Hear ye, hear ye: The Colorado Renaissance Festival will open this weekend in Larkspur for its 47th season.
The immersive festival will transport visitors back to a 16th-century village, with more whimsy and less disease. Home to jugglers and jousters, fairies and fair maidens, aristocrats and artisans, the fest will be open on weekends through Aug. 6.
“I’ve been told by countless people that of every fair that they’ve ever been to, our cast is the friendliest and the most interactive, which is great here because they work really hard,” said Kristy Ekiss, artistic director for the Colorado Renaissance Festival.
Throughout the season, the festival will have themed weekends, starting with a Magical Fantasy Weekend. Other weekend themes include Celtic, pirates, wine, revelry and romance.
This year, expect to see the return of the festival’s most in-demand acts, including Jacques Ze Whipper, a humorous whip cracker who will be performing every weekend this season.
The festival will also see the return of popular comedy act “Ded Bob.”
“We’re more focused on our returning favorites. It’s kind of our focus for this year, bringing back some of the things that people really, really loved from previous years,” Ekiss said.
There will also be new entertainment, including a comedy act called “The Witch Trial,” as well as a new circus entertainer named “Crazy Boy Coy.” And while there will be 10 stages spread throughout the festival, each with their own programming, Ekiss recommends strolling the festival to find smaller acts, like the Princess and Prince Tea Party ahead of the jousts or the kids’ knighting ceremonies.
“I think one of the fun things, if you really want to get into it, is kind of look for the hidden gems that aren’t necessarily in the program,” she said. “Little things like that, you know, finding that musician playing in the lanes and meeting them and getting to dance and sing with them. The stage shows get all the credit, but there’s definitely a lot of smaller interactive things, little demonstrations that the vendors are doing on how they make their products that also add a lot to the ambience.”
Plenty of local artisans and crafters will be vending at this year’s festival as well, selling everything from handmade garments to wooden swords, as well as tarot card readings and fortunes.
This year’s mead will be sourced from a local meadery out of Castle Rock.
“We do have a couple of new crafters this year. They’re all Colorado, local artisans that we’re trying to bring in and kind of get a little bit more that local Colorado arts and crafts spirit, because that’s definitely a huge part of our culture here,” Ekiss said.
And as always, don’t forget to chow down on a turkey leg like a true medieval king.
