Colorado Renaissance Festival Review
Imagine your family wide-eyed at a joust, gnawing on giant turkey legs, and laughing at a juggler’s antics, all in one afternoon. The Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur is a family-friendly event that turns a summer weekend outing into a magical adventure back in time.
Whether your crew is into knights and castles, fairy wings and face paint, or just tasty food and fun music, there’s something here for everyone. We’ve visited with young kids in tow, and it was a hit all around.
In this post, we’ll walk you through exactly what to expect, shows not to miss, costume tips, what to eat, and tips for making the most of it.
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What Is A Renaissance Festival?
Renaissance Festivals are outdoor festivals set in the Renaissance time period. They are a chance to explore another time and place. Travel back to the Renaissance period and spend a day in the life there, seeing all the best parts.
It’s interesting because the time period can vary depending on the festival you go to, and some have special themed weekends that try to capture other periods or countries.
They can be called Renaissance Festivals or Renaissance Fairs, or Ren Fest or Ren Fair (and sometimes Faire) for short.
They are found all over the country and typically take place on weekends over the span of several months each year. In fact, we’ve been told by Ren Fest performers that there is a circuit of sorts that they travel around the country going from Ren Fest to Ren Fest.
Colorado Renaissance Festival Setting
The Colorado Ren Fest is set in the 16th century, Tudor England.
If you’ve been to more than one Renaissance Festival, you’ll tend to discover that some festivals are more sophisticated than others. Some are set up anew each year and consist of tents and temporary structures.
However, Larkspur’s Ren Fest is basically a permanent town, built to look like a medieval walled city. It is really well built and the little details are impressive. The Renaissance Festival in Maryland, which was the first Renaissance Festival we ever went to, is like this as well.
If you have the choice to go to a Ren Fest setup in tents or one in a permanent village, always pick the latter!
Dressing Up in Costume
A lot of people dress up, but you’re just as welcome if you don’t.
You can rent costumes there for the day or you can buy an outfit at one of the many shops. You can start with something basic and add to it or upgrade over time, or go for the elaborate right away.
We’ve bought our own outfits, though a few pieces here and there are still missing. We bought mine at a Renaissance Festival, but bought the main pieces of my husband’s online while adding accessories from the festival booths. For starters, it’s easy enough to wear something from home, but add on a flower crown or fairy wings.
It’s definitely fun to dress up and get even more into the spirit of things. You’ll feel even more like a participant than just a spectator that way!
Entertainment
There is so much to keep you entertained. You can wander from show to show seeing musical performances, parades of royalty, plays, tongue in cheek performances, acrobatics, juggling, animal shows, magic, comedy and improv, acts of danger and stupidity (yes, really), a joust (the best!), and so much more.
We love seeing a variety of performances, catching a period play, finding a show that will keep us laughing, and at least one daring or acrobatic performance. Anytime you hear a tune from one of the pubs that gets your feet tapping is a good time to pop in, grab a drink, and clap along.
Jousting
If you go for any of the shows, this would be the one not to miss. Knights on horseback carrying lances perform the joust, competing for the King, Queen, royal court, and you of course! It’s a popular show so get there early enough to get a good spot to sit.
Food and Drink
You won’t be able to bring in your own food or drinks other than sealed bottles of water, but you will not go hungry here.
In fact, sampling the food and drink is a huge part of the experience. Throughout the village you’ll find food and drink stands, or little carts here and there selling snacks or desserts. Food and drink are cash only.
Turkey legs have to be one of the most popular I’d wager, and you’ll be amazed how many things are sold “on a stick”. There is mac and cheese on a stick, steak on a stake, porkchop on a stick, cheesecake on a stick, sausage on a stick! The better to eat and continue exploring! These are some of our favorite things to eat.
There are all sorts of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. It’s extra fun if you buy a tankard or goblet from one of the shops to then drink your beverages in.
Shopping
The Colorado Renaissance Festival village is lined with shops.
You’ll find clothing, costumes and accessories, jewelry, mugs and chalices, staffs, weaponry and shields, leather goods, masks, artwork, pottery, candles, soaps, spices, honey, toys, home goods, and on and on.
You can make your own candle or get your hair braided, face painted, henna tattoos, and massages.
Activities
If you haven’t had enough with eating, drinking, shopping, and watching the shows, there’s even more to do.
You can climb a rock wall, tour the dungeon museum, make your way through a maze, play lots of themed games like knife and ax throwing, and go on rides like the pirate ship swing or bungee jump trampolines. A lot of these games and rides are especially fun for kids.
Themed Weekends
To make it even more exciting, there are themed weekends at the Colorado Renaissance Festival to choose from including:
- Magical Fantasy Weekend: fantasy creatures like fairies, unicorns, and mermaids.
- Ale and Art Festival, Military Appreciation Weekend: celebration of art and the art of ale making & salute to service members.
- Celtic Weekend: Celtic musicians, highland performances, and kilt contests.
- Children’s Weekend: free for kids 12 and under with special kids activities.
- Pirate Invasion Weekend: pirates and treasure hunting.
- Wine and Revelry Weekend: grape stomping and wine sampling.
- Renaissance Romance and Masquerade Weekend: dedicated to lovers including vow renewals and wooing competition.
- Time Travelers Weekend and Final Huzzah: final weekend celebration.
These cool themes make you want to go to all of them don’t they? No one says you can’t!
Attending With Kids
If you’re bringing kids, know they’ll be absolutely wowed too. There are plenty of kids costumes and accessories for them to dress up also. You can take great family photos together in costume.
Food like fried ice cream, cheesecake on a stick, funnel cakes, macaroni and cheese on a stick, sausage on a stick, fried cheese, pretzels, and corndogs are our kids’ favorites. There will be plenty of time for healthy foods on other days so we let them indulge a bit too.
Not all shows may appeal to kids and some of them may be too bawdy for your taste but with so many options there is lots to choose from.
There are lots of activities geared specifically to kids both on the special themed Children’s Weekend and others. Kids can go to a knighting ceremony, a petting zoo, butterfly ride, and princess tea party. They’ll have lots of fun with rides and games.
Things to Know
Location
Located in Larkspur, south of Denver at 650 W. Perry Park Ave., Larkspur, CO 80118.
Dates
The Colorado Renaissance Festival runs in the months of June, July, and August on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 6:30 pm. The event goes on rain or shine. 2025 dates were June 14 – August 3. 2026 dates have not yet been released at the last update of this post.
Tickets
Tickets can be bought onsite, at King Soopers grocery stores, or online in advance. Ticket prices are $32 for adults and $15 for children. Kids under 5 are free. 12 and under are free on the special themed Children’s Weekend.
Parking
Parking is free and there is even a shuttle from the further reaches of the lot.
How Long Will You Need?
It’s worth spending an entire day there, but at the very least you’ll need several hours.
Where To Stay
If you want to combine a visit to the Ren Fest with seeing Colorado Springs or Denver, they are both close enough to drive to Larkspur as a day trip.
If you want to make a weekend of it though, bring your RV or tent and stay at Jellystone Park at Larkspur.
If you’ve never been, it’s worth visiting the Colorado Renaissance Festival. And if you’ve been before, you know how great it is and that it’s worth returning to again and again!
