Step back in time right around the corner

If you look right while driving from Comanche to Gustine on Highway 36, you might notice colorful flags and tents announcing that a local horse ranch has stepped back in time.

Heartlands Renaissance Festival aims to bring the medieval fun closer so newcomers and regulars don’t have to travel to Waxahachie, Austin or Houston for a taste of renaissance faire fun.

The festival is running its soft opening Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through April 14 but it’s boasting a lot of variety and planning for its inaugural season with 43 vendors, on-site camping and a wealth of live entertainment.

Guests paying for the modest $15 day passes or $35 weekend passes (which comes with campsite access) can take in live music like an ocarina player, falconry demonstrations, suited up jousting in the main arena, mounted archery, and more period appropriate games of combat. There are also a few staff on hand to help with Spanish translation and ASL for those that need it.

Co-owner Nicholas Ochoa admits as a first-year event there will be issues to iron out, but he has been traveling circuits selling drinking horns and observing things that work and don’t work at established renaissance faires and startups.

This also allowed him to get contacts to bring in both local vendors as well as those from out of state and entertainers from different areas. Heartlands is also running earlier so their vendors don’t have to choose between it and Scarborough or Texas Renaissance Festival.

“We have a lot of unique things you don’t usually see around here,” said Ochoa.

Vendors are offering a wide variety of goods from leather armor, clothes, handcrafted goods and food including faire favorites like turkey legs and smoked meats to more unusual items.

The event is also partners up with a mead brewery from Abilene.

Jenn Saucier is one such vendor attracted to the new event. She and her husband operate a tent selling face painting, jewel masks, glitter tattoos and custom crocheted jellyfish that can be squeezed for stress relief. Saucier said they traveled 10 hours to attend and are camping on the grounds “We wanted to get on the ground floor for a place that has really good potential,” she said and encouraged those unfamiliar to renaissance festivals to attend for the unique and welcoming atmosphere it provides. Newcomers should expect medieval costumes and are free to wear their own.

Karl Fortin and his partners at Tempest Mystic Products and SpellSword also brought in their businesses for the allure of a new early event, offering custom trinkets, chain mail and jewelry as well as knives and blade sharpening from tiny items to large swords.

“The dream of it all has probably been three years in the making,” said Ochoa, who traced his love of fantasy and medieval history to reading the books of J.R.R. Tolkien and seeing a knight character in a movie with the same last name. He researched the character and found out he was an actual person and they are distant relatives.

“After that, I was hooked and started looking into everything,” he said.

Ochoa was raised on the land where Heartlands is being established and has a history with rodeo riding. His interests eventually led to some casual joust matches and they even started training horses for jousting in other shows.

Ochoa admits his parents probably saw the request to start their own renaissance faire well in advance due to this history and his interests. These interests led him to meet people like co-organizer Rasmi John Zielund and Tony May who have made this opening possible. Ochoa’s main goal is to make sure that patrons, performers and vendors all have a good time and are taken care of so the event can grow. There are also plans for a shorter season in the fall with some potentially spooky vibes. For more information, visit heartlands renaissancefestival.com.