*Indicates events I’ve personally attended myself

- *Yule Ball (January - Annapolis, MD). $60/ticket each night. Hotel room block is $109/night. Historically only one night (Saturday), the 2025 event will have a ball both Friday and Saturday evening. The first night is more fantasy-themed and the 2nd evening is most eras (Viking-Victorian), and even includes Steampunk. This isn’t a historically accurate crowd, but rather a group who enjoys food, dancing, music, and costumes! Saturday will feature a vendor market from 11am-3pm. https://www.mdyuleball.com/home

- *Mythicon (February - Gettysburg, PA). $120 includes all day passes and ball admissions. Other options can be purchased separately. Hotel room block is about $125/night. Imagine an indoor renaissance festival in the wintertime—that is this event! There’s amazing vendor markets each day with all sorts artisan handmade items, and then a ball both evenings (Friday and Saturday). There’s even an indoor pool in the middle of the hotel where you can see mermaids swimming! And nestled in Gettysburg, there’s all sorts of neat places to eat and drink while you’re already in town. https://mythicon.me

- *George Washington Ball (March - Williamsburg, VA). $35 ticket. This is a costumed evening of historical dancing. They teach the dances early in the evening and it’s hosted in an old church. Since we were already costumed, we dressed up and had dinner at King’s Arms Tavern before the ball. https://williamsburgheritagedancers.org/special-events/george-washington-ball/

- *Virginia Renaissance Faire (May-June- Spotsylvania, VA). The Virginia Renaissance Faire is set in a fictionalized 16th century English town called Staffordshire, where the townspeople are celebrating the arrival of Queen Elizabeth and her court. This venue is located on the property of a winery, so it’s nice to order a bottle and share with friends https://varf.org

- *Celtic Fling & Highland games (at Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim, PA - June). They have all sorts of music (traditional pipe bands, modern Celtic rock bands), plus delicious Celtic cuisine, fresh brewed ales, wines, ciders, etc. I considered this sort of renfaire-lite (so not super heavy costume garb)! My friends wore kilts and I wore a Celtic-inspired green dress http://www.parenfaire.com/celtic.html

- *West Virginia Renaissance Festival (June - Lewisburg, VA). I really liked this venue because the jousting was sort of in a valley, surrounded by all the shops and food, so you could easily just plant yourself in the grass and watch on. The food vendors were really good too! https://www.wvrenfest.com

- *Oakenmist Renaissance Faire (August - Howard County Fairgrounds in Friendship, MD). This was just a small one-day faire, but I was very impressed with the entertainment and artisan vendors! https://oakenmist.com

- *Maryland Renaissance Festival (August-October - Crownsville, MD). MDRF’s Revel Groveutilizes a story line about King Henry VIII, through all his reign and all six of his wives, so each year you get a different story! I consider this one my “home faire,” so I have a lot more to say about this one and am incredibly biased. After visiting many other faires, I have to say that the food and drink here are amazing, as well as the quality of acts and entertainment. Many of their taverns also feature music and entertainment, so bring your clacks fans to sing along. Tickets sell out at least 4-5 weeks in advance for this one, so plan ahead! https://rennfest.com

- *Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (August-October - Manheim, PA). PARF has all sorts of year-round events, but this is their main renfaire when the entire park is open, to include the jousting area. One really nice perk of this faire is that they have indoor plumbing versus the outdoor ports potties! http://www.parenfaire.com/

- *Texas Renaissance Festival (October-November - Todd Mission, TX). This faire was so insanely huge, you’ll need to go at least 2 days! And whereas lines get long at other faire for food and drink, not TX. I don’t think I waited in a single line more than 5 minutes. For entertainment, I highly recommend checking out the Spice Boys (a pirate boy band), Tease of the Seas (burlesque), and Wyrmwood Public House (like an old Parisian cabaret venue with variety acts and great cocktails). Honestly, there’s way too many amazing shows to list, though! If you like seafood, the park’s étouffées near the jousting were sooooo good. https://www.texrenfest.com

- *Carolina Renaissance Festival (October-November - Davidson, NC). This faire was a lot of fun—good food (BBQ mac and cheese was *chef’s kiss*), drinks, and even live mermaids who dove down, grabbed an oyster, and it gets shucked for you to keep the pearl in a necklace! I also saw some amazing shows here (some new to me, others I’ve seen before): Barely Balanced, Hey Nunnie! Nunnie!, The Reelin’ Rogues, Vagabonds & Sailors, and The CRAIC Show. I highly recommend visiting during Christmas Pirate weekend—so many creative costumes! https://www.carolina.renfestinfo.com

- *Yuletide (at Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim, PA - November-December). For this event, only a portion of the park is open, but it’s very focused on holiday shopping, acts, and food/drink. There’s even a Krampus who yells at you if he catches you smiling. And for adults only— I recommend checking out Arthur Greenleaf Holmes in the Absinthe Garden. He does an incredibly inappropriate and hilarious poetry reading act. http://www.parenfaire.com/yuletide.html

I like to make my own base costumes, but love to accessorize with items from other artisans. This is by no means an exhaustive list nor does an omission mean that I don’t endorse an artisan, but rather items I’d recommend based on my own actual purchases. I’ll continue to add as I visit more renfaires!

HATS

- Dragon Wings (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). https://dragonwings.net/collections/all-hats-and-headwear

- Blonde Swan (the shop I purchased at in-person was at Texas Renaissance Festival). https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlondeSwanHats

JEWELRY & HEADPIECES

- Brass Dragon (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). http://www.thebrassdragon.net

FINE LEATHER GOODS

- Wayward Leather (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). This is an especially neat shop for unique and colorful leather bags and pieces https://waywardleather.com

- A Thousand Rasps. (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). This shop has such neat belt accessories such as bags and bells, as well as gorgeous armor https://www.athousandrasps.com

- Potomac Leather Company (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). This shop is my go-to when I want a very classic leather design that can go with most of my outfits https://www.potomacwolfstone.com

FOOTWEAR

- Son of Sandlar (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). I’ve purchased several boots from here now to include the Queen of Hearts short booties and a few pairs of the 9 button boots. Both styles have been amazing—I just put my own insoles in for added comfort https://www.sonofsandlar.com

- Medieval Moccasins (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). I’ve only purchased one pair and it was their mid-calf ones, but I hope to get a taller pair that goes up to my knees next season! https://medievalmoccasins.com

DRINKWARE

- One:Eleven Pottery (the shop I purchase at in-person is at Maryland Renaissance Festival). I purchased the most amazing cauldron coffee mug and crystal mug from here https://www.facebook.com/OneElevenPottery/

WOOL FELTED ITEMS

- Pink Jackalope Studio. All sorts of neat hats, bags, etc. https://www.pinkjackalopestudio.com