Enter the Realm of Fantasy Where Every Day is an Escape from Reality

At the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

Ever wish you could go back to a simpler time and shed your daily stress load? How about a trip 400 hundred years away? The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire invites you to escape reality August 8 and 9 when the castle gates swing open for the 29th season. For 12 weekends, Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day Monday thru October 25, leave your modern-day cares and concerns behind and travel back to the 16th century where mirth, merriment and wonder reign supreme.

Hundreds of colorfully costumed characters bring to life a rollicking festival on the Faire's 35-acre recreation of a lively Renaissance village and marketplace complete with dozens of authentic Tudor buildings. Become a citizen of Merrie Olde England full of royals and rogues, knights and knaves, pirates and peasants, musicians and merchants and Queen Elizabeth Herself, even if it's just for one soul-resting day.

The Northern Rebellion

It is 1569, ten years into Queen Elizabeth's reign, and the state of the nation is a royal mess.  Rumors abound that Her captive cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, is plotting to take the throne.  Across the sea, the mighty nation of Spain watches England with a hungry eye and Pope Pious V has excommunicated Queen Elizabeth from the Catholic Church.  As fear-mongering and backstabbing abound in Her Court, it is hard to tell which of Her own nobles She can trust, if any.

Hoping to put these worries aside for just one day, Good Queen Bess gathers Her Court and makes Her annual visit to the Shire of Mt. Hope, where Sir Robert Dudley has promised Her a day of carefree laughter and joyful festivity.  But even in this peaceful village, a sobering matter of state rears its ugly head and threatens to disrupt the day's merriment.  The Duke of Norfolk and the Ambassador of Spain arrive to warn Her Majesty of a growing discontent in the land.  A large number of English Catholics, it seems, are unhappy with Her cousin Mary's imprisonment and Norfolk insists that the only way to maintain peace is to release the Queen of Scots and allow her to marry Norfolk himself!

Once again, the Queen's progress to Mt. Hope comes with its share of questions.  Is Norfolk motivated purely by love for England or is this just one more attempt to weasel his way into power?  Are the loyalties of Queen Elizabeth's people strong enough to weather a potential religious conflict? Why is Spain suddenly taking such an interest in England?  And ultimately, will Good Queen Bess finally be able to enjoy a day of glorious festivity or will the people of Mt. Hope find themselves, once again, thrust into terrible danger?  One thing is certain, it promises to be a very interesting day.

All The Shire's a Stage

The fantasy unfolds on 13 open-air stages with over 90 shows daily of non-stop entertainment. Marvel at sword swallowers, fire breathers, magicians, jugglers and dare-devil tumblers. Sing along with bawdy rogues and flirtatious wenches. Experience Shakespeare's plays on a three-story replica of London's Globe Theatre. Witness the spectacular stunt-filled Match of Human Chess played on a massive 40' x 40' chess board. Watch the truly amazing display of the Royal Falconer's birds of prey in flight. There is so much to see and do.

The excitements and adventures of the day builds up to the impressive, and always dramatic, Ultimate Joust taking place in the largest joust area in North America. A tour d' force of lance, shield and ultimate equestrian skill, thousands of pounds of man, horse and steel gallop fearlessly toward each other. Lances shatter upon impact and noble knights fall to the ground during this lifelike battle that unfolds live.

The entertainment does not stop at the stages. All along the Shire's streets, the Faire's hallmark form of improvised, interactive theater abounds as the citizens of the Shire carry on their every day "normal" lives entertaining with song, swordplay, mud begging or even an amazing feat of daring do. A whole section of the Shire has become an entire gaming village where the medieval axe throw and crossbow are the extreme sports of the time. Children can take a turn on the Quintaine, a wooden jousting horse on a cable-slide to lance a brass ring for accolades and prizes. Man-powered rides, fantastically merry fencing game known as the fight circle and a colorful maze guarantee there is something for everyone.

Crafts and Finery All Beyond Compare

Not only is the Faire a festival of entertainment, it's also a bustling marketplace filled with scores of merchants and artisans in shops and tents set up along the tree-lined lanes. From extravagantly adorned head wreaths to glass works, jewelry fit for a King or Queen to kilts and 16th Century apparel, handcrafted swords to handcrafted pottery, a traveler to the Shire will have no problem finding that certain something. Many of the artisans demonstrate their craft so that passersby can witness the art behind the creation of these finished products. Witness historical glass blowing, wood-turning, coin-striking, marble sculpting and more throughout the day.
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