Philadelphia Renaissance Faire — Local services in Philadelphia

The first thing you, dear reader, should understand is the historic location where this faire has been held for the past several years. It is Fort Mifflin, originally constructed in 1771 in a place they then called "MUD ISLAND". Yes, that's right. Mud. It's also the oldest continually operating fort in the country, as part of the fort's land is used by the US Army Corps of Engineers to this day.

So, back to the location: MUD. As in very wet ground. This fort sits on part of the remaining wetlands situated along the Delaware river where the Schuykill River empties. It's essentially built on a giant natural sponge. What does that mean? It means wear waterproof shoes whenever you visit this place, Faire or not. It does not matter if it hasn't rained in weeks: You are likely to still have mud.

Today, Fort Mifflin sits very directly next to the Philadelphia International Airport, right along an active runway. What does that mean? Dragons, cleverly disguised as aircraft coming in for landing. Stripey Dragons (American Air), Triangle Dragons (Delta), Brown and Gold Dragons (UPS), even Dragons hailing from Southwest. We saw lots of dragons. :)

It's a place that was built before cars, and so in between the faire vendors and performers who are there all the time, the parking lot is super full. You CAN take a chance and park your car along the side of Hog Island Road, however please understand you are right at a major airport, and you are also close to the airport's fuel storage tanks, so there's a better-than-average chance that your car will be towed while you're frolicking.

The faire organizers rented the closest available lot, which, because of that big airport runway, is about a mile drive away. If you could walk in a direct line between the two, it's like 1/4 of a mile. Great, except it's an ACTIVE RUNWAY and they don't take kindly to pedestrians.

The faire itself is probably more what you'd call a 'pop up' faire, compared with some very large fairs like Pennsylvania that is 'purpose built' with permanent village structures, this is much more pop up tents and temporary stages. I like both kinds of fairs, however I don't compare them. That would be like comparing the St. Denis Fun Fair with Great Adventure, right?

The shuttle drove us right to the gate, and we had zero problems checking in using our $40 season passes. The first section when we entered had a stage, food trucks and a couple vendors. There were covered and open sky tables for people to sit at while they ate.

The next two spaces were shows and vendors. I visited the hair braiding booth first where the lovely person braided my hair right up and put pretty decorations in too. YAY. Then we saw the falcon show - the falcons were not flying free because of the very close by airport. Airport + bird = bad. The falconer was great, she told us all about the birds, how to become a falconer, etc.

There were like 5 total stages and we saw some great acts, a storyteller, harpist, daredevil fire and magic act, and a singing group were all on hand.

They had taken care to rope up the wettest mushiest areas, and they had laid flat plywood all along the walkways, which definitely helped. The vendors were all very nice, no temu re-sell crap, and they had two different 'find it' games for families to play while they were there. Find the Cheese was really funny too.

I really enjoyed my time at this faire and would go again next year. I will bring a hat and sunscreen next time, I always forget these. If you're looking for big showy stages that look like the globe theater and a village, this isn't your faire. However if you're looking for genuine artisan crafts, great shows and a lovely sense of ...community, then this is your place. By day 3 I was greeted like an old friend, which...

If you’re expecting a full-scale, traditional Renaissance faire with kings, queens, knights on horseback, and immersive themed food—you may be disappointed. Like another reviewer mentioned, this event leans more toward a craft fair with a fantasy twist.

There were lots of artisan booths offering crafts, jewelry, candles, and other items that would appeal to the Dungeons & Dragons/gamer crowd, which was actually pretty cool. But I had hoped for more of the classic medieval pageantry and atmosphere.

The food options were also pretty underwhelming. Besides the obligatory turkey leg, there wasn’t much that fit the Renaissance theme. One highlight was the pun-themed show, which was entertaining and creative.

Unfortunately, our experience at the bar put a damper on things. I asked for a Black Cherry White Claw, as shown on their display, and was met with unnecessary attitude. The bartender curtly informed me that “it’s a variety—you can’t pick,” which could have been handled more politely.

Overall, the ticket price was reasonable and we had some fun, but between the limited theming and the poor customer service, I...

A beautiful little one-weekend faire, perfect for those who cannot wait for the PA Ren Faire season to start up in the fall, and need something to do on Memorial Day weekend. Various food trucks/stands are set up outside the gates to the fort. Inside the fort are great vendors, fantastic acts, games, drinks and then some! Archery was fun, and the pickles were great! I will say, the venue was a little muddy the day I went, but aside from that, the fort gave a really nice castle vibe to the event, and with the airport nearby, "dragons" were flying overhead throughout the day in true fantasy style.

That being said, it is a smaller - and newer - faire, so there's not much in the way of a joust or royal court (yet?), so keep that in mind if your basis for comparison is PARF or similarly larger faires. Also, parking is off-site with a shuttle or two running back and forth between the lot and Fort Mifflin, but there was a wonderful minstrel playing some sort of stringed instrument for us while we waited.

Definitely going again this year, but if you're coming from far and wide, manage your...