This review can also be found on Reddit.

I love Renaissance Faires, to the point where I’ve gone on two different road trips to attend Renaissance Faires in different parts of the country. As a result, I have now attended 12 different Renaissance Faires! With so many now under my belt, I guess I should rank them, and describe in detail which ones are worth attending (hint: pretty much all of them, but usually only if you happen to be in the area).

If it’s not on my list, it’s only because I’ve never been there. I have future plans to attend the other major Ren Faires in the country!

Let’s go for day 2!

#12. Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire

11. Vermont Renaissance Faire

Essex, VT
Last attended: June 2025
Website: https://www.vtgatherings.com/vtrennfaire.html

I’d argue this is a smaller Faire catered more toward locals that don’t want to drive too far for their Renaissance Faire. It’s telling that this is only for one weekend.

With Vermont (arguably) being the most earthy-crunchy state in the US, you’d expect a lot of great artisans. And they did. But for the most part, it was a lot of the same artisans I see at other Ren Faires in New England. They can be fantastic, like Embercraft Creations and Grey Wolf Hollow, but that just means the VTRF can only match other Faires, not exceed. There were a few unique standouts, like Bruja Bootique (really cool shoes, but my feet are too weird for them), but not enough to go beyond other Faires.

For the performers, like the artisans, I’ve seen the best ones before. Don’t get me wrong, I try to see The Foxy Bard and Twig as much as I can when they perform, Baechtold & Abel are really talented, and Michael OJ has extremely fun shows. But this doesn’t make the VTRF stand out when I’ve already seen them at several other Faires (The Foxy Bard and Twig have performed at like half the Faires on this list). The only standout unique performer was the Vermont-native Celtic rock band Prydein, and they were awesome. But there were also some stinkers; there was one magic show where I felt kind of bad, he seemed so unprepared.

Ren Faire food is rarely good, but because of the artisan culture of Vermont, you can get some really great treats here. Great local drinks (beers, ciders, and more), lots of maple products (because it’s Vermont, and there has to be a place that sells maple products within eyeline at all times) including maple ice cream and lots of other maple treats.

Joust was quite good, even to me when I’ve seen so many. Nothing that really stood out compared to others, but surprisingly good.

This Faire doesn’t feel immersive at all. Pretty much every booth was a white tent, and you could see the local sports arena and other buildings clearly nearby. And that joust happens on a paved road cutting across the Faire (correction: it was not actually on a paved road, I mis-remembered; but it still didn’t feel quite as immersive as I’d like, though the joust itself was above-average compared to the many others I’ve seen). I never felt transported to another world.

Also, their schedule was pretty confusing, with shows not always at the advertised locations, shows starting late, and stages not well-labeled. So this made navigation pretty annoying.

So, if you live in Vermont, or you live elsewhere in New England and you feel a strong Ren Faire need, this is still a fun experience. But I can say with confidence that this belongs at number 11 on my list. I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here if I didn’t have something else to do in the area.