas where social distancing
is not possible.You may be asked to
wear your mask in some shoppes and in lines where 6 foot distancing from other
parties is not feasible despite capacity limits. Additionally, for the best experience at the
festival we are encouraging creative facial coverings as we will have daily
competitions and random spot rewards for guests that support these guidelines. If a patron forgets their mask, no problem,
we will have souvenir masks and disposable masks available.Finally, to maximize comfort, we are
incorporating many mask-break areas throughout the festival where patrons may
remove their masks while maintaining social distancing.
Health Screening - All TRF staff and participants will have
daily temperature checks and encouraged to stay home if symptomatic. If a patron feels sick on their festival
date, they will have the option of exchanging their ticket for a later date
while supplies last or a 2021 any-day ticket.
Promoting Good Hygiene - We are one of the few festivals that
have large privies with flushable toilets and running water and soap to wash
hands. However, this year we are adding
at least 190 additional hand-sanitizing stations through the festival and
campground to improve accessibility to all.
Decontamination/Sanitizing - Each night before a festival day,
facilities will be decontaminated with an EPA-approved sanitizer as recommended
by the CDC for the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. Furthermore, TRF staff and participants are
being trained to spot sanitize high-touch areas through the day.
I am proud of how our TRF staff and participants have embraced
the challenge this unprecedented year to implement the Texas health protocols
and best practices at a every level of our operation to foster the best
environment for our employees and guests. I am equally proud of our TRF staff and participant's passionate and
critical feedback over the past few months that assisted greatly with the
tailoring of our plan over this time. Furthermore,
I am thankful for the level of engagement from our local and county authorities
- their input was critical to optimizing the confidence in our preparations
this year. Finally, the entire TRF team
is grateful for the flood of support and encouragement from our patrons and
participants - you have bolstered our resolve and motivation to press on this
year.
Joe Bailey
General Manager
