Named best New Renaissance Festival in the nation, Sherwood Forest Faire opens February 9

MCDADE, Texas, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sherwood Forest Faire, named "2012 Best New Renaissance Festival" by Renaissance Magazine, opens its 2013 season Saturday, February 9.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/DA52134)

Delighting visitors since 2010, Sherwood Forest Faire attendance increases substantially every year mostly through word of mouth. Debuting with 30,000 visitors, the faire hosted 60,000 in 2012. See what all the fuss is about at the YELP and foursquare reviews online.

Before there were virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft, before HD and the second coming of 3D, there were the alternative realities of renaissance fairs where you can really get into the "game" or just stroll through a medieval world of Men in Tights, Faeries, Knights Templar, people standing on each other's' shoulders juggling flaming torches, and - uniquely at Sherwood Forest Faire - full contact jousting and Texas Made Mead! (Here's a little peek!)

Sherwood Forest Faire is a Renaissance Festival based on the tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men set on a 23-acre permanent village in the Lost Pines region of Texas just east of Austin with more than 100 permanent shoppes, pubs, restaurants and stages.

Visit Sherwood Forest Faire over eight weekends in February and March for a medieval-themed show with lots of musical, comedic and dramatic performances every day, including a full-contact heavy armor joust, a falconry show, feasts, and wine tastings - all in period costume and character, plus the ongoing Robin Hood story - which might just make you part of its alternate reality.

It's a family-friendly magical experience with rides and games and Once Upon a Time especially for the kids.  Take a trip back to 1192 where Robin Hood and his Merry Men battle the evil Guy of Gisbourne and his henchmen as Richard the Lion-hearted, King of England, is to be re-crowned before traveling back to France to thwart upstart Barons.  

Beware; there be all manner of Lords and Ladies, Knights, Barbarians, Wizards, and Fools. There be creatures of the wood - Faeries, Elves, Goblins, Trolls, and the like. There be a motley and unruly band of pirates marooned on the River Trent. And, oddly, William Shakespeare himself has found his way to Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest - 400 years before his own time!

For directions and more information on Sherwood Forest Faire: http://www.sherwoodforestfaire.com/

SOURCE Sherwood Forest Faire