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Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025

By Aila Boyd

January 30, 2025

Explore Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025, from live combat and medieval games to artisan vendors and themed performances. 

Get ready for a medieval adventure in Virginia in 2025! From live jousting to artisan markets, Renaissance fairs are returning with exciting new events and beloved traditions across the commonwealth. Whether you’re into live performances, hands-on workshops, or just a day of fun, there’s something for everyone at these upcoming festivals.

Renaissance Fairs in Virginia

1. Britchin’ Brown Renaissance Fest at Stable Craft Brewing

Date: April 26

Location: 34 Livery Ln., Waynesboro, VA 22980-6498

Stable Craft Brewing will host its annual Britchin’ Brown Renaissance Festival on April 13 in partnership with the Society for Creative Anachronism. The festival will showcase a variety of Renaissance-inspired activities, including live combat demonstrations, fire performances, sword swallowing, and a traditional melee battle. Visitors can also enjoy dancing, arts, and interactive workshops, such as blacksmithing and woodworking.

Festivalgoers can try the event’s special release, the “Brag About It” Braggot, a honey and malt beer conditioned with blueberries and chile puya peppers, along with Sly Dry, a strong 7% ABV cider. Guests are encouraged to dress in costume, and leashed dogs are welcome.

2. Virginia Renaissance Faire

Dates: May 10-June 8

Location: 5621 Courthouse Rd., Spotsylvania, VA 22551

The Virginia Renaissance Faire, held at Lake Anna Winery in Spotsylvania, offers a weekend of family-friendly fun, adventure, and history. Visitors can experience live archery demonstrations, a blacksmithing showcase, and medieval combat, including jousting and full armor displays. For younger attendees, Poppet’s Pastymes provides fun activities like costume dress-up, puppet shows, and butterfly dancing.

Food vendors serve up a variety of options, from soul food and gyros to turkey legs and funnel cakes, along with sweets like ice cream and kettle corn. Shoppers can browse unique artisan goods, including fine jewelry, handmade musical instruments, historical and fantasy costumes, and spiritual items like crystals and crowns.

Entertainment throughout the fair includes performances such as swordplay, bagpiping, Celtic dance, and a pirate troupe. Past events have featured exciting acts like the fire-dancing troupe Adamo Ignis, the fantasy folk rock band Bard City, and the Blue Run Jousting Troupe, offering a thrilling blend of action and fun.

3. Wolfswood Faire

Date: Aug. 23

Location: 618 Country Club Rd., Appomattox, VA 24522

The Wolfswood Faire invites guests to immerse themselves in a day of medieval fun on August 23, 2025. Attendees can enjoy medieval games, live performances, sword fights, music, dancing, and even a dunk tank. Guests will also have the chance to try mead, savor delicious food from local vendors, and explore artisan booths.

One of the event’s highlights will be the annual “Ruling of the Wolfswood.” Upon arrival, guests will choose a side between the Night Cloak clan, which aims to maintain control (“Strength by blood, honor by fire”), and the Moonfang clan, which is determined to claim victory (“Family, forest, freedom!”). By the end of the event, a new clan will reign over the forest.

The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wolf PAC outdoor venue. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children 10 and under, with free admission for children five and under.

A variety of food vendors will be on hand, including Dungeon Brew Coffee, Emmadale Fish & Chips Takeout, Hoof & Feather BBQ, and Wolfbane Bar & Concessions. Artisan vendors, such as Backwoods3D, Bedlam Leather Works, and DragonHill Holistic Healing, will showcase their crafts, while the Society for Creative Anachronism will offer a sword circle for attendees to participate in.

4. Olde Dominion Fantasy & Medieval Faire

Dates: September (dates TBA)

Location: 1336 Simmons Mill Rd., Thaxton, VA 24174 

The Olde Dominion Fantasy & Medieval Faire returns this September with a unique interactive role-playing experience that celebrates both old traditions and the power of imagination. Guests of all ages can join in live quests, meet characters like Robin Hood and Prince John, and work their way up the ranks in knighthood.

In addition to the quests, visitors can enjoy live music, a vendor market, food, refreshments, and a variety of entertainers. This fair, which first debuted in 2023, aims to create an immersive environment where the veil between reality and fantasy is thin, and anything is possible.

5. Ravenwood Faire

Dates: Oct. 17-19, 24-26

Location: 250 Fairground Rd., Clear Brook, VA 22624

Ravenwood Faire offers a lively, family-friendly medieval celebration featuring games, feasts, music, and thrilling performances. The Baron and Baroness of Ravenwood, alongside the baronies of Terranor, Windemere, Emberon, and Aquitaine, invite all guests to join in the festivities to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.

While the celebration promises joy, rumors swirl about tensions between the baronies, adding an air of intrigue to the festivities. Visitors can explore artisan vendors selling jewelry, crystals, clothing, and more, as well as enjoy live demonstrations, including magic, juggling, bagpiping, swordplay, and Celtic dance.

Guests can watch thrilling events such as jousting, full medieval armor combat, axe throwing, archery, and performances by a pirate troupe and a Viking camp. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting June 30.

Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025

A young attendee watches a live demonstration. (Ravenwood Faire)

Nearby Renaissance Fairs

1. West Virginia Renaissance Festival

Dates: June 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29

Location: 23439 Midland Trail East, Lewisburg, WV 24901

The West Virginia Renaissance Festival, presented by the Hanlon-Lees Action Theater and Hollow Hills Farm, transports visitors to the enchanting village of Essex in the Greenbrier Valley. This vibrant festival has grand jousts, live music, artisan markets, and exciting entertainment, including jugglers, magicians, and rope walkers. Themed weekends add extra flair, such as Celtic Crossing (June 7-8), where visitors can enjoy Celtic music and dance, or Pirates Landing (June 14-15), with pirate costume contests and family packages. Other themed weekends like Vikings Valhalla and Time Travelers (June 21-22 and 28-29, respectively) bring unique celebrations and costume contests.

For those seeking fun and mischief, the Faerie Queen Titania and her enchanted forest await, along with opportunities to enjoy local brews, food like turkey legs, quesadillas, and jerk chicken, and sweet treats such as chocolate-dipped desserts. Guests can also try their hand at various games, including archery, ax throwing, and a castle escape room.

Notable acts include “Puppies of Penzance,” a dog show full of tricks, and “Jousting Knights and Steeds,” featuring America’s longest-running theatrical joust. For those looking to explore the village’s pubs, the Friar Tuck-led pub crawl offers an adult-only experience, with stops for drinks and plenty of laughter.

Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025

Attendees watch an outdoor performance at the West Virginia Renaissance Festival. (West Virginia Renaissance Festival)

2. Maryland Renaissance Festival

Dates: Aug. 23-24. 30-31, Sept. 1, 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28, Oct. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19

Location: 1821 Crownsville Rd., Annapolis, MD 21401

The Maryland Renaissance Festival is renowned for its combination of exceptional craftsmanship and the immersive atmosphere of a 16th-century English village. It offers a wide range of unique and high-quality handmade crafts. The artisans, selected through a jury process, display their wares in 16th-century-style shops. Each year, new artisans are juried from a pool of applicants, ensuring that the festival showcases some of the most talented and recognized craftsmen in the region. The festival’s selective approach creates a high customer-to-vendor ratio, providing visitors with a memorable shopping experience.

Among the many crafts represented at the festival are clothing, jewelry, footwear, masks, woodworking, leatherwork, puppetry, and quilting. The festival also features artisans specializing in knife and sword making, Celtic wear, stained glass, marquetry, and glassblowing. Visitors can find various handmade items, including herbal and potpourri blends, fantasy figurines, pottery, soap and lotions, brooms, and garden art. Service artistry is also offered, with hair braiding and assorted readers on hand to add to the experience.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025Renaissance fairs coming to Virginia in 2025

  • Aila Boyd

    Aila Boyd is a Virginia-based educator and journalist. She received her MFA in writing from Lindenwood University.

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