Maryland Renaissance Festival

The Maryland Renaissance Festival (also on Facebook) has three more weekends left, and the forecast for this weekend calls for gorgeous weather -- sunny and in the high 60's.

First held in Columbia, MD in 1977, Maryland RenFest is now located on a wooded 130-acre site in Crownsville, MD just off of I-97 near Annapolis.

The festival has costumed performers and patrons from the era of King Henry VIII's England, and includes jousting, archery, a food fair, and artisans and crafts.

Various performers including comedians, jugglers, and even Hilby the Skinny German Juggler Boy occupy about a dozen venues scattered throughout the grounds from 10:30 AM till 7 PM.

A word of warning: Traffic can be very heavy heading into the festival on fair-weather weekend mornings and the country roads coming off of I-97 are bottlenecks, so your best bet is to go early, arriving prior to the 10 AM opening time.

About 300,000 visitors attend the Festival each year over its nine-weekend run from late August to October. The organizers estimate it has brought about $15.8M to Anne Arundel County over the past 10 years.

Maryland Renaissance Festival Information:

1821 Crownsville Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
1-800-296-7304
www.renfest.com
(Follow the directions on the web site as GPS may be a little off when you near the parking lots)

Dates and Hours:

Dates: October 4-5; 11-12; 18-19
Ticket Windows Open: 9:30 AM
Gates Open: 10 AM; shows from 10:30 AM - 7 PM
Joust Arena: Archery (12 noon); Flight of the Raptor (1 PM, 4:30 PM); Joust (2 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM); Battle Chess (3 PM)

Tickets: 

• Adults (16-61): $22
• Seniors (62 and over): $19
• Children (7-15): $10

Note that food, drinks, and games are cash only

Here are some more photos from past years:

Mimes

Mimes

Johnny Fox

Zila (Johnny Fox Show)

Larksalot the Bald

Hack and Slash (not on this year's schedule)

Attendee dressed as an Orc or Dark Elf or Something

Attendee in costume

Giant Head