Traveling to the Carolina Renaissance Festival
One of the Largest Renaissance Festivals in America
For any person who grew up in the Carolinas, going to the Renaissance Festival would have to be one of their fondest memories from their childhood. Every Autumn on a 25 Acre patch of wood between the towns of Huntersville and Concord, a small mock fantasy renaissance village comes to life with lively actors and droves of tourists. The Carolina Renaissance Festival began in 1994 by the same group who produces the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival. The goal of the festival is not to actually recreate what life was like during The Renaissance but to use it as a mere backdrop for the games and performances which are held there. You can find all sorts of themes mixed together at this festival from actual historical events to elements from movies and comic books. The Renaissance Festival is truly a time of year where people can dress up and escape from reality into a fantasy world.
For tickets to the Renaissance Festival click here!
Walking Around Fairhaven
The region around the Renaissance Festival is known for its rural landscape and conservative politics. Most of the locals may be more inclined to attend a NASCAR race rather than visit a make-believe village in the woods. This magical festival brings together a quite diverse crowd, from teenagers with brightly colored hair and tattoos to your more conservative church-going crowd. Regardless of their background, all can all be found queuing up to enter the movie set-esque town of Fairhaven. Over the years more and more additions have been made to the prop village, but luckily nothing has ever been torn down. The same gigantic turkey-leg stalls, mock castles, and medieval storefronts look the same as they did decades ago. For returning visitors, it is sure to leave a sense of nostalgia. First time guests, on the other hand, are sure to be surprised by how elaborate and extensive the town truly is.
For a more authentic look at life in the Middle Ages check out reenactments in Europe here!
Performances, Music, Games, and More
The Carolina Renaissance Fair has 14 stages holding anything from musical performances to comedy routines. The actors all tend to stay in character, although the roles that they play can sometimes stray away from the actual Renaissance. Some of the shows touch on themes dealing with pirates, barbarians, and even mermaids. There are many activities for children such as camel rides, carousels, and zip-line jousting. To cater to all audiences, some performances advertise both kid-friendly and adult geared shows. The more mature humor typically will become quite vulgar and lowbrow, only attracting guests who are quite inebriated. Other than the performances, there are archery, ax throwing, and strongman carnival games for one to entertain themselves with.
Creating a Fantasy World
One could spend their whole time at the Renaissance Festival without paying to play an archery game or sitting down to view a juggling performance. Walking through the village is more than enough to keep you entertained throughout the day. The Renaissance Festival creates the feeling of walking into a fairy tale story by having blacksmiths, bakers, and washing maids all going about their business and interacting with visitors. The over the top acting and poor British accents all add to the overall whimsical ambiance. There are even a handful of actors whose sole job is to pose as wandering villagers, walking from shop to shop while in character, interacting with guests and performers alike.
Up to 70 to 80 percent of the people working at the Renaissance Festival are permanent actors, splitting their time between the Carolinas in the Fall and Arizona during the Spring. Other than these performers, the festival also brings in many local artisans and musicians who set up shop to sell their wares. The actors themselves can only do so much to create this fantasy world. It is up to the guests as well to lend a hand to make the plaster buildings painted with cartoonish hues come to life. Typically there are three types of people who show up to a Renaissance Festival. The first being “The Casuals”, being families with kids and groups of friends looking to just have a good time enjoying the overall atmosphere of the festival. The second category would be “The Drunks”: people looking for nothing more than to get buzzed and yell out obnoxious comments in a vain attempt to interact with the performers. The third and most important of the three groups are “The Cosplayers”: those guests who dress up and melt into the surroundings, adding to the overall illusion of walking through a living breathing fairyland.
The Cosplayers
The guests who come to cosplay at the Renaissance Festival range anywhere from the realistic to the obscure. Some visitors can be found wearing head-to-toe plate armor, struggling to walk from event to event. Those who decide to wear a more unorthodox costume are placed on a large spectrum as well. Many find inspiration from movies, television, and video games, dressing up as characters from The Lord of the Rings, The Game of Thrones, or The Legend of Zelda. Other cosplayers take dressing up to an extreme, turning themselves into creatures from Star Trek or Doctor Who. Regardless of how off theme some guests get during the festival, it does not make visiting any less fun. The fair even hosts famous theme weekends where they encourage guests to dress as zombies, pirates, fairies or even space travelers.
For more cosplaying fun in Charlotte check out the yearly Heroscon!
The Jousting Tournament
The highlight of a tourist’s day and the main event of the Renaissance Festival would have to be the jousting tournament. Although not as epic for an adult as it would be for a child, the lance smashing fun is not something to miss. They have the theatrical jousting performance three times a day but lasting a mere thirty minutes each. The “knights” first dramatically ride out onto the field and play up the crowd with cracking a few jokes. Much of the time is wasted with the explanation of rules which don’t mean much to the spectators either way. After each participant has their go at knocking down a few metal targets, the knights finally get around to actually jousting. The anticipation builds as they gallop towards each other until there is a final crash of breaking wood against metal. Unfortunately, the riders only do four passes at each other before calling it a day. As short and artificial as the jousting is, you will still find visitors filling the stands to the brim to catch the action.
Stepping Into A World of Magic
The Renaissance Festival has become a tradition deeply woven into the culture of the Carolinas. Without the yearly vibrant parade of costumes in this fantasy inspired village, a part of what makes this region special would disappear along with it. Although the festival is devoid of any historical relevance whatsoever, it is still a time for people to come together in whichever dress they please and step into a fantasy world. No matter if you have been coming faithfully for years or are a first time guest, the Carolina Renaissance Festival is an event which will keep you coming to visit the village of Fairhaven for years to come.
