Hear ye! Hear ye! Renaissance Faire is nigh
Fest brings enchanted worlds to Lebanon beginning Saturday
Anoint thy skin with herbal oils to keep the bugs and plagues away. Fill thy purse with ducats. Don a loosely laced puffy shirt, snug leggings and pointy boots. Now hie thee to the 2023 Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Lebanon.
The outdoor event is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Sept. 2 through Oct. 15 at 122 Mack Road in Lebanon plus Labor Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
This is the 25th anniversary of the event. It was held in several other cities over the years, including Hebron, Woodstock and North Haven, before moving to Lebanon in 2017.
The Connecticut Renaissance Faire is an enchanted village of fun and frolic with tented shops and stages winding through an open field. You can eat turkey legs and kettle corn, try on a pointy hat, shoot an arrow or do a silly dance.
This year’s entertainment includes the theatrical troupes “Once Improv a Time,” “To Be or Not to Be a Princess” and The Crown Players, the dance acts Boom Boom Shake, the multi-talented Zoltan the Adequate, Juggler Lancelot the Bald, the law-abiding Sheriff Bracken, etiquette class with Lady Pretensia, the sword fighting duo The Lords of Adventure, animal act Flying Dog Circus, birds of prey controlled by Knightwings, Lute the Living Statue, Meadow Perry the “bubble magician,” the circus-styled “Thunder’s Power Show,” aerialist Shelli Buttons, magic from Master Hildebrand, seductive stories from the Harlot Queens and childbearing advice from “Midwife Crisis” and music from the Penniless Jacks, The Saucy Sailor, The Crimson Pirates, the carillonneur Cast in Bronze, The Harp Twins, The Lost Boys, the Misfits of Avalon and The Sisters Pendragon.
There’s also a maze, an archery range, fencing, axe throwing, blacksmithing, live-actin roleplaying games, face painting, a “living history encampment” and demonstrations of jousting, armored combat, weaponry, Renaissance-era medical practices and cooking and a knighting ceremony attended by the King and Queen of the Faire. Among the activities for kids are “Smite the Knight” and “Knight School.”
Every weekend has its own theme: Sept. 2-4 is “Royal Family & Market Weekend” Sept. 9-10 is “Pirate & Viking Invasion Weekend,” Sept. 16-17 brings “Roses & Romance Weekend,” Sept. 23-24 is “Wizards Weekend,” Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 is “Dragons & Adventure Weekend,” the long Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 7-9, is “Time Travelers Weekend” and the final weekend is “All Hallows,” early prep for Halloween.
Details of all the events, a complete list of the dozens of vendors and food purveyors and specifics on how you might be able to bring your pet with you are on the Connecticut Renaissance Faire website at ctfaire.com. Admission is $16, $10 youth, $5 pets, free for children under 6. Season pass $68, $45 youth, $25 pets.