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 this list, it’s only because I’ve never been there. I have future plans to attend the other major Ren Faires in the country!

Now on day 3, I’m introducing tiers! I consider the two I’ve done so far “E-Tier”, and today I’ll start the “D-Tier”. Because what better way to drive engagement than to tell people their favorite local Faire is D-Tier, right? But remember, this is just compared to other Ren Faires, and I still enjoyed all of them. Don’t think of E or D as bad; they’re a lot of fun, just not quite as good as the others on this list.

E-Tier: If you happen to live close by

#12. Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire (Ansonia, CT)
#11. Vermont Renaissance Faire (Essex, VT)

D-Tier: Worth a bit of a drive

10. New Hampshire Renaissance Faire

Fremont, NH
Last attended: May 2025
Website: https://nhrenfaire.com/

Like the VTRF, this is a smaller Faire with a lot of the same vendors and performers I’ve seen elsewhere. Again, Michael OJ Magician and The Foxy Bard and Twig are excellent, but perform at others. But this is the only place I’ve ever seen Tohm Pace, and he is awesome, balancing in ways I’ve never seen before.

No joust. There’s live armor combat from The Brotherhood of The Arrow & Sword, but it’s not nearly as impressive as other live armor combats I’ve seen. It’s more of a demonstration than intense combat.

For vendors, a lot of the same ones I see at other Ren Faires. Again, superb artisans like Embercraft Creations, Misfit Manor (fantastic wood creations made from Greek olive wood), and so much more. And these are just two of my favorites, since there are tons of other amazing works see and buy. But there’s just not much that distinguishes it from other local Faires, so it can only ever match them in vendor quality, not exceed.

But the biggest con: No alcohol. I mean, how can you have a Renaissance Faire without a mead nor ale? It’s not like I need alcohol to have fun, but I mean, it helps. They claim it’s to have a “family friendly atmosphere”, but I mean, they serve beer at Disney World. Just admit you don’t want to pay for a liquor license.

The main factor that makes this higher than the VTRF is the immersion factor. Again, there are lots of white tents, but it’s surrounded by fields and woodlands as opposed to obviously modern buildings.

They do donate a large chunk of their earnings to local charities, including food banks. I don’t think that can affect the rankings here, since I’m more going for experience, but it is really nice!

I may seem negative, but this is still a great time. Even though I see many of these acts and artisans elsewhere, they’re still awesome. I would highly recommend the NHRF if you live in New England, and I absolutely want to go every year. But if you live more than, say, 2.5 hours away, it may not be worth your time unless you really need to scratch that Ren Faire itch.

Side note: My friend Louisa’s Knit Knacks will be a vendor at the 2026 NHRF!