Saint Louis Renaissance fair — Local services in Wentzville

Me, my sister, and friend just went there and we had a blast. We never ran out of things to do the whole 6 1/2 hours we were there.

The Experience: For people who haven't been to a Renaissance Fair, I should say that the Renassaince experience includes a lot of shopping. If you don't go through any stalls you will probably only be there 2-3 hours (minus times between performances and reservation waiting). There are tons of benches for seating if you get tired and many bands whose music you may be caught up in!

Performance: My friend saw her first jousting performance today and we were pleased with it! It was better than the one I saw in Muskogee, their costumes were immaculate and the acting was great, although I was unable to hear some of what they said. Every other swordplay act and performance art (not including music) weren't very impressive at all. If you want to pet the bird, pet them at the beginning of the day. Overstimulation is a thing.

Music: There was one band that came around during the gathering by the gate at the end of the day who, while they didn't make a name in our heads for themselves at their stage, made a lasting impression on us at the gate. We can't remember their name but that is not their fault, we were easily distractible at the time. They had a flag that says Pirates Inc but we all agree that's not what they said their name was. They prided themselves on being nerds and pandered to us DnD playing folk. After the formalities with the royals at the end of the day they began playing and I and a significant part of the crowd started dancing and clapping. They chose great music for the street dancing, it felt like prom.

Food n' stuff: We didn't eat any of their food, we brought our lunch and ate it in the grassy parking lot before we went in. We decided to go in with a bag of cashews and bell peppers in our bag just in case they would let these innocent items in but they didn't even check our backpack. Cool! The only necessity based purchases we made was water. ... It was 90 degrees ... Everyone wanted water and clearly they weren't prepared. There were two places advertising water and the only one we were able to find at the height of the day had a line that went about the entire length of the jousting arena.

Two tips for finding water: We found that one of the bars was offering water, not advertising it, and NOBODY knew. We also found that some members of the cast will take your water bottle and refill it for free if you catch them not busy (and have a good reason to be needing water). I complemented a grizzled stall owner on their tankard and, here is some insider info they vented at me that I found interesting, they said that the owners aren't very good at keeping up with their performers/stall folks. The folks who made the tankards had emailed the owners that they were unable to attend back in the early early summer. Presumably they didn't check their emails, they caused confusion amongst the crew because the people who made the tankards were still being expected to come. They said that it would have all been avoided if the owners sent emails checking in on their people as is standard practice in the industry. Hopefully I had described this person anonymously enough...

An absolute dud. Not worth the drive, the time, or the ticket money. It looked and felt like they were not ready for their own opening weekend.

Folks who own and run this place need to invest more and raise the standards. Find qualified people who care and pay them well.

SAFETY CONCERNS Parking team look like regular people in street clothes - I thought a regular patron was directing us to park. Need lanyards, staff shirts, neon vests, SOMETHING. Gates to backstage and employee camping were WIDE OPEN with no signage or security to keep patrons out. And where are your safety service people and first aid??? These should be obvious and clearly marked in case of emergencies.

ILLUSION RUINED BY MODERNITY Cherry pickers and go carts and forklifts out in the open and driving around. Lots of tent vendors had their coolers, folding chairs, electronics, etc. sitting out instead of stowed or hidden. Pallets of beverages and boxes of supplies sitting at refreshment booths or piled near walkways just waiting to be unloaded. Benches stacked instead of out in neat rows ready to use. Felt like walking around a warehouse instead of a magical faire.

Closed shops and closed stages - why not give these spaces to the vendors and stage acts who ARE there? Makes the festival look rundown and empty, as if you planned it to be bigger but only 50-60% of employees actually showed up. Lots of cobwebs, sticks, leaves that needed to be cleared away for a more ready and welcoming look. Large branches and large rocks in walkways make a constant tripping hazard. Poor signage taped over with masking tape instead of neat, legible marker or paint.

NO PROGRAM or list of showtimes on the back of the map, it was totally blank. This is a huge waste of space from both a marketing and logistical standpoint. Cell signal is poor so the only way patrons know when and where a show is, is to just happen upon it or read the small signs at every stage. A listed program on the back of the map would be so much more convenient.

Other festivals we have attended (Carolina, Georgia, West VA, Bristol) are leaps and bounds better than this: more immersive, more safe, and better...

Says it’s open 7 days a week, weekdays until 5. They didn’t have a sign that said they were closed. Got ready for nothing. Drive 45 mins for nothing. No one said anything until we got deep into the fair. I’m sure lots of people had that issue. fix...