Medieval/Renaissance Faires 2017

Normally, I would wait until late spring to do a list of medieval fairs I was going to attend this year. However, there is a winter faire coming up, so I am posting earlier than normal.

The majority of these faires I am planning to, some I may attend. Many of these faires I have attended before, while there are a few that will be my first time. I will also quickly reference some of the enjoyable acts or vendors I have seen at this faires. My next post will delve deeper into this and give specific information about them.

So let’s get started on the faires:

VTRF Winter Faire (Put on by the people who give us the Vermont Renaissance Faire)- This is going to be held March 4 at Shelburne, Vt.  It is the first time this faire will be run.  I am looking forward to attending this faire, and as usual, I will include a review of it.

Mayfaire on the Green (Holland Patent, NY)- I attended this faire for the first time in 2016.  Although, it is small in size compared to many of the faires I usually attend, it is very enjoyable and had some wonderful artisan’s and performers. Please look at my review from last year. At this time, the website is not updated to reflect the dates, but their Facebook page says it will be on May 20 and 21.

Robin Hood Springtime Festival (North Haven, CT)- I found out about this faire when I attended the Connecticut Renaissance Fair (see reference lower on page).  This is a particular faire I have not attended, but since I enjoyed myself so much at the CRF, I am heading to this one.  As with the CRF, this faire has themed weekends. It runs from May 13 – 29 on the weekends, and also includes Memorial Day.

NY Capital District Renaissance Festival (Altamont, NY) This is a faire which is held close to my apartment near Albany, NY.  It is a very good faire, with enjoyable acts and entertainers. This was the first time I saw “Vixens En Garde”, a group I often mention when I see then at faires. It will be held June 10-11 at the Indian Ladder Farms. My review of the faire from last year has more details.

Mutton and Meade (Montague, MA) –This has been my go to festival for the last several years.  I truly enjoy this festival.  It is well run, and is located on a large area. See my review of 2015, and 2016 reviews.  If I had to make a suggestion to those who run this festival, it would be to put it on more weekends. It will run this year on June 24 and 25.

Krebashia Kingdom Medieval Fantasy Faire(Malone, NY) – I had attended this faire several years ago.  It is a small faire, but the promoters are constantly bringing in new and good attractions. Due to its distance from me, I might not be able to attend annualy as I do with other faires.  Read my review from the last time I attended this faire. (NOTE:  I JUST HEARD THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.  I am leaving this in my post, in case it returns next year).

Faeland Festival (Malcomb, NY) - A festival I have not attended yet.  This is a faire dedicated more to nature, and the fairy realm then to the medieval or renaissance era. Like the previous faire, its distance might be too far for me to attend; however, if you are in the area you should put this on your list of events to attend.

Below the Gaff performing at the Market of the Moons Renaissance Faire

Market of the Moons Renaissance Faire – This is a very enjoyable faire.  I attended this last year (post), and had a wonderful time.  It is where I met my new publisher of my novel “Legend of the Mystic Knights”, Tayla Goodman.  She is a member of a group called “Below the Gaff”,  they are very good, and I enjoyed their album “Warship”.

This year I may try to camp over there, and go to their After Hours section of the faire; this should be very fun and enjoyable. The dates for this faire has not been set yet.

Sterling Renaissance Faire (sterling, NY)- This is located in Upstate NY, and was the first type of these faires I ever attended.  It located on a permanent site, which consists of buildings styled after those built during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.  It is a wonderful faire, and I encourage everyone to attend. Please read my review from 2016.

Windfall Dutch Barn Medieval Fair (Salt Springville, NY) - Another smaller faire, but still very enjoyable. This is located in the beautiful region called Cherry Valley.  The Windfall Dutch Barn is a pre-revolutionary reconstructed structure; this medieval faire is one of the major fundraisers for the maintenance and promotion of the barn.  Read more about this faire from last year. At this time the faire dates for 2017 has not been announced. although it is usually held on the 2nd weekend in August. 

Silver Kingdom Renaissance Faire (Charlton, Ma).  This is a great local faire, and is very entertaining. I saw one of my favorite group of knights, the Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword.  As usual, they put on a very informative and entertaining performance. Some of the other performance and educational events I liked was L.I.A.R.S. and the Primerose Pirates, see my review from 2016. The Faire will be held August 19 and 20^th.

When you reading last year’s post, check out the comment by Gia Volterra de Saulnier. She is the co-owner of this faire; she also puts out a wonderful website about medieval/renaissance faire performers, and history itself. 

New York State Renaissance Faire (Tuxedo park, NY) -  The biggest faire (Sterling is the only one who car rival it) in New York State. Like its rival, it has physical buildings representing the time era. This is a very entertaining fair and has something for everyone.  It actually has so much, that I attended it twice last year and tried to describe as much as I could in my post.  It runs in late summer from August 5-October 1^st. Check out their themed weekends for 2017.

Queen Elizabeth at the Connecticut Renaissance Festival knighting one of her subjects

Connecticut Renaissance Festival (North Haven, CT) - I will definitely go back to this faire this year. The entire faire was enjoyable, from the acts like Below the Gaff, to the Cirque De Sewer, to the in house production of a Midsummer’s Night Musical.

I had mentioned, two of my favorite items at this fair, was the Pub Crawl, where the entertainers of the fair reguiled everyone with song, and also the acress who played Queen Elizabeth. Who took the time to meet and great many of the people attending the faire, particular the children. I will definitely attend this faire in the upcoming years. Read my full review from last year. This faire runs from September 2-October 9^th .  This faire also includes themed weekends. 

So there are the faires I plan on attending in 2017. Some I may indeed not be able to go to, but if not, I still wish you to take the time yourself to check them out. There might be others I have not heard about that I will attend, so please check back in future posts for information.

Next time:  Who to see at a Medieval/Renaissance Faire.

W.A.Rusho is a professional wrestler, amateur historian and author.  You can contact him at his website, or via email.