This is for students of history on a mission to geek out in scenic locations and medieval castles!
The great Renaissance period was an iconic time in world history, and has an ardent fan following across continents, where some try their hands at replicating the golden age!
Much to the happiness of several other history enthusiasts, these Renaissance festivals are as comical as they are knowledgeable. Held in scenic locations and medieval castles to make them look as authentic as possible, these Renaissance festivals are true depictions of the olden times, usually attracting thousands of tourists and enthusiasts from around the globe.
To ignite the history buff in you, here are 8 Renaissance festivals that you must check out!
1. Kansas City Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: Kansas City Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
This festival will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and is a pretty big extravaganza. It drew a crowd of around 198,000 people in 2008 alone. It happens during September-October in a multi-weekend format, and has a staggering 20 stages and 16 acres of presence. Activities include keg toss, beer drinking, costume contests, fencing competitions and much more. With a different theme every weekend for the duration of the festival, it sure has a lot of options when it comes to diversity.
2. Michigan Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: lifeinleggings.com)
Michigan’s very own Renaissance Festival is no less. With 17 stages and 17 acres of land, it has enough area to deliver the goods. Featuring full-contact armored jousting, music, comedy and theater shows, people-powered rides, games and over 300 artisans displaying their work, Michigan Renaissance has a lot on offer. It happens between April and May.
3. Minnesota Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: Minnesota Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
The 46th edition of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival will take place this year, and is the largest festival of its kind in the United States. It usually has an annual attendance of over 300,000 individuals, and has 7 themed weekends, live armoured jousting, 16 stages of live entertainment and much more!
4. Texas Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: Texas Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
If you’re in Texas in the months of October and November, you cannot miss this one. With themes like Oktoberfest, Celtic Christmas, Pirate Adventure and many more set for the weekends, this one goes all out! There’ll be plenty of plays, loads of shopping options and, of course, people in costumes. What’s more; you can have your wedding at this festival, in complete Renaissance fashion!
5. The Georgia Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: The Georgia Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
Acrobatics, jousting, hypnosis, cosplays, artisan markets and more: The Georgia Renaissance Festival has it all. The 2004 season attracted about 250,000 people, and it has been growing ever since. It also has plenty of games and rides, and sponsorships from big names like Coca Cola and Mercedes-Benz.
6. Colorado Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: Colorado Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
The Colorado Renaissance Festival will be celebrating 40 years too, and will have themed weekends like the rest of the festivals on the list. It happens in the months of June, July and August. With a childrens’ weekend, music and dance festivals, a beer festival, a pirate-themed weekend and a Mardi Gras-type carnival, Colorado’s Renaissance Festival is filled with fun and frolic.
7. Carolina Renaissance Festival
(Courtesy: Carolina Renaissance Festival / Facebook)
Bringing in about 160,000 people annually is a tough task, but the Carolina Renaissance Festival does it with ease. With 12 stages full of music and comedy, artisan demonstrations, live jousting, 500 costumed characters and much more, the Carolina Renaissance Festival is only getting bigger and better every year.
8. Kaltenberger Ritterturnier
(Courtesy: Kaltenberger Ritterturnier / Facebook)
The German Kaltenberger Ritterturnier Renaissance Festival is happens at Kaltenberg Castle, among the castle grounds. Around 120,000 ardent fans come to this festival annually. It includes ground combat, fairy tale enactments, fireworks, old board games and so much more.
Do you have any that we ought to mention? Let us know in the comments!