Disclaimer: The publisher of this website is not affiliated with the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Acts and schedules are subject to change from year to year, month to month, and even weekend to weekend. Consult the Maryland Renaissance Festival for the latest information.
What to Do at the Maryland Renaissance Fair in 2022
Prepare thyself for merriment!
Easily one of the most beloved annual festivals in the DMV, the Maryland Renaissance Festival is back once again this year. There are so many things to see and do at such festivals that it can be a bit overwhelming.
Being prepared for it will maximize your enjoyment of the festivities. Keep reading for an overview of what to expect at the fair, answers to FAQs, and a list with descriptions of what you shouldn’t miss.
What’s a Renaissance Fair?
In case this is your first time or you need a refresher, a Renaissance Fair is typically an outdoor annual gathering aimed at recreating the architecture, dress, speech, cuisine, customs, and general ambience of the Renaissance period. The Maryland festival focuses on the 16th century, specifically during the reign of King Henry VIII. It takes place within the confines of a walled village the size of several stadiums. The village in Maryland is called Revel Grove. You’ll find a variety of artisans, merchants, and food vendors here, as well as many comedic, dramatic, and musical performances.
Maryland Renaissance Fair Grounds, Restrooms, and Crowds
The Maryland Renaissance Festival is in a wooded and partially shaded area. Lanes or paths separate rows of buildings. The ground is mostly unpaved dirt, which is dusty when it’s dry outside and muddy when it rains.
Bathrooms at the fair are porta potties. They’re not the best facilities you’ve seen and probably won’t be very clean by mid-day. Running water should be available to wash your hands. You may wish to bring some paper with you, as they sometimes run out toward the end of the day.
Be forewarned that festivals like these get crowded, lines can get long, and the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over. This fair is likely to be most crowded in late September and October. Decide on whether and how to participate based on your own personal risk tolerance. If you’re not up to going this year, feel free to read this anyways for planning purposes and go at some point down the road when you feel more comfortable.
What are the Renaissance Festival Dates?
The festival takes place for only a few months each year, during the late summer and fall when the weather is most comfortable for such outdoor events. It usually begins around the last week of August and ends during the second half of October.
The fair is held on Saturdays and Sundays during that time frame. You can’t go on a weekday unless it’s a holiday like Labor Day.
In 2022, the Maryland Renaissance Festival will be held on weekends starting on August 27th and ending on October 23rd. If you’re reading this after the festivities have concluded, the fair will probably return during a similar time frame in 2023.
The only time the festival was canceled entirely in recent memory was the first year of the pandemic in 2020.
Where is the Renaissance Fair? Crownsville, Near Annapolis Maryland
The Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2022 is back at its usual location in Crownsville, near Annapolis, Maryland. The physical address is 1821 Crownsville Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 if you need it for Google Maps or a GPS device.
The roads leading to it are small and narrow. They’ll get quite congested and you’ll end up sitting in traffic for a while if you visit at peak times.
Maryland is not the only state that hosts Renaissance Fairs. You may also find them in Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, and other states. But this blog article addresses only the one located in Maryland.
How Much is the Renaissance Festival?
You must purchase your tickets online, not in person.
Festival tickets are available online and prices are generally lower in late August and early September than during the peak season of mid-September until late October. Expect to pay $24-30 per adult (aged 16-61), with discount tickets for senior citizens and children. Kids under the age of 7 can enter for free.
At the time of this writing, multi-day passes were sold out. Check the main site for the latest in case this situation changes.
In addition to the tickets, you’ll probably want to buy food, souvenirs, and games. Bring some extra cash, as not all vendors accept credit cards.
Renaissance Festival in Maryland Hours
The fair opens at 10:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm each day that it’s open.
Parking and Arrival at the Fair
Parking is free of charge. You and other drivers will be guided to a certain area where you’ll pick a spot in a vast, grassy field. Make a mental note of exactly where you parked because it can be tricky to find your way back, especially if you depart earlier than the majority of attendees.
Upon entry, be sure to pick up a hard copy of the Renaissance Festival map. Familiarize yourself with the locations of the main areas, review the schedule, and plan what you want to visit and when.
Here’s a tip: if there’s a show you really want to see, aim to show up early to make sure you get a good seat.
Here’s another tip: if you need to leave partway through, you can probably get your hand stamped and return to the fair the same day free of charge.
When the fair opens at around mid-morning, you’ll hear the King’s Welcome. Costumed performers will give you an introduction to the Royal Court and villagers, setting the stage for the day’s adventures.
10 Experiences to Have at the Fair
1. Check out the Costumes and Buildings
The people watching is probably half the fun of going to the fair. Renaissance Festivals are renowned for their striking period costumes. Actors and regular attendees routinely walk across the fair grounds dressed as various historical figures from the Renaissance.
However, you’ll soon see that the festival isn’t strictly limited to Renaissance themes and activities. Plenty of people use the fair as an excuse to wear any costume they like, so the fair in some respects is like a dress rehearsal for Halloween.
In addition to those dressed in Renaissance garb, you might see Vikings and pirates. Or sorcerers, elves, or characters from Game of Thrones. It gets even more outlandish than that. Don’t be surprised to see a Star Wars Stormtrooper wearing a kilt or people wearing dinosaur or alien costumes, among other unusual sights. One time I even saw someone in a cloak riding a dragon.
You can don a costume at home and wear it to the fair. If you don’t have a costume, you can rent one at the fair itself.
Dress up if you want. Or don’t. It’s up to you.
Don’t miss the distinctive architecture at the festival either. Walking down the tree-lined lanes, you’ll see an assortment of half-timbered shoppes and other buildings aimed to look like those of the medieval and Renaissance eras. Some house art galleries and other fair vendors.
2. Get A Giant Turkey Leg and Other Snacks from Festival Vendors
The iconic Renaissance Festival food is the giant smoked turkey leg. Order one from a counter. It’ll be heated for a few moments behind the scenes and then presented to you. Though delicious regardless, the size of the leg you’ll be served is a roll of the dice. You might get a giant one. However, I’ve been unlucky the past couple of times I’ve bought them and ended up with a relatively small one each time.
You’ll find plenty of other Renaissance Festival foods that certainly sound authentic and probably wouldn’t look out of place in a European Renaissance tavern. These include the steak on a stake (or porkchop on a stake), soup in a bread bowl, Huntsman’s Sandwich, and baked potato.
Maybe you’ll wash it all down with a cider or swig of mead from an ox’s horn. You might try the “bee sting,” which is half hard cider and half mead. Other popular adult beverages at the fair include ale, beer, and raspberry wine.
Or partake of “Mylde Drinks – to Soothe and Cool Your Browe,” such as… Pepsi and Mountain Dew.
You’ll see plenty of other food and drink that certainly were not on any menus during the Renaissance period, like corn dogs, ice cream cannoli, Key Lime Pie on a Stick, and waffle sundaes. They’re fun and tasty nonetheless.
3. Watch Archery and Jousting Contests
Check the schedule and make your way over to the stadium/Jousting Field early to get a good seat ahead of the fair’s archery and jousting competitions.
You can see demonstrations of the power of actual English longbows, like the ones that propelled the English to victory against the French during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
For the jousting contests, armored participants mount their trusty steeds and square off against each other with dulled lances.
4. Compete in the Games
You probably can’t joust, but you can take your pick from a wide range of other games at the Renaissance Festival similar to those you might find at a carnival. Each is likely to cost you a few dollars to play.
For example, there’s a strength contest called Thor’s Hammer, where you pick up a giant mallet and swing it against a marker as hard as you can. The game scores you based on how hard you hit the target. The lowest scores will dub you a Plague Victim or Mead Head. A high scoring participant will be marked as a Warrior King or Valhalla.
Looking for something else? You can also climb a rock wall. Take part in a knife, throwing star, or axe-throwing competition. Or participate in a crossbow shooting contest.
There’s also a game called Skittles, which is similar to bowling.
5. Watch the Comedy and Musical Performances
The many stages you’ll see on the map hint at the many choices you’ll have for comedy and musical viewing at the festival.
The Danger Committee is a trio who perform remarkable and humorous feats on stage involving juggling, knife throwing, and axe throwing, and maybe some fire and a whip or two.
The London Broil regularly performs several shows including “Blades of Death,” “Juggling Well Done,” and improv comedy called “Lets Loose.”
Hilby the Skinny German Boy often delivers comedic performances that include juggling.
Learn about dining at the Cakes and Ale presentation, which provides a funny but also educational overview of what they ate and drank (and how) in 16th-century Tudor England.
The musical entertainment is wonderful at the Renaissance Festival. For some great Irish and Scottish music, try to catch one of the thrilling bagpipes and drums performances of the Piper Jones Band; they’ve been regulars at the fair for years. You may also hear the music of Bayfield Brass, The Hooligans, and Music the Gathering.
The evening may conclude with a Pub Sing that involves most of the performers.
6. Visit the Museum of Unnatural History
For a surreal spoof of the Museum of Natural History, check out the Museum of “Unnatural” History. There’s an entry charge of a few dollars. By the entrance you’ll see a “Cursing” Well framed by human skulls.
Inside you’ll walk down dimly lit corridors, observing models of fantastic creatures that may include imps, elves, gremlins, hobarts, and other strange things.
7. Browse the Souvenir Shops
There are plenty of souvenirs at the fair’s “shoppes.” You can browse at a bookstore or buy the wares from a blacksmith, goldsmith, or silversmith. Take a look at the selection of swords, knives, and armor. Consider the beeswax candles and incense.
You might see some truly unique souvenirs as well, like a flock of crows made from oyster shells standing in a tree atop a faux mountain.
8. Watch a Shakespearean Performance
Shakespeare’s Skum has been one of the longstanding performers of Shakespeare at the festival. They’ll perform a selection of the bard’s plays, such as MacBeth or Julius Caesar, with each performance lasting a mere 20 minutes or so.
STREETspeare is even briefer, performing excerpts lasting 5-15 minutes from Shakespeare’s plays. You can find the performers on stage or the lanes running through the fair grounds.
9. See a Glassblowing Demonstration
Look but don’t touch at one of the glassblowing demonstrations as vendors mold super hot liquid glass into a variety of functional and ornamental designs. Many of these will be available for sale. Take a look at the glassware, ornamental stained glass, vases, and other odds and ends.
10. Visit the Militia Tent
Near the Jousting Field, you’re likely to find the Militia Tent. Observe demos of leather, metal, and woodworking here. Weapons experts will be on hand to answer your questions about Renaissance-era weaponry. Take a look at the racks that contain their handiwork, including bows, flails, knives, maces, pikes, and quarterstaffs.
Other Things to See at the Fair
What else might you see? In previous years, participants have seen large animals and there have been elephant, camel, and pony rides. However, that’s no guarantee you’ll keep seeing them; their presence at these fairs is controversial.
You might also see a skills contest that involves throwing a ball at a target that results in some hapless person getting dunked into a tank of water.
That wraps up this overview of the main things to be aware of before your visit to the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
May a good time be had by all.
Huzzah!
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