I go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival each year (yeah, I know, I’m *that* type of nerd) and have brought along a few people who’ve never been before. They always have questions, or they don’t know that you need to buy your tickets beforehand, or that you need to bring cash. So I decided to write this blog post to answer some questions you may have about visiting the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

There are answers to a lot of these questions also at the Maryland Renaissance Festival website but all of the answers here are from a visitor’s perspective.

When does the Maryland Renaissance Festival take place?

The festival usually takes place between late August and mid-late October. Most people tend to go in the autumn, so tickets are cheaper for the first few weekends.

What is the weather like in Maryland?

In August you can generally expect it to be very hot (at least 80 degrees, if not nearing 100) and very humid. September can cool down a bit but it generally sees quite hot days. In October, the weather gets a lot crazier. It can be chilly (in the 50s and 60s) or still quite hot (in the 80s), and it’s very often a toss up.

Whether or not it rains in any month is a toss up, too.

Generally for these months, I recommend packing for a warm day but taking layers in case it gets chilly. And for travelling I always recommend watching the local weather as you get closer to your travel dates.

Where is it located? Do I need a car?

The Maryland Renaissance Fair at “Revel Grove” is located in Crownsville which is outside of Annapolis. There’s a big plot of land owned by the state that the festival rents every year.

Free parking is available at the festival. Rideshare options are available if you’re in the area but may not be reliable.

How and when should I get my tickets?

Tickets typically go on sale in early August for the entire season. Tickets sell out, especially for October dates, so be sure to buy your tickets in advance!! As of writing, you can cancel for a $5 fee until 5:00pm the Thursday before your ticket date. So if you’re going on Saturday the 13th, you can cancel before 5:00pm on Thursday the 11th for your ticket price minus $5. Please always double check the cancellation policy with the company directly before booking!

Always book directly from the Maryland Renaissance Festival website.

Pro tip: Save a screenshot of your ticket to your phone because reception at the fair grounds is iffy.

Can I just walk up and get my tickets?

Nope, tickets usually sell out at least days in advance if not weeks.

What if it rains?

The festival goes on, rain or shine. It closes only in extreme weather. As of writing, you can cancel for a $5 fee until 5:00pm the Thursday before your ticket date. So if you’re going on Saturday the 13th, you can check the weather before 5:00pm on Thursday the 11th to see if it’s supposed to rain. Please always double check the cancellation policy with the company directly before booking!

Do I have to dress up for the Maryland Renaissance Festival?

Nope! Dressing up is completely optional. Lots of people wear “normal” clothes.

How do I dress properly?

There is no way to dress “properly” to the Renaissance Festival. Lots of people wear medieval-inspired garb and very few wear actual period appropriate Renaissance clothing. Many times people will wear fandom outfits from franchises like The Legend of Zelda or even Mario. It’s an anything goes type of vibe. (Note that you’re not allowed to bring in fake weapons, so fake swords are not allowed.)

I have curated a list of places to purchase clothes for the Renaissance fair that are relatively cheap and a bit more ethical than buying from Amazon. Costume rentals are available at the fair but they’re limited.

There are also themed weekends you can dress up for but in my experience not a lot of people stick to the themes.

What are the grounds like?

The festival is held in a forest so fortunately there’s lots of shade. It’s also quite hilly and there’s a section that is steep. The ground is all natural dirt so it can get dusty with wind or muddy with rain. It’s all part of the “close to nature” experience people had so many centuries ago.

Do I need to bring cash?

Yes! Lots of places take only cash. You definitely want to bring a few dollars for food and drink – each cost about $5-10. So if you want 3 drinks and 3 foods, bring about $60 to be safe. Some businesses that sell handmade goods also take only cash so if you want to buy a mug or an outfit you might want to bring even more, though I couldn’t tell you how much more.

Is there an ATM at the Maryland Renaissance Festival?

Yes, there are a few ATMs on site and they have a $3 transaction fee, and the lines can be long. The convenience stores Wawa and Royal Farms all have fee-free ATMs inside if you can make a trip there before going to the fair.

What is there to do at the Maryland Renaissance Festival?

Entertainment – There’s a lot of different entertainment. There are several stages throughout the grounds that have different performances ranging from magic shows to shortened Shakespeare plays to folk music. There is also a jousting arena where there are about three jousts every day. They are very popular so you may want to look for a seat at the arena half an hour before the joust starts, but if you can’t, you can stand to watch.

All the entertainment is free. See the full schedule in the yearly brochure they give you at the gate.

Games – There are also many games to play at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and they all cost money (about $3-5 a play). These include archery, frog throwing, rock climbing, and many other carnival-like games.

What kind of stores do they have?

Hair braided by the professionals.

There are lots of handmade artisan stores to shop at – nothing cheesy here! Many artists come to exhibit and sell their work, and there are several places to buy garb (clothing), housewares like pottery and tapestries, jewellery, board game supplies (a lot of people buy Dungeons & Dragons supplies at the Renn Fest), books, candles, etc. It’s all on brand. Since it is mostly handmade, prices are a bit higher but because you’re buying better quality pieces.

For services, they have hair braiding, face painting, henna tattoos, tarot and palm reading, and massages.

What types of food and drink do they have?

The Maryland Renaissance Festival has lots of different types of food that revolves around “fried.” They have the famous turkey legs (which I’m told are only good in the morning but get tougher as the day goes on), crepes, pies, gyros, lots of different fried things, lots of different things on sticks, seafood, etc. For drink they have state brewed mead (which I personally recommend), a selection of beer, some raspberry wine which is also quite good, and bottled drinks like soda.

Are there vegetarian and vegan options?

There are lots of vegetarian options for food, including baked potatoes, waffles, fries, fried things like mushrooms and cheese, corn on the cob, etc. I’m a vegetarian and have no issue eating there.

There’s not much in the way of vegan food. They do have a fruit cart where you can buy fresh fruits but that’s about it, so you may want to eat beforehand or you can even bring some of your own snacks.

Can I bring a water bottle?

Factory sealed water bottles and empty reusable water bottles are allowed. Please check their website for the most recent rules. Inside there are a few places to refill your water bottle.

What is the bathroom situation?

Unfortunately the bathroom situation is port-o-potties that are rarely cleaned. Godspeed if you need to pee at the renn fest.

Is the Maryland Renaissance Festival the best of its kind?

Yes! 🙂 I need to go to a lot more renaissance festivals to see if it’s actually the best, but it’s constantly ranked highly when it comes to national festivals. The Texas one outside of Houston is the only one that typically comes up more often.
The only other festival I’ve been to is the Virginia one and it’s much smaller and doesn’t provide shade when it runs during the gruesome heat of summer, so the Maryland one wins hands down.

That’s about all I have for now! If you have a question, feel free to ask me and I’ll do my best to answer. Until then, fare thee well!

About the Author

Leave a Reply