Texas Renaissance Festival Escapes Fire Damage… So Far

University of Houston radio station KUHF reports:

The wildfires outside of Magnolia have burned close to the site of the Texas Renaissance Festival. But so far the 100-acre fairgrounds have escaped damage. The festival, which runs for eight consecutive weekends, is still set to open as scheduled, one month from today.

The festival grounds are currently being used as a staging area for fire equipment and emergency workers.

Marketing director Gina Rotolo says staffers are helping out, but are also gearing up for an on-time opening on October 8th.

“This is certainly happening at a time that is a little too close for comfort for us. But we realize in the grand scheme of things that are hundreds of people and thousands of acres around us that have been impacted and affected in such a harsh, harsh way that we’ve been incredibly fortunate.”

…

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, every autumn for 10 years, I spent six weekends performing at TRF with a group called The Broken Consort. I wore a silly costume that had little if anything to do with the Renaissance. TRF was a paid gig; indeed, over a period of years, it just about paid for most of my woodwind instruments and part of my first harpsichord.

It is difficult for me to feel nostalgia for that experience: playing four sets a day in four different locations in a park that was by turns dusty and muddy, keeping track of instruments and especially chasing children away from our cache of instruments, dealing with obnoxious and sometimes drunk attendees, etc. is guaranteed not to evoke fond memories. But I’m glad the place isn’t burning. It’s not that far from Magnolia, and I can only hope the flames don’t make it to the festival grounds. The smoke is certainly aggravating my throat and sinuses every night in Houston.

So far they’ve lost almost 1400 homes in various Texas wildfires around the state, and progress in fighting them is uneven. Keep your fingers crossed.