The Colorado Renaissance Festival
If you’ve never been to a Renaissance Festival, we highly recommend you go. 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 Renn Fest performers that there is a circuit of sorts that they travel around the country going from Renn Fest to Renn Fest.
Renaissance Festivals are outdoor festivals set in the Renaissance time period. It’s interesting because it sounds like 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. The CO Renn Fest is set in the 16th century, Tudor England. You’ll also find that some festivals are more sophisticated than others. Some are set up anew each year and consist of tents and temporary structures. The one in MD, with which we had our first experience, and also the one in CO, are basically permanent towns, built to look like a medieval walled city. They are really well built and the little details are impressive. We’ve been to the CO fair twice now, most recently to take some of our friends who had never been before and who also thought it was really neat.
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. We’ve bought our own outfits, though a few pieces here and there are still missing. It’s definitely fun to dress up and get even more into the spirit of things.
Who: Fun for all ages. Whether you’re interested in the shows, food, shopping, people watching, or playing dress-up, there’s something for everyone.