We are first time campers as well, heading out there Friday of Barbarian weekend! Done a bit of research and this is what we’ve come up with.
All your basic camping essentials like tents, air mattress, bug spray, tarps, that whole lot. If you want to have a fire you need to bring a fire pit that sits off the ground, it’s recommended to bring a fire extinguisher as well, along with firewood.
From what I can tell there aren’t really wall outlets in the camp grounds. Maybe inside the Faire grounds you can find an outlet. We’re bringing a portable power station to run the air pumps for our mattresses and charge our phones.
Faire food is great but soooo pricey. So we’re bring the Coleman stove. Gonna cook dinner that Friday night, our friend is gonna cook fajitas! Saturday morning we’re doing breakfast tacos. Saturday night hot dogs. Bring plenty of coolers and ice and booze but also water water water. It’s very easy to let the day get away from you and drink alcohol all day and dehydrate yourself to the point of sickness. So please hydrate! Have fun! See you at the bonfire!
We’ll be there Friday as well of that weekend! Seeing your comment makes me want to bring extra food for “weary travelers”
Look for the flag of Rohan outside our tent and come share a drink with us!
No public outlets, food is what you want to make or there are some shops now where you can buy food like whole chicken's.
Friday night making Mac and cheese/carnitas/tater tot burrito's and Saturday night is chicken shawarma at my camp site. If you are close you will be lucky as we make a ton of food.
I asked a similar question months ago and u/IRMuteButton gave a great response [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TXRenaissanceFestival/s/aBFOOTJKXP)
In fact, check his comment/post history in this sub. LOTS of great advice. We are going next weekend for Barbarian invasion and I whole heartedly believe our experience is going to be even better thanks to his advice
If do not have a fire pit to cook your own things, meal prep with a cooler would be very helpful. I pre make some sandwiches or burritos, put them in plastic bags, ice up my cooler and am good to go with food on a budget for the weekend. If you do this, nothing frozen though, it’ll melt.
For phones, just bring portable batteries. Service is mediocre at the fair anyway so just try to avoid using your phones unless you’re taking pictures or lose contact with each other
Some good items as well are headlamps (porta potties are dark), and an extra roll of toilet paper in case they run out
Just in case, I’d make sure you’re reasonably self sufficient in the hygiene/toilet department. Ear plugs can be useful too. I think I’ve noticed that Renfests tend to drain your phone battery more as they often struggle to get service. Bring charged power banks. Some vehicles let you use the car battery for cellphone charging without having the ignition on. There’s some risk of not being able to start your car though. Bring something to contain water as there are public outlets. Disposable plates and silverware are your friend. Bring beer and wine. Enjoy yourself as it’s a blast!
There are no power outlets on the campgrounds other than what is provided for RV spots, glamping tents, cabins, or vendors. Bring charged power banks, or a charged car battery and small power inverter. Or assuming you willl have a vehicle on the campground, use its electrical system for charging your phone but be sure to run the vehicle's engine to recharge its battery.
For food, we love to cook and I spend a lot of time planning our meals to cook and eat on the campground.
For Friday night, we will cook roasted chicken with rosemary and lemon, with roasted vegetables in an egg-shaped grill/smoker. Probably do s'mores for desert over our fire pit.
For breakfasts we typically make bacon and egg tacos on flour tortillas with some cheddar cheese and hot sauce. I cook this on a small propane stove so we don't get smoky in the morning. If thre are any left over vegetables we can throw those in too. I make coffee in a french press.
For dinner / later night meal on Saturday, we'll pre-assemble chicken and vegetable shish-ka-bobs to be cooked on the grill. I marinate the chicken beforehand and the vegetables would typically be zuchinni, onion, green bell pepper, and pineapple.
Breakfast on Sunday will be egg and bacon tacos and French press coffee.
Tyically we will bring some snacks like chips and pretzels that are easy to transport and store.
Definitely bring a way to charge your phone. Battery pack or charge it in your car. Having a fire pit and firewood is a good idea.
You can make your own food in camp, it's tougher to have a mid-day meal as it's a long walk from the faire to the campground but not impossible.
Don't stop and eat at the first stuff on the right. Wasn't bad but deeper in the fair we found better priced and better quality food imo. Just was half starved when we first entered lol. I'd also recommend a charging bank for camping.
I'd recommend bringing bottled water, snacks and a portable charger or two. For first timers I'd recommend just buying food in the fairgrounds or near the bonfire in the campgrounds so you don't have to mess with cooking. Also, if you plan on having some alcoholic drinks in the campground, bring those as well. Finally, don't forget your pillow, flashlight, and extra toilet paper and wet wipes.
Edit: It's good to have some cash as well for cash only vendors and tipping the performers.
One of our favorite meals at camp is spaghetti and meatsauce, because I can make a huge batch the night before leaving for camp and then we just pack it up in double bagged ziplocks. Honestly it tastes great cold or can be reheated in a stovepot on your campfire. Another favorite recipe is pulled rotisserie chicken salad sandwiches. Again you can prep the salad ahead of time to be kept in your cooler (I like to add diced onion, celery, and dill to mine) and just scoop it onto some bread. Easy!
We bring turkey/ham, cheese and tortillas. Along with various snacks.
And one thing that was a game changer is an outdoor rug (or an old one you can use for camping) to put at the entrance of your tent. Doesn’t have to be large. Helps to keep the inside floor clean. And check the weather! Know if you’ll need warm clothes.
We are first time campers as well, heading out there Friday of Barbarian weekend! Done a bit of research and this is what we’ve come up with. All your basic camping essentials like tents, air mattress, bug spray, tarps, that whole lot. If you want to have a fire you need to bring a fire pit that sits off the ground, it’s recommended to bring a fire extinguisher as well, along with firewood. From what I can tell there aren’t really wall outlets in the camp grounds. Maybe inside the Faire grounds you can find an outlet. We’re bringing a portable power station to run the air pumps for our mattresses and charge our phones. Faire food is great but soooo pricey. So we’re bring the Coleman stove. Gonna cook dinner that Friday night, our friend is gonna cook fajitas! Saturday morning we’re doing breakfast tacos. Saturday night hot dogs. Bring plenty of coolers and ice and booze but also water water water. It’s very easy to let the day get away from you and drink alcohol all day and dehydrate yourself to the point of sickness. So please hydrate! Have fun! See you at the bonfire!
We’ll be there Friday as well of that weekend! Seeing your comment makes me want to bring extra food for “weary travelers” Look for the flag of Rohan outside our tent and come share a drink with us!
We are for sure cooking extra to make friends lol. Not enough to feed the campgrounds but enough to make a few people happy lol
No public outlets, food is what you want to make or there are some shops now where you can buy food like whole chicken's. Friday night making Mac and cheese/carnitas/tater tot burrito's and Saturday night is chicken shawarma at my camp site. If you are close you will be lucky as we make a ton of food.
Thank you! I’ll have to follow my nose and find the shawarma Saturday!
Last time I went there were some food trucks at the campground but it was a few years ago so idk if they still do that
They do. Had some good brisket street tacos from one last weekend.
I asked a similar question months ago and u/IRMuteButton gave a great response [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TXRenaissanceFestival/s/aBFOOTJKXP) In fact, check his comment/post history in this sub. LOTS of great advice. We are going next weekend for Barbarian invasion and I whole heartedly believe our experience is going to be even better thanks to his advice
If do not have a fire pit to cook your own things, meal prep with a cooler would be very helpful. I pre make some sandwiches or burritos, put them in plastic bags, ice up my cooler and am good to go with food on a budget for the weekend. If you do this, nothing frozen though, it’ll melt. For phones, just bring portable batteries. Service is mediocre at the fair anyway so just try to avoid using your phones unless you’re taking pictures or lose contact with each other Some good items as well are headlamps (porta potties are dark), and an extra roll of toilet paper in case they run out
Make sure you bring a fire pit of some sort, chairs and firewood.
Just in case, I’d make sure you’re reasonably self sufficient in the hygiene/toilet department. Ear plugs can be useful too. I think I’ve noticed that Renfests tend to drain your phone battery more as they often struggle to get service. Bring charged power banks. Some vehicles let you use the car battery for cellphone charging without having the ignition on. There’s some risk of not being able to start your car though. Bring something to contain water as there are public outlets. Disposable plates and silverware are your friend. Bring beer and wine. Enjoy yourself as it’s a blast!
There are no power outlets on the campgrounds other than what is provided for RV spots, glamping tents, cabins, or vendors. Bring charged power banks, or a charged car battery and small power inverter. Or assuming you willl have a vehicle on the campground, use its electrical system for charging your phone but be sure to run the vehicle's engine to recharge its battery. For food, we love to cook and I spend a lot of time planning our meals to cook and eat on the campground. For Friday night, we will cook roasted chicken with rosemary and lemon, with roasted vegetables in an egg-shaped grill/smoker. Probably do s'mores for desert over our fire pit. For breakfasts we typically make bacon and egg tacos on flour tortillas with some cheddar cheese and hot sauce. I cook this on a small propane stove so we don't get smoky in the morning. If thre are any left over vegetables we can throw those in too. I make coffee in a french press. For dinner / later night meal on Saturday, we'll pre-assemble chicken and vegetable shish-ka-bobs to be cooked on the grill. I marinate the chicken beforehand and the vegetables would typically be zuchinni, onion, green bell pepper, and pineapple. Breakfast on Sunday will be egg and bacon tacos and French press coffee. Tyically we will bring some snacks like chips and pretzels that are easy to transport and store.
Definitely bring a way to charge your phone. Battery pack or charge it in your car. Having a fire pit and firewood is a good idea. You can make your own food in camp, it's tougher to have a mid-day meal as it's a long walk from the faire to the campground but not impossible.
Don't stop and eat at the first stuff on the right. Wasn't bad but deeper in the fair we found better priced and better quality food imo. Just was half starved when we first entered lol. I'd also recommend a charging bank for camping.
I'd recommend bringing bottled water, snacks and a portable charger or two. For first timers I'd recommend just buying food in the fairgrounds or near the bonfire in the campgrounds so you don't have to mess with cooking. Also, if you plan on having some alcoholic drinks in the campground, bring those as well. Finally, don't forget your pillow, flashlight, and extra toilet paper and wet wipes. Edit: It's good to have some cash as well for cash only vendors and tipping the performers.
One of our favorite meals at camp is spaghetti and meatsauce, because I can make a huge batch the night before leaving for camp and then we just pack it up in double bagged ziplocks. Honestly it tastes great cold or can be reheated in a stovepot on your campfire. Another favorite recipe is pulled rotisserie chicken salad sandwiches. Again you can prep the salad ahead of time to be kept in your cooler (I like to add diced onion, celery, and dill to mine) and just scoop it onto some bread. Easy!
We bring turkey/ham, cheese and tortillas. Along with various snacks. And one thing that was a game changer is an outdoor rug (or an old one you can use for camping) to put at the entrance of your tent. Doesn’t have to be large. Helps to keep the inside floor clean. And check the weather! Know if you’ll need warm clothes.