The Maryland Renaissance Festival is one of the biggest and most immersive Ren Fests we’ve visited, transforming the wooded village of Revel Grove into a bustling slice of 16th-century England each fall. We spent two full days exploring the festival during its Celtic Celebration in September 2022, which gave us plenty of time to wander the forested village, browse artisan shops, watch jousting and an impressive variety of live entertainment, catch Shakespeare on the Globe Theatre stage, try our hand at archery and axe throwing, and, of course, devour a giant turkey leg. We leaned fully into the Celtic theme with a group of warriors from Brave, Braveheart, and British history – making Maryland one of our most memorable Ren Fest cosplay adventures.

📚 Backstory: Once Upon a Revel Grove

• 🎭 The Maryland Renaissance Festival debuted in 1977 and has grown into one of the largest Renaissance festivals in the US.
• 👑 The festival recreates a 16th-century English village centered around the court of King Henry VIII, with a royal storyline woven into the entertainment.
• 🏘️ Rather than tents scattered across an open field, Revel Grove is filled with permanent shops, stages, taverns, food stands, and period-inspired buildings.
• 🎭 The Globe Theatre was added in 1991, creating Revel Grove’s own version of London’s famous Shakespearean theater, and remains a centerpiece for Shakespeare performances. 

📍 Location: Wherefore Art Thou, Revel Grove?

• 📍 The Maryland Renaissance Festival is located in Crownsville, Maryland, just outside Annapolis.
• 🌲 Revel Grove is heavily wooded, with shady paths winding among stages, artisan shops, food stands, and attractions.
• 🚗 Parking is available on the festival grounds.
• 🏰 The permanent structures and established forest setting make Maryland feel more like exploring a Renaissance village than walking through a temporary festival.

✨ Highlights: All the Faire’s a Stage

• 🎭 Shakespeare Performances – One of our favorite and most distinctive parts of Maryland was seeing Shakespeare performed at a stage designed to evoke London’s Globe Theatre.
• ⚔️ Jousting – Knights, horses, armor, and plenty of cheering deliver the classic Ren Fest spectacle.
• 🎪 Live Entertainment – Stages and pathways throughout Revel Grove are packed with comedy, music, acrobatics, juggling, stilt walkers, and other quirky performances, so entertainment continues even between scheduled shows.
• 🏹 Archery – Grab a bow and test your aim with one of the quintessential Renaissance Festival activities.
• 🔥 Artisan Demonstrations – Craftspeople and demonstrations, including glass blowing, add to the old-world village atmosphere.
• 🛍️ Artisan Marketplace – Forested paths are lined with shops selling everything from artwork and costumes to jewelry, crystals, and handcrafted goods.
• 🍗 Festival Food – One of the more interesting Ren Fest food selections we’ve encountered, going well beyond the obligatory turkey leg. We tried Scotch eggs, cheese bread, apple dumplings with ice cream, chocolate-covered peanut butter pie, and plenty of other hearty faire food served from colorful permanent stands.
• 🌳 Revel Grove – The wooded permanent village is a highlight in itself and one of the things that makes Maryland stand apart from more temporary Ren Fests.

🎟️ Entry: Pay the King’s Ransom

• 📅 The festival traditionally runs on weekends from late August through October, plus Labor Day.
• 🎟️ Tickets should be purchased ahead of time, particularly for popular fall weekends.
• 👗 Costumes aren’t required, but Maryland’s themed weekends make dressing up especially fun.
• ⚔️ Check the current costume and prop weapon policies before planning your garb.

💡 Tips: To Faire or Not to Faire 

• 🕙 Give Yourself a Full Day or Two – We visited for two days and had no trouble filling both with shows, activities, shopping, food, and exploring.
• 📜 Check the Schedule First – Pick out your must-see performances, especially Shakespeare and the jousts, before you start wandering.
• 🗺️ Plan Your Route – Revel Grove is sprawling, and bouncing between distant stages can eat up valuable festival time.
• 🌳 Wear Comfortable Shoes – You’ll cover plenty of ground along the wooded village paths.
• 🏹 Try the Activities – Archery and axe throwing were fun ways to become part of the experience rather than spending the entire day watching shows.
• 🍗 Come Hungry – Maryland has an unusually varied Ren Fest food lineup, so grazing throughout the day is half the fun.
• 🛍️ Leave Time to Shop – The artisan marketplace is extensive, and demonstrations like glass blowing are worth slowing down to watch.
• 👑 Embrace the Theme – The Celtic Celebration gave us the perfect excuse for one of our favorite group costumes.

🗺️ Festival Map

👑 Visits: Warriors in Revel Grove

🎥 TikTok, Reel

♥️ Celtic Celebration: Brave Hearts & Highland Revelry

We visited the Maryland Renaissance Festival for two days on September 10–11, 2022, during the festival’s Celtic Celebration. Naturally, that meant we needed costumes. I went as Warrior Merida from Brave, complete with red curls, bow, and blue face paint, while Scott transformed into William Wallace from Braveheart. The last time Scott dressed as William Wallace, people kept calling him “that guy from Brave,” so this time we ran with the joke and had Geran dress as Lord Macintosh. Anne rounded out our Celtic warriors as Boudicca, the legendary warrior queen of the Iceni tribe of Celtic Britons. Between the kilts, weapons, war paint, and Merida’s wild red hair, we definitely didn’t blend into the crowd.

🎭 Shakespeare: All the Faire’s a Stage

One of my favorite and most unique parts of the Maryland Renaissance Festival was the Shakespeare entertainment, performed on a striking Globe Theatre stage that added to the Elizabethan atmosphere. Seeing Shakespeare gave the festival a stronger connection to the actual Renaissance period and made it stand out from other Ren Fests we’ve visited.

🏹 Archery & Axe Throwing: Putting Our Warrior Skills to the Test

Watching knights battle was fun, but we couldn’t spend Celtic Celebration dressed as warriors without testing our own skills. We stopped at the archery range to loose a few arrows and also tried our hand at axe throwing. Activities like these are one of our favorite parts of Ren Fests because they turn the day into more than simply watching performances – especially when you’re already dressed for battle.

⚔️ Jousting & Entertainment: Let the Games Begin

There was seemingly always something happening as we explored Revel Grove. Beyond the jousting tournament, we caught an impressive variety of entertainment, from falconry and live Celtic music to comedy, juggling, and acrobatics. One of the more memorable acts featured two performers balancing, flipping, and even stacking on top of each other while spinning hula hoops. With elaborate permanent stages tucked throughout the woods and performers popping up around the village, the entertainment felt just as much a part of exploring Revel Grove as the scheduled shows themselves.

🌳 Exploring Revel Grove: What Light Through Yonder Forest Breaks

Some of our favorite footage from Maryland is simply wandering through Revel Grove. The forested paths, permanent buildings, crowds in costume, and artisan booths create an incredibly immersive atmosphere. We browsed unusual shops filled with everything from crystals to handmade crafts and stopped to watch artisans like the glass blowers at work. With so much tucked among the trees, exploring the village was an attraction all its own.

🍗 Food & Turkey Legs: A Feast Most Merry

We did plenty of feasting during our two days at the faire, starting with the obligatory giant turkey leg. But Maryland’s food selection went well beyond the usual Ren Fest staples. We sampled Scotch eggs, cheese bread, apple dumplings topped with ice cream, and chocolate-covered peanut butter pie, with even more unusual options tempting us from the colorful food stands. We also grabbed a savory pastry to eat while watching the joust – because apparently two days at Revel Grove requires nearly as much eating as entertainment.