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!

Excitement is reaching its peak on day 11, with another Ren Faire that blew me out of the water.

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 (NHRF; Fremont, NH)
#9. Enchanted Orchard Renaissance Faire (EORF; Phillipston, MA)
#8. Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire (RHMF; Harwinton, CT)

C-Tier: Standouts

7. King Richard’s Faire (KRF; Carver, MA)
6. Maine Renaissance Faire (MERF; Acton, ME)

B-Tier: Strongly recommend

#5. Northern California Renaissance Faire (NCRF; Hollister, CA)
#4. Connecticut Renaissance Faire (CTRF; Lebanon, CT)

A-Tier: Worth a whole road trip

#3. New York Renaissance Faire (NYRF; Tuxedo Park, NY)

2. Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

Manheim, PA
Last attended: October 2023
Website: https://www.parenfaire.com/

Sure, the NY Ren Faire had a ton of artists, but the PA Ren Faire somehow has even more. I mean, how is that even possible? There were just so many! Some of my favorites include Papa Bear Studios (where I bought my second-favorite wooden mug at a great price), Dragon’s Breath glassware (where I bought a pair of gorgeous glass flowers for a Yankee Swap at shockingly great price), Emporer’s Needle (where I bought a lovely pink leather flower for my mom), and LaForge blacksmith (which had an excellent blacksmith demo that included an adorable kitty). Clothing, leather goods, jewelry, art, man, it was almost overwhelming. I don’t even think I was able to visit them all in one day (luckily I went for two days). But I was also too busy seeing Celtic Legacy so many times (more on them soon).

(Now, I didn’t literally count the number of artisans, but it felt like there were more when I went a week after the NYRF. And this isn’t math or science, so I think it’s okay to go on feeling here.)

The PARF has more emphasis on the story with their performers playing a part, with an ongoing story about some kind of rebellion. Sometimes these can be kind of hammy and dumb, but this one could be quite fun. And they end it with a really cool joust at the end of the day, and while the joust itself isn’t as good as others I’ve seen, they add some really cool stuff to make it really thrilling and awesome (but I won’t spoil that!).

There is a permanent site with lots of excellent buildings and stages. Though because there’s so many artisans, they also have many white tents to fit them all. It’s overall not as immersive as the NYRF. But it feels more open, less crowded, and, well, more chill. The NYRF constantly feels like everything around you is happening at once, but the PARF feels more relaxing as you walk around its grounds. You don’t feel as rushed or boxed in, so it’s easier to let go and enjoy.

Shows, hm, that’s a tough one to judge. If you look on their website there’s tons. But most of them only do a month or less, sometimes only a single weekend. I think I picked a bad weekend to go, since I didn’t see any standout human stunt shows. But I did see a great bird of prey show (which is on the joust field with plenty of seating, so you get a really good look), an excellent archery demonstration (I’ve never seen someone hit a target with an arrow from that far!), a surprisingly entertaining rendition of Titus Andronicus (or as they call it, “Bloody Shakespeare”, with plenty of fake(?) blood), and the absolutely amazing pipes-and-drums band Celtic Legacy (whom I saw like three times).

Other weekends seem to have incredible performers. The standouts I’ve seen before include Aaron Bonk and Pippsy Pinwheel Sideshow. There are others that seem really good, but I can’t personally speak on their quality.

The PARF also has a huge advantage over other Faires: The performers don’t take tips. I mean, how frustrating is it to pay like $45 to enter somewhere, only to find out the performers that are putting their heart and soul into their art aren’t being paid enough, and you have to kick in some extra bucks to make sure they can continue their work? No worries about that here! You can save your money for the artisans.

Ranking this one and the NYRF is really tough. They are both A-Tier Ren Faires with great performers and tons of amazing artisans on a permanent site. I’m ranking the PARF higher because of the more chill atmosphere, the additional artisans, and lack of tipping. But your mileage may vary, and these could easily be switched.

In any case, with a chill atmosphere on a permanent site with great performers and incredible artisans, the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire is an experience you’ll never forget.