Sometimes a trip back to a time before cell phones, cars, or computers is the perfect way to have a good time. We may not have a time machine to experience this, but we do have the Colorado Renaissance Festival. The annual celebration usually runs in June and July in Larkspur, Colorado, and features time-period costumes, entertainers, music, theater, comedy, games, shopping, and more. Here are five things we love about Ren Fest:
The Jousting – Yes, you know they’re stunt riders, and there can be a strange mix of over and under acting. But there is something wonderful about being part of a crowd gathering to cheer on knights, clad in full armor, as they knock each other around. Watching the jousting is a must at a Renaissance festival. You get to see the festival royalty parade past the grandstands, jousting feats, sword fights, and some good ol’ battles of good versus evil.
The Entertainment – Fairies, jugglers, musicians, dancers, statues, royalty, jesters, wenches, and knights…yes, there is something entertaining going on just about any given moment. Even the grounds crew, vendors, and food workers are in character and ready to relay snarky comments and musings to every festival goer. (2017 offerings included: The CRAIC Show,Lady Amyelia the Hypnotist, The Lady Victoria, The Nightingale, The Living Fountain, The Kamikaze Fireflies, Hey Nunnie Nunnie, The Knights of Noble Cause Productions, Endangered Cat Show, Washing Well Wenches, Arsene of Paris, Cast In Bronze, Juniper the Fairy, The London Broil, Celtic Legacy, The Acrobatrix, The Angels: Heroines in Disguise, Turtle and the Hair, Wilsome, The Vodca Family, Barnacle and Scuttlebutt, The King’s Piper Extraordinaire, and Naughty, Bawdy, Singing Tavern Wenches. Just to name a few.)
The Food – From turkey legs to fried ice cream, the Renaissance Festival has some seriously good food. (True, there were no turkeys in Medieval Europe in the 1500s, but I feel like I can’t NOT tear into a roasted turkey leg at the Renaissance festival.) They have pretty much everything on a stick (corn, steak, brats, cheesecake, fried mac and cheese, etc.), a remarkably diverse selection of food and drinks, and it’s all delicious. For fare food, it’s pretty affordable too. $7.50 for a turkey leg and $2-$5 for a drink is quite reasonable. Especially if you compare those prices to convention or theme park prices!)
The Costumes and The Role Playing – Yes, hundreds of costumed actors roam the festival grounds and put on a spectacle…but the part that makes it even better, for me, is the creativity that many festival goers add the fun. (You don’t need to dress up for a festival and are more than welcome to come in your street clothes), but seeing so many other people getting into the Renaissance spirit and showing off their own creativity warms my heart. Corsets and capes, swords and armor, face-paint and helmets…it’s almost like a comic con for medieval geeks.
The Theme Weekends – What better way to keep me coming back? Having different theme weekends throughout the summer makes for a little bit different kind of fun every time you go. (The 2017 theme weekends included: A Magical Adventure, Royal Ale & Art Festival, Celtic Festival, Children’s Weekends, Wine Revelry, Love and Romance, Pirate Invasion, and wraps up with a Mardi Gras Canivale.)
Next weekend marks the final week of the festival for 2017, but if you didn’t make it this year you’ll probably want to pencil in a weekend or two for next year.
Tickets for the festival aren’t going to break the bank either. Tickets cost $24 for adults, $12 for kids 5-12, and kids under 5 were free. (Plus you can get discount tickets online or at King Soopers.) Do note that you will need cash for many of the attractions and food inside. And you’ll probably want to toss some tips the way of some of your favorite performers. So, bring some along, or you’ll have to pay to withdraw from an ATM inside.
Find out more about the Festival at ColoradoRenaissance.com.
