The Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville runs through Oct. 23 on Saturdays and Sundays, featuring weekends of thrills, feasting, handmade crafts, entertainment and merriment.
The 27-acre Village of Revel Grove comes to life each autumn with more than 200 professional performers on 10 stages, a 3,000-seat arena with armored jousting on magnificent steeds and streets filled with village characters.
Join His Most Royal Highness King Henry VIII in the forests and glades with over 140 artisans exhibiting crafts in their own renaissance shops, five taverns featuring cool libations and 42 food and beverage emporiums providing a vast array of succulent and sweet treats.
The almost-continuous, onstage entertainment features many returning favorite performers, such as Shakespeare’s Skum, with rollicking 20-minute renditions of the Bard’s most popular plays, as well as minstrels, magicians, musicians, jugglers and daring feats of skill and artistry. Returning this season is the jousting troupe Debracey Productions with a field full of horses, men in armor, chariots, trick riding and thrills.
Major additional acts include Markita’s One Woman Stunt Show; Hilby, the Skinny German Juggle Boy; the Danger Committee’s knife throwing; and Puke and Snot’s fast-paced humor. Add in a village full of stilt walkers, beggars, hermits, wenches, pickpockets, rakes and rogues for an entertainment experience not only to be seen but to be immersed in.
Handmade wares by artists in their renaissance shops include metal work, wood sculpture, jewelry, furniture, clothing, footwear, ceramics, stained glass, headwear and glassblowing.
The king’s kitchens prepare one-pound smoked turkey legs, steak on a stake, fresh crepes, stuffed chili peppers, gyros, succulent ribs, a fresh seafood raw bar, sweet concoctions and sandwiches of chicken, fish, crab, beef and pork with all manner of sides to add to your table. Cool, mild drinks and an array of ales, ciders and wines will also be available.
