Lewis County Renaissance Faire 2026

Lewis County Renaissance Faire 2026 will take place September 12–13 at the Lewis County Fairgrounds in Lowville, New York, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. The weekend combines live knight battles, a horse show, medieval entertainment, foam archery, a dungeon escape room, costume contests, artisan merchants, carriage rides, live music and family activities.

The faire is entirely volunteer-operated, and its proceeds support Youth of Lewis County, a nonprofit organization that funds programs and opportunities for young people in the local community. Visitors looking for other events in the state can also explore Renaissance and medieval festivals in New York.

⚔️ Knight Battles and Renaissance Entertainment

Live combat is one of the principal attractions of the Lewis County Renaissance Faire. Staged knight battles bring armored fighters to the grounds for demonstrations combining historical-inspired weaponry, performance and theatrical combat.

The inaugural edition established sword-fighting demonstrations as one of the most popular elements of the weekend, and martial entertainment remains central to the expanded event.

Other entertainment and activities announced for this edition include:

• Live knight battles
• Horse show
• Live minstrels
• Jesters and comedy
• Foam archery
• Dungeon Escape Room
• Hobby horsing
• Dragon Egg Hunt
• Medieval costume contest
• Pie-eating contest
• Tarot readings
• Horse-drawn carriage rides
• Artisan demonstrations
• Family games and competitions

The mix of historical inspiration, costuming and interactive activities also places the event firmly within the Renaissance Faire events featured on Medieval Agenda.

🐎 Horse Show and Carriage Rides

Equestrian entertainment is an important part of the faire. The previous edition’s live horse demonstrations became one of its strongest audience draws, and horse-related programming is again included in the event.

Visitors can also take horse-drawn carriage rides around the fairgrounds. Carriage rides require an additional fee beyond standard admission.

The historic racetrack and agricultural setting of the Lewis County Fairgrounds provide an appropriate backdrop for the equestrian program.

🏹 Foam Archery

The foam archery range allows visitors to test their accuracy using safe, foam-tipped arrows.

Designed for broad participation, the activity gives children and adults an opportunity to try an archery-themed challenge without the equipment associated with a conventional range.

🔐 Dungeon Escape Room

The Dungeon Escape Room returns as a separate interactive attraction after proving especially popular during the inaugural faire.

Participants enter a themed dungeon environment and work together to solve clues and puzzles before completing the challenge.

🎟 Dungeon Escape Room prices:

Single game: $10
Group of five players: $40

The escape room is an add-on and does not include general faire admission.

🐉 Dragon Egg Hunt and Family Activities

Children can search the grounds during the Dragon Egg Hunt, one of several fantasy activities incorporated into the historical setting.

Other family attractions include:

• Hobby horse racing
• Foam archery
• Games and contests
• Costume competition
• Pie-eating contest
• Horse show
• Carriage rides
• Live entertainment
• Artisan demonstrations

The event is designed for visitors of different ages, with many of the activities included as part of general admission.

🎭 Youth Renaissance Theater

Young performers from the Lewis County Youth Theater Camp will make their performance debut during the faire on September 12 and 13.

The free summer program for ages 12–17 introduces participants to Renaissance-inspired theatrical skills through character development, improvisation, heraldry, costume creation, street performance and storytelling.

Camp participants develop their own Renaissance characters and prepare them for live interaction with visitors during the festival weekend, adding another locally created element to the entertainment program.

👑 Medieval Costume Contest

Costumes are strongly encouraged but are not required.

Guests may attend in medieval, Renaissance or fantasy-inspired clothing and enter the Medieval Costume Contest, where creativity and presentation are part of the competition.

Costumed visitors were a notable feature of the first edition, with elaborate armor, fantasy creatures and other character designs appearing throughout the grounds.

🎵 Live Minstrels and Performers

Music and roaming entertainment contribute to the atmosphere throughout the weekend. The faire includes live minstrels, jesters and other performers, with entertainment spread across the event grounds rather than confined to a single attraction.

Past programming has included bagpipes, historical fencing, blacksmithing and roaming musicians, while this edition expands the performing component through the Youth Theater project and additional entertainment.

🔮 Tarot Readings

Visitors interested in the fantasy side of the faire can stop for tarot readings, adding fortune-telling and mystical entertainment to the weekend’s medieval-inspired program.

The attraction sits alongside other interactive experiences such as the Dragon Egg Hunt, costume contest and Dungeon Escape Room.

🛍 Artisan Marketplace

The Artisan Marketplace brings together makers, craftspeople and specialty vendors.

The organizers require participating merchants to maintain a Renaissance-compatible presentation, reinforcing the visual atmosphere of the grounds.

Products and demonstrations associated with the marketplace include:

• Handmade jewelry
• Costumes and accessories
• Historical-inspired weapons
• Wooden crafts
• Crystals and fantasy merchandise
• Art
• Artisan goods
• Blacksmithing and traditional crafts
• Face painting
• Specialty gifts

Supporting the marketplace also contributes to the broader charitable purpose of the weekend.

🍗 Food and Drink

Festival food is available throughout the grounds, including dishes associated with the familiar Renaissance faire experience.

Offerings highlighted by the organizers include:

• Turkey legs
• Smoked meats
• Baked potatoes
• Fresh-baked goods
• Festival meals and snacks
• Drinks and refreshments

Food vendors operate alongside the artisan marketplace and entertainment areas.

🕒 Opening Hours

Saturday, September 12: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sunday, September 13: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

The event is held rain or shine, with a number of attractions located beneath tents or inside fairground buildings.

Its dates also make it part of the Renaissance faires and medieval festivals taking place in September 2026.

🎟 Admission Prices

Single-Day Pass

Adult, age 13 and older: $25
Child, ages 6–12: $15
Children under 5: Free
Group 5-Pack: $90

A single-day ticket is valid for either Saturday or Sunday.

Weekend Pass

Adult, age 13 and older: $35
Child, ages 6–12: $25
Children under 5: Free
Group 5-Pack: $130

The weekend ticket includes admission on both days.

General admission includes:

• Live shows and performances
• Artisan marketplace access
• Knightly combat
• Costume contest entry

The Group 5-Pack provides five general-admission passes in one package.

Dungeon Escape Room

Single game: $10
Group of five: $40

The Dungeon Escape Room requires a separate add-on unless it is already included with an eligible premium pass.

Tickets can also be purchased at the gate, subject to availability, although advance purchase is recommended.

🎟 Buy tickets online

🅿️ Parking

Parking is free at the Lewis County Fairgrounds.

Parking attendants are available to direct arriving vehicles to the appropriate areas.

🏰 Lewis County Fairgrounds

The Lewis County Fairgrounds is more than a conventional modern festival site. The property is a historic fairground dating to 1876 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Lewis County Agricultural Society purchased approximately 15 acres from the Bostwick Estate in June 1876 and developed the grounds as Forest Park.

Early facilities included a large wooden grandstand, a half-mile racetrack, exhibit buildings and concession structures. Several features dating from the nineteenth century survive, including the grandstand and historic structures associated with the agricultural fair.

The grandstand is an especially important survivor of the traditional American county-fair era and remains in active use.

The fairgrounds were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, reflecting their significance to local agriculture, entertainment, architecture and social history.

This historic setting provides a particularly appropriate environment for a Renaissance faire, with open grounds, exhibition buildings and equestrian facilities supporting the event’s varied program.

♿ Accessibility and Practical Information

The fairgrounds include wheelchair-accessible areas, and volunteers can assist guests who need additional support.

Important visitor information includes:

• The faire runs rain or shine.
• Free parking is available on site.
• Many activities are sheltered beneath tents or inside buildings.
• Costumes are encouraged but optional.
• Most activities are included with general admission.
• Dungeon Escape Room and horse-drawn carriage rides are separately priced attractions.
• Pets are not permitted.
• Service animals are allowed.
• Food and drinks are available from festival vendors.
• Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the entrance, subject to availability.

📍 Lowville, New York

Lowville is a village and the county seat of Lewis County in northern New York, located in the Black River region between the Adirondacks and the Tug Hill Plateau. The village has approximately 3,400 residents, making it a small but important administrative and commercial center for the surrounding rural communities.

European-American settlement began in the area in 1797–1798, after Township 11 was surveyed and divided into smaller properties. The name Lowville was formally placed on state maps in 1799 in honor of landowner Nicholas Low.

The Town of Lowville was established in 1800, while Lewis County was created from Oneida County five years later.

The Village of Lowville was incorporated in 1854 and became the Lewis County seat in 1864.

Transportation had an important influence on its nineteenth-century development. Black River Canal traffic reached the area in the 1850s, followed by the Utica and Black River Railroad in 1867. Agriculture and dairy production later became major components of the local economy.

Lowville retains a significant concentration of historic buildings and sites, including the fairgrounds, Old Lowville Cemetery, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument and several nineteenth-century properties.

🚗 How to Get to Lowville

By Road

Driving is the most practical way to reach the Lewis County Renaissance Faire.

Lowville lies along New York State Route 12, one of the principal north-south highways through the region.

From Syracuse: travel north toward Watertown on Interstate 81, then use regional highways toward Lowville.

From Utica: follow NY-12 north through Boonville toward Lowville.

From Watertown: travel south using NY-12 toward the Black River Valley and Lowville.

Other important regional roads include NY-26 and NY-812.

The destination for navigation is:

Lewis County Fairgrounds
5485 Bostwick Street
Lowville, NY 13367

By Train

Lowville does not currently have scheduled passenger rail service.

The most useful Amtrak connections are available at Utica and Rome, both served by trains on New York’s Empire Corridor.

Utica provides connections toward cities including:

• Syracuse
• Rochester
• Buffalo
• Albany
• New York City

Travelers arriving by rail must complete the journey to Lowville by bus, taxi, rental car or another road connection.

By Bus

Lewis County Public Transportation operates services centered on Lowville, including local fixed routes and connector services.

The county’s current transportation network includes Utica connector routes 548 and 549, providing a useful link between Lewis County and the intercity rail and bus connections available in Utica.

A local Lowville Loop also operates within the community.

Because the Renaissance Faire takes place on a weekend and regional transit service is more limited than in major cities, visitors using public transportation should plan their connections carefully.

📏 Approximate Road Distances from Major New York Cities

Syracuse: 75 mi
Albany: 145 mi
Rochester: 165 mi
Buffalo: 225 mi
Yonkers: 300 mi
New York City: 315 mi

📏 Approximate Road Distances from Major U.S. Cities

New York City: 315 mi
Philadelphia: 335 mi
Chicago: 760 mi
Houston: 1,650 mi
Phoenix: 2,300 mi
Los Angeles: 2,700 mi

Distances are approximate driving distances and may vary depending on the selected route.

❤️ A Volunteer-Run Charity Event

The Lewis County Renaissance Faire began as a fundraising idea developed by the Youth of Lewis County Board of Directors in late 2024.

Its inaugural edition was organized in less than eight months and attracted more than 1,300 visitors, considerably exceeding initial expectations. Approximately $20,000 was raised for local youth programs.

The faire continues to operate with a volunteer team, with proceeds directed to Youth of Lewis County initiatives involving arts, education, cultural programming and services for young people.