Renaissance Pleasure Faire — Attraction in Irwindale

Well, it’s a Faire. Getting in takes forever — take however long your drive is and add another 30-45 minutes from the park entrance to get to your parking spot. From there, you walk 5-10 minutes to the entrance, and then wait in a line to go through security, then wait in another line to buy your tickets, then wait in another line to get into the Faire.

Now you're in!

Make sure you know how to get out. There are no exit signs. The Faire is arranged in such a way that you must backtrack however deep you go. The jousting and R-rated wench entertainment is at the very end, if that is your thing, and both fill up quickly.

The Faire itself is essentially a big shopping mall that consists of approximately 70% Thing Vendors, 15% Renaissance Activyties, and 15% Junk Food. Do not go under the illusion that there are a tons of activities; it is very very much about buying stuff.

The Thing Vendors sell Ye Olde Trinkets, Clothyng, and Other Junke. To be fair, most of it is handmade and unique, and some of it is actually quite nice.

As for food, it is all your normal California one-step-above-middle-America street fair junk food. Fries, burgers, etc. They do have turkey legs! (And poke bowls. Poke bowls most certainly should have been avoided during the actual Renaissance, and perhaps they should be here too?) They do have mead, in a can! At $17 per can. And $7 for Pepsi! A great deal, for sure.

The remainder of the Faire are activities and entertainment that echo the Middle Ages, fairy tales, fantasy nerddom, etc. Some are fun.

Everyone is dressed up. It's fun to see. You should dress up if you go. The production value is also relatively high. The people here put a lot of effort into the thing, and they overall do a good job. It’s just the nature of events like this to be slow and expensive.

If you're into driving a long way, waiting in a lot of lines, dressing up in what is likely a one-time costume to go in a buy more stuff you won't use, to eat overpriced, unhealthy, and mediocre food, to then have to walk all the way through and then all the way back through to only reverse the long drive, then this...

"Some folks believe the Faire only exists as an excuse to dress funny and get drunk." When I heard someone say that in 2010, nothing could be further from the truth. The Renaissance Pleasure Faire had SO much more to offer! Most guilds had their own lovely areas to explore, there was an amazing variety of stage shows, there was no shortage of awesome vendors, the immersion level was top-notch, and I LOVED that actors would frequently engage with each other in the streets (they felt like miniature performances!). This was a magical experience you couldn't find anywhere else.

15 years later, the Faire is a withered husk of what it was, and yet it's more crowded and expensive than ever.

Long-time food and merchandise vendors have been thinning out every year. This has been especially disastrous for the food court, because there are fewer options to divide the huge crowd, resulting in horrendous lines in the sun. If you don't want to eat right at opening or a few minutes before close, prepare to roast in a line for at least half an hour.

Aside from costumes, period immersion seems to be a low priority. Something I used to love were all the clever ways staff and participants would hide modern conveniences to the best of their ability, and all booths or facades were convincingly period-appropriate. Now, plastic banners are deployed everywhere and food trucks loudly pollute the area near the joust.

Stage shows can still be fun, but the variety has gone down significantly, and seating can ran out VERY quickly due to the high attendance. I also miss shows that would feature characters from the Queen's Court or other guilds, since they heightened the sense that participants in costume were legitimate characters and not just set dressing (in general, the current RPF cares very little for its characters beyond Queen Elizabeth).

Individual participants still bring passion to this event, but management has succumbed to a terminal case of apathy. Unless you /are/ only there to dress funny and get drunk, the RPF of today is hardly worth the hassle or the expense ($44 ticket+$12 parking+eye-watering...

The Original Renaissance Faire is officially in full swing in Irwindale, CA (Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area)

Depending on where you park, there’s a walk to the entrance and a line to get through security. If you have a sword, they’ll probably give you a zip tie. Then, there’s a line to get in for tickets (unless you bought your ticket online) and a line to get into the Faire.

There’s many vendors (lots of Renaissance costumes, costume accessories, jewelry, candles, hats, umbrellas,etc ) as you walk through, including booths for beer, hard cider, water, etc. The food court gets pretty busy during peak lunch times and the picnic tables fill up quickly. And yes, they do have turkey legs! There are food vendors past the food court. They do have a pub crawl for an extra charge. Bring lots of cash. Food and drinks are Faire prices!

My favorites were the roasted nuts, meat pies, chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, chimney cake with soft serve, chimney cake with sausage and hibiscus cooler!

There are activities like throwing darts, knife throwing, archery, petting zoo, face painting, hair braiding, dunk tank, craft stations, etc.

Lots of live entertainment such as renaissance dances, jousting tournaments (gets super busy), live music, acrobatic shows, comedy skits, the Queen and her Court and other shows. For most of these, you’re sitting on hay bales and may be in the sun unless you’re able to find spots with shade.

You’ll see lots of people in fabulous costumes! Some go all out!

This is our 3rd year going and it’s a lot of fun!

Tips: you have to pay to get in the park come early to park (gates open at 9am - get there 8am - 8:30am)After 9am, be prepared for a LONG line to get in. free general parking (first come first serve) save time and buy tickets online (Adult $44.00 + Fees = $48.66) bring sunglasses, hat, portable fan or umbrella (it gets pretty hot) bring cash (they have ATM machines but you’ll have to pay an extra fee) wear comfortable shoes (lots of walking)

Saturdays and Sundays, April 5 – May 18, 2025 ·...