RenFest offers a royal good time with food, drink, entertainment in 16th-century setting
The Ohio Renaissance Festival will hit the midpoint of its season Saturday and Sunday, and there’s still plenty of time to visit during one of its themed weekends in the next month.
Step back into 16th-century English times of kings and queens at Renaissance Park, 10542 E. State Route 73 in Harveysburg, just off Interstate 71. The festival, which began in 1990, was forced to cancel last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although it did host limited-access events for several weekends.
Its return this year offers plenty of full-on jousting, jesting and juggling on the 35-acre grounds. Renaissance comedians, dancers, musicians, storytellers and sword fighters entertain patrons on 15 stages in almost 100 shows daily, and hundreds of costumed performers mix with festival-goers throughout the village.
Additionally, more than 150 artisans offer everything from clothing to jewelry to weaponry to home décor—much of it with a Renaissance flare. Artisans also provide demonstrations on blacksmithing, boot making, candle making, coin stamping, glass blowing, leather tooling and more.
For the remaining five of the Renaissance Festival’s nine weekends, get inspired with the festival’s themes (all days are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.):
Time Travelers Weekend
This coming Saturday and Sunday: Dress as your favorite character inspired by a movie, TV series, comic book, sci-fi or fantasy work. Costume contests for adults and kids.
Viking Weekend
Oct. 9-10: Gather your nomadic horde. Eat, drink, and pillage your way through the village.
Romance Weekend
Oct. 16-17: Celebrate Sweetest Day. Hearts ablaze as couples renew their vows in a free renewal of vows mass ceremony at St. Peter’s Chapel. Through the years, more than 500 couples have married at the festival, and countless others have renewed their vows or proposed marriage.
Feast of Fools Weekend
Oct. 23-24: Be foolish. Really, it’s OK. The village will be filled with fools of all sizes and their foolish antics.
Tricks or Treats Weekend
Oct. 30-31: Mingle with the cast and enjoy your favorite show, drink and food—perhaps a giant turkey leg, steak-on-a-stick or bread bowl stews—one last time on Halloween weekend. Wee ones 12 and younger are free.
Two new experiences this year:
· The Royal Feast, a five-course meal each Saturday and Sunday (limited to 100 seats; tickets are $75).
· Ale Trail, in which participants browse through the village marketplace, stopping at any of the 13 locations for craft beer, ale, cider, mead or specialty cocktail, and earning their way to a drawing for a 2022 Season Pass prize package.
More than 3.43 million people have attended the festival since it began.
