When you time travel to the Carolina Renaissance Festival weekends this October and November, a big dose of cheer is to be expected. The annual festival experience has always been about escaping from your modern-day cares and strolling about the 22-acre storybook village populated with hundreds of pirates, nobles, merchants, peasants and knights.

Each Festival day is filled with an abundance of attractions appropriate for all age groups.
Eleven stages packed with costumed performers offer a unique mix of continuous music, dance, comedy, and circus entertainments. Sword swallowing, birds of prey falconry demonstrations, and the popular jousting tournament with horse mounted armored knights battling three times daily are all examples of the endless entertainment options offered. The shows are always spontaneous and you will never know what happens next, on stage or off.

Attendees are encouraged to come as they are or to join in the spirit by visiting the village in costumes of all types. Each Festival weekend has unique themed activities with many offering costume contests with prizes and discount admission opportunities. Returning popular themed weekends like Halloween Daze & Spooky Knights, Pirate’s Christmas, and Time Traveler’s Weekend embrace attendees in non-renaissance costumes such as those dressed as super heroes (and villains) and characters inspired by Harry Potter, Games of Thrones, Lord of the
Rings, and more. Those without costumes can acquire them at the village costume rental shop located just inside the Festival gates.

Also available for rent for the first time are wagons, strollers, and wheelchairs.

New this year is ¡Fiesta Renaissance! weekend featuring guest performers showcasing Spanish cultural dances and comedy. New entertainments include:
* The Angels - four heavenly beautiful, devilishly dangerous, righteously brave and wickedly clever heroines in disguise!
* The sharp wit and cunning one-upmanship of The Renaissance Men.
* Zinnia the Fairy - the forever best friend of Twig the Fairy (one of many returning Festival favorites).

Additional returning favorites include an extensive array of vendors offering jewelry, clothing of Renaissance and medieval fashion, handmade art and décor, pottery and blown and torched glass demonstrations, and activities for children that include people powered amusement rides and countryside faire games such as the castle climbing wall, archery and tomato tossing at a fool.