Nashville's local news and NPR station

Listen: Mermaids, mushroom fairies and royalty joust and jest at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival

Magnolia McKayWPLN
Lords and ladies in waiting rest while they wait for their queen to finish tea.
Share:

The Tennessee Renaissance Festival is back in action each weekend this May. Listen to the audio postcard above to hear voices of the festival’s performers, from historical figures to mythical creatures.

Each May, the grounds of Williamson County’s Castle Park are set up to become Covington Glen, a medieval village complete with a marketplace and jousting arena. This year is the 38th edition of the festival.

Magnolia McKay WPLN

A knight rallies his supporters on the tournament field.

Magnolia McKay WPLN

Fairies frolic in the wood of Covington Glen.

The official map is crucial for festivalgoers visiting the Glen. Say you’ve just been on the tournament field for the royal joust and want to head to the Mermaid Grotto for the meet and greet: Just head up Oden’s Pass and hang a right at Lords and Ladies Crossing. While at the intersection, pick up a turkey leg. And if you get distracted by the swords, jewelry and fairy wings for sale along the way, go ahead and indulge. Most of the performances happen multiple times each day.

Magnolia McKay WPLN

Mermaids pose with their handler, Bootstrap Jill, in the Mermaid Grotto.

Magnolia McKay WPLN

Captain Red Swash Rogers poses with his booty at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.

As you sample the performances and vendors, you may find your inner viking, fairy, pirate or bard.

Dressing up in medieval garb is encouraged, but not required. If you can work a parasol, wide-brim hat or fan into your costume, though, do it! With temperatures in the 80’s for May’s remaining weekends, two modern items you’ll want to bring are sunscreen and bug spray.

Nevertheless, the heat doesn’t keep out the droves of medieval enthusiasts who flock to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival each year.

Magnolia McKay WPLN News

Entertainers portraying Queen Elizabeth and her court enjoy the Tennessee Renaissance Festival’s daily closing ritual, the Festival of Song.

Magnolia McKay

Magnolia McKay is a multimedia producer based in Nashville who first cut her audio journalism teeth in San Francisco at NPR affiliate station KALW. The features she produced for their daily show Crosscurrents won regional and national awards for Investigative Reporting, Best Use of Sound, and Excellence in Audio Features Journalism. She is passionate about audio storytelling and particularly loves uncovering the historical contexts that illuminate current events. She created and hosts a podcast called the Post Purity Project. An interest in learning more about the origins of the purity movement is what ultimately led her to Nashville. Back in San Francisco, she was also a peer counselor at San Francisco Women Against Rape, where she supported survivors on a hotline, in one-on-one counseling and in emergency rooms. When she isn't working, she is most likely enjoying a craft cocktail at a local watering hole or singing at your friendly neighborhood karaoke joint.

on-air light On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM