To be sure there are close to 100 costumed performers, but the Faire is also a feast of costumed craft artisans: the glass blower making before your very eyes vases and pottery from early Roman times all the way through Medieval to the Renaissance, medieval herbs, potions & botanicals handcrafted by the Shire’s herbalist, dream pillows, the archer/bowyer, 2 authentic blacksmiths creating real swords and shields, and literally hundreds more in the craft shops, the food shops, the pubs and the winery, all of them in Elizabethan era costumes and dialect!

Twenty two Royal Kitchens cook up an endless array of savory 16th Century foods and delicious traditional favorites sure to satisfy the heartiest of appetites. Enjoy giant roasted turkey legs, steak-on-a-stake, fish-n-chips, scotch eggs and soup served in bread bowls. Feast upon freshly baked pastries, heaping scoops of Italian gelato and more. At the Swashbuckler Brewery & Restaurant, delightful ales ranging from dark and robust to gold and smooth complement the hearty foods. The Checkered Knight serves wines and Renaissance Honey-Mead direct from the cellars of Mount Hope Winery. Select from a variety of the Faire’s own-made soft drinks, freshly squeezed lemonade and frozen fruit concoctions.

The fantasy unfolds on 13 open-air stages with over 70 shows daily. Marvel at sword swallowers, fire breathers, magicians, jugglers and dare-devil tumblers. Sing along with bawdy rogues and flirtatious wenches. Experience
Shakespeare’s plays on a three-story replica of London’s Globe Theatre as they were performed in the days of old or laugh as the Shire’s wackiest denizens perform hysterical Comedia Del Arte loosely based on the Bard’s tragedies. Witness the truly amazing display of the Royal Falconer’s birds of prey in flight.

Be sure to witness the Match of Human Chess! Played on a massive 40’ x 40’ chess board, it is a spectacular
stunt-filled extravaganza complete with swords, hand-to-hand combat and fast-paced wit.

The excitements and adventures of the day build up to the impressive and dramatic Ultimate Joust, in the largest joust arena in North America. A tour d’ force of lance, shield and ultimate equestrian skill, thousands of pounds of man, horse and steel gallop fearlessly toward each other. Lances shatter upon impact and noble knights fall to the ground during this lifelike battle.

The entertainment does not stop at the stages. All along the Shire’s streets, the Faire’s hallmark form of improvised, interactive theater abounds as the citizens of the Shire carry on their every day "normal" lives entertaining with song, swordplay, or even mud begging. An entire section of the Shire is a gaming village where the medieval axe throw and crossbow are the extreme sports of the time. Children can take a turn on the Quintaine, a wooden jousting horse sliding down a cable so the youngsters might lance a brass ring for prizes. Man-powered rides, a fantastically merry fencing game known as the Fight Circle and a colorful Maze guarantee there is something for everyone.