TODD MISSION, Texas — The 50th season of the Texas Renaissance Festival begins Saturday.
Festival workers said pre-sale tickets are up 20% already this year and are looking at the possibility this will be the biggest year of the festival yet.
Workers and vendors were busy prepping for opening day on Friday; hanging paintings, wiping down the windows of the taverns, and watering the dirt in the jousting arena.
"We do dresses as well, of course, custom and we have custom embroidery and this is all done in-house," Ravenswood Leather owner Reginald Hastings said.
Hastings opened his shop at the festival 20 years ago. You will see plenty of his custom designs walking around the festival over the next few weekends. Among his most popular items are his belts. His leatherwear caters to from "pirates and assassins to rogues and scallions."
Hastings has done so well that he has been able to open a second shop across the street which he built himself.
The festival has become more inclusive over the decades, attracting more of the fantasy world as it has evolved.
Hastings' newest store is for those who are lovers of Dungeons and Dragons and Harry Potter.
But whatever you're into, be it leather or mead, you're likely to find it at the Texas Renaissance Festival.