Maryland Renaissance Festival 2026

Maryland Renaissance Festival 2026 will run August 29 through October 25 at Revel Grove, Annapolis, Maryland, with festival days on weekends and Labor Day Monday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The 50th anniversary season brings visitors into a 16th-century English village with jousting, stage entertainment, artisan shops, food booths, taverns, street characters, and themed weekends.

The event is one of the major Renaissance festivals in the Mid-Atlantic region, set in Crownsville near Annapolis. Its long season makes it a key entry in the calendar of Renaissance and Medieval Festivals in Maryland and a strong option for visitors planning late-summer and autumn faire travel.

🏰 Revel Grove: A 16th-Century Village

The Maryland Renaissance Festival takes place in Revel Grove, a permanent outdoor village designed around the atmosphere of Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII. The grounds include wooded paths, open performance areas, taverns, craft shops, food stands, and a jousting arena.

Admission includes access to stage shows, street entertainment, pub and tavern performances, jousting, village attractions, and the general festival environment. The site is known for its immersive layout, with performers, vendors, and staff in period-inspired costume throughout the day.

The festival grounds cover a large rural property, with the village occupying the main entertainment area and extensive parking available nearby. The setting is natural rather than paved, so comfortable footwear is recommended, especially because the terrain includes mulch, stone, soil, and hills.

⚔️ Entertainment and Attractions

Maryland Renaissance Festival 2026 offers a full-day program of performance, food, craft, and medieval-style spectacle. Visitors can watch armored jousting, follow the royal court, enjoy comedy and music on multiple stages, browse handmade crafts, and explore the village at their own pace.

Expected highlights include:

• Armored jousting in the arena
• Stage shows and street entertainment
• Musicians, dancers, comedy acts, and theatrical performances
• Royal court appearances inspired by the world of King Henry VIII
• Artisan shops and handmade crafts
• Food and beverage booths
• Pub and tavern performances
• Games and attractions
• Costumed village characters
• Seasonal decorations during October weekends

The festival is especially popular for costumes. Guests often attend in Renaissance, fantasy, pirate, Celtic, fairy, or historical-inspired outfits, although costumes are optional.

🎭 Theme Weekends and Special Events

The 2026 season includes several themed weekends and value-added special events:

• Children’s Weekend – August 29–30
  One child aged 7 through 15 is admitted free with each adult ticket purchased. Children aged 6 and under are always free, although they still require a ticket for entry.
• Myth & Magic Weekend – September 12–13
  A weekend focused on myths, legends of the British Isles, and special magic performances.
• Pirate Adventure Weekend – September 19–20
  Pirate music, mayhem, and themed costuming, with guests encouraged to dress in their best piratical attire.
• Celtic Celebration – September 26–27
  A weekend centered on Celtic music, dance, festival favorites, and special guests.
• Harvest Hollow – October Weekends
  October weekends bring seasonal decorations along Mary’s Dale Way and special autumn performances with a spooky harvest-season atmosphere.
• ASL Interpretation Days – September 12 and October 11
  Selected shows will include ASL interpretation. The list of interpreted performances is usually posted online shortly before each ASL day, with copies available at Guest Services.

Visitors planning a themed outing may want to compare the season with other august 2026 Renaissance and medieval events, especially because the opening weekend begins at the end of the month.

🎟 Admission and Ticket Information

Tickets are sold online only and are date-specific. The festival does not sell tickets onsite or at the gate. Visitors should buy only through the official festival ticketing channel, as third-party resale listings may be fraudulent or speculative and may not be accepted.

General admission prices listed for 2026 are:

Orders are limited to 10 tickets per order. Tickets are sent 24 hours before the selected date. For sold-out dates, the festival uses a waitlist and may release additional tickets for the upcoming weekend.

The festival regularly reaches capacity, so early planning is important, particularly for peak weekends, popular themed dates, and October visits.

🍗 Food, Drink, and Marketplace

Food is a major part of the festival experience, with a wide range of hearty faire-style dishes, sweet treats, tavern drinks, and seasonal options available across the village. Food booths may accept cash or card, but beverages and games require cash, so visitors should bring some currency even if they plan to use cards for most purchases.

The marketplace includes artisan and specialty vendors offering handmade goods, clothing, jewelry, leatherwork, pottery, woodwork, glass, accessories, and other Renaissance-inspired products. Craft quality has long been central to the festival’s identity, with many vendors presenting work in dedicated shop spaces.

Readers interested in similar event formats can explore more Renaissance Fairs across the wider Medieval Agenda calendar.

📍 Crownsville and Annapolis, Maryland

The festival site is in Crownsville, an unincorporated community in Anne Arundel County, close to Annapolis. Crownsville had a population of 1,924 in the 2020 Census and is known for its rural roads, wooded areas, fairgrounds, and proximity to the state capital.

Annapolis adds important historical context to the visit. Founded in the colonial period and later serving as Maryland’s capital, the city is closely associated with Chesapeake Bay history, maritime culture, the Maryland State House, and the United States Naval Academy. Its historic center makes the area a practical destination for a full weekend trip, combining the festival with waterfront dining, museums, and colonial-era streets.

🚗 How to Get There

By car, the festival is accessible from Route 50, I-97, Route 450, and Crownsville Road. From Washington, D.C., drivers generally use Route 50 East toward Annapolis, exit near Riva Road, then continue toward South Haven Road and Crownsville Road. From Baltimore, the usual approach is I-97 South toward Annapolis, then Route 178 toward Crownsville.

By train, visitors can use regional rail connections to nearby transit hubs such as Baltimore, BWI Airport, New Carrollton, or Washington, D.C., then continue by car, rideshare, or regional bus where available. There is no direct train stop at the festival grounds.

By bus, regional services connect Annapolis and Anne Arundel County with surrounding areas, but final access to the venue usually requires a car, taxi, or rideshare.

By air, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is the nearest major airport. Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport are additional options for visitors flying into the Washington, D.C. region.

📏 Distances from Major Maryland Cities

📏 Distances from Major U.S. Cities