The Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire was founded in 2006. Its host city of Marriott-Slaterville is located in Weber County, it is a half-hour drive from Utah’s capital of Salt Lake City. The festival is held every spring over the four weekends of May.
The Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire is set in the fictional medieval village of Hawkhurst circa 1500–1650. While many Renaissance fairs focus on more or less accurate historical reenactment, this festival also incorporates some fantasy elements such as mermaids, fairies and sorcerers.
Like most other Renaissance fairs, the festival in Marriott-Slaterville features a marketplace where merchants sell various handmade wares and crafts, workshops and demonstrations, traditional music and dance, joust, and costumed characters who make the atmosphere even more authentic. All activities are free or low cost.
To make things even more exciting and encourage visitors to return, the festival offers themed weekends. This means that every weekend features unique events and activities inspired by its theme. For example, the 2018 festival included Faerie Weekend, Pirate Weekend and Steam Punk Weekend. Additionally, the last day of the festival fell on Memorial Day, so it was dedicated to heroes.
One of the festival’s signature events is the Knightly Equestrian Games. This is an annual equestrian competition open to horse riders aged 18 or older. Contenders get a chance to win $300 each weekend as the top contender or $500 if they beat all comers as the First Knight. Those who do not participate have an exciting opportunity to watch two shows daily for equestrian skills and equestrian archery.
The Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire should not be confused with the Utah Renaissance Fair. The latter takes place in the city of Lehi in late August.
Photo: utahrenfest.com
