Arizona Renaissance Festival

The Arizona Renaissance Festival is a yearly outdoor celebration of the European Renaissance Era, which encompasses the time period of 14th to the 17th century. (This year, it is open on weekends from February 11-April 2.) Festival goers enter the faire to get transported to a time of arts and feudalism. Here you’ll see knights participating in jousting tournaments, members of nobility perusing the grounds, and a myriad of arts and crafts for sale. Although not historically accurate, certain fantasy themes also get thrown in, including mermaids, unicorns, fairies, and even pirates. Visitors are encouraged to come dressed in costumes and participate in the merriment.

Left your Renaissance attire at the dry cleaners? Don't worry, you can rent costumes at the festival!

The festival is held on a 30-acre lot that is mostly dirt with some grass areas, so make sure you wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. Not sure what to do once you walk through the village gates? Well don’t worry, they’ve done a great job of having enough activities to keep you occupied! In fact, you won’t be able to do or see everything in one day so grab a map and make sure to see the booths and shows you really want to see. Speaking of shows, there are 13 stages scattered throughout the fairgrounds with performances happening throughout the day. A list of the stages with the performance times can be found on the map as well. The shows range from comedy to juggling to musical performances. I recommend the jousting tournaments and the Ded Bob Show. Many shows include audience participation so don’t be surprised if you become a lucky one who gets called onto the stage!

The "Ded Bob Show" features a comedian and his dummy.	Entrance to the jousting arena!
	Royalty and common folk enjoying the jousting.
Musician playing bells.

If games are more your thing, there are plenty of booths to check out. You’ll find the likes of archery, knife throwing, and crossbows to get a taste of weaponry. Other booths have carnival-style games that are definitely outside the Renaissance time period that include paintball, ninja star throwing, and a hammer bell. There are also a variety of games where you try to knock things down by throwing a ball or using a weapon while standing behind a counter. Many of these booths hand out prizes depending on how well you fare. Imagine a state fair set in Renaissance times with some games from today’s world as well.

There are also rides that are dispersed throughout the festival grounds, but most of them are (sadly) made for children. They are mostly swing-type apparatuses that circle around a rotating center. There is also a little jousting ride where a child may sit on a wooden horse that is suspended in the air on a rope. When the horse is released, it flies over to the other side while the rider tries to put a lance through a small ring. To be honest, I wanted to ride that. While they’re not rides, there are other activities that adults may partake in like the rock climbing wall and the Jacob’s Ladder. That Jacob’s Ladder is actually a pretty entertaining thing to watch. It’s basically a rope ladder on a 30 degree incline from the ground. It’s very flimsy and requires an immense amount of balance to reach the top. It’s fun to watch everyone fail at it and fall onto the hay underneath. I have yet to witness someone reaching the top. One activity that all ages can enjoy is the petting zoo and animal booths. They even have a “unicorn” on display!

Archery is harder than it looks!	A crowd pleaser: you can pay to throw tomatoes at a man in the box while he hurls insults back at you!
Win some money if you can ring the bell at the top!

Last but not least, the most abundant booths in the whole Renaissance Festival are the shops and food stalls. There are over 200 shops in the village marketplace, offering a myriad of goods. These artisans showcase a variety of hand-made items including leatherwork, candle-making, glassblowing, blacksmithing, weaving, woodcarving, and pottery. They’ve even got swords (wooden and real), shields, clothing, sculptures, soaps, oils, and jewelry. The walkways are adorned with shops offering these unique items. Food is another category where they don’t stick with the era and place, which is good for picky eaters and bad for authenticity. (Who would want to eat strictly old-timey food anyway? I imagine a spread of turkey legs, bread, fruit, and wine.) There’s a good variety of cuisines including Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, BBQ, and teriyaki bowls. You will also find a bakery, coffee booth, chocolate, peanuts, crepes, fountain drinks, beer, wine, and hard cider.

	Swords to slay that dragon!...Or so your kids can beat each other.
So you come prepared for next year.
I'm a sucker for pastries!

Overall, the Arizona Renaissance Festival is a great way to enjoy a day getting a taste of the European Renaissance. I would recommend arriving early to allot enough time to see everything you want. So go and grab a giant turkey leg, watch the jousts, catch a show, and have a stroll in a different time period! As they say at the Renaissance Festival, “Huzzah!”

For more information, click here to check out their website.