In a small town known as Larkspur in the state of Colorado is a beautiful area where you can take a step back in time away from the day to day of modern life. For 8 weeks out of the year, you can go there to attend the Colorado Renaissance Festival in the village of Larkspurshire. The Festival’s opening weekend occurred on June 17th and 18th and I had the pleasure of being there for their opening weekend and I’m here to share my experience with you.
The first thing to know is Larkspur is truly a small town, as in I didn’t even see a single stoplight type of town. The drive there is fairly easy coming down (or up) I-25 or they recommend the scenic route off Rte 105 to avoid traffic. The festival has plenty of parking space and an entire section for handicapped close to the entrance. But, if you don’t get there early you will easily find yourself in the overflow lot. I arrived on Saturday at 9:05 AM, 55 minutes before opening and was in the middle of overflow. So if you plan to attend, get there early to be closer to the gate.
Ticket prices for the festival are very reasonable. Adult tickets are $28 at the gate, $26.50 if you buy them online in advance, and $25 if you purchase them at King Soopers. Children’s tickets (ages 12 and under) are $12 at the gate and $11 online or at King Soopers. I highly recommend buying all your tickets at King Soopers are they are good for any one day at the festival and you’ll save yourself a few dollars.
Your first opinion of any Renaissance Festival is going to be the moment you see that entrance gate. How does it look? How were you treated when you entered? What did you first see? At Colorado Renaissance Festival, I was truly blown away by their grounds. The gate is a massive structure with multiple doors. They have a bridge you can walk in from to make it truly feel like you’re in the Renaissance era. And 30 minutes before the opening of the gates, the Royal Court stands at the top of the gate to greet everyone and they send out various entertainers to explain what the attendees should expect. The staff and entertainers truly know how to hype up the ground so the moment those doors open, the attendees can’t wait to get inside.
Once you are inside, it’s an amazing sight to behold. First, the festival is on private land so they have literally built up a village on the grounds. Stores and pubs are within physical buildings that have such wonderful architecture and style. The entertainment stages have stadium-style seating, hold lots of people, and have great views no matter where you sit. The jousting field is massive and wide and you can see it from pretty much anywhere (as long as people are sitting down). The Pirates Pub has a massive pirate ship as part of the entrance to the area. Overall, it is truly a beautiful festival ground. The one to note, the festival is on a mountain, so a good portion of walking is uphill as you make your way deeper and deeper into the festival.
The Royal Court by far are the most prominent people at the festival. Their interactions with the crowd are so critical because someone would always remember if the King or Queen treated you poorly. I can say the entire Royal Court are absolutely phenomenal. I watched over an entire weekend their kindness, compassion, their humor, and ensuring everyone was having a good time. Even I was asked multiple times if I was enjoying myself. The Royal Court hosts a meet and greet, they appear at the Joust, and even perform a Knighting Ceremony at the Chapel, which is a beautiful structure. The King even beckoned me to be knighted, which I truly appreciated. And if you want a truly fun time with the kids and Royal Court, go check out the Princess Tea Party on the lawn by the Joust around 4:30 PM. It’s not a listed event so keep your eyes out for it.
One of the most important events to me at a Renaissance Festival is their Joust. The Joust can be a centerpiece of the story around the Renaissance Festival. At Colorado, the Joust is hosted by The Knights of Noble Cause and they provide three events each day that oversees a story from the start to the end of the day. If you’re looking for a struggle of good vs. evil, chivalry vs. dishonor, this is the event for you. Feats of horse riding, combat, and a cast of characters you’ll love (or not depending on which side you’re on). They truly know how to get you engaged and drawn into the story and sometimes will throw a curveball you don’t see coming. I’ve seen this troupe numerous times and absolutely love their performances.
Of course, no Renaissance Festival is ever without its share of entertainers. And Colorado Renaissance Festival has a killer lineup of entertainers this year. One of the biggest names added this year is Jacques Ze Whipper. If you love Renaissance Festivals and don’t know who he is, you might be the first. His popularity on YouTube and TikTok has been massive and he absolutely fills his stage to overflow capacity. His whip tricks and French-ish personality has the crowd laughing and cheering the whole way through. He puns with the best of them and I’m sure you’ll laugh at them too. I highly recommend seeing his performance.
Sharing that same stage is Cydeshow Cy the Sword Swallower. He pulled a massive crowd at his performances mystifying people with his sword-swallowing ability plus his knife-throwing skills. He thrilled the crowd with his sword-swallowing, which made some people turn away. And he certainly made people gasp with his knife-throwing skills as he traced knives around his assistant Sarah. And then even let her throw knives around him. I loved his personality and his humor during his show and his skills will blow your mind. Another must-see performance while you’re at the festival.
And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, how about a fire manipulator?! Dragonfire, who goes by Wilsome, does an amazing job with fire stunts from lighting fires off his hands to breathing massive fireballs into the air. I was truly amazed and blown away by these stunts and feel you will be too. If stunts aren’t your cup of tea, maybe comedy is more your style. If that is the case, check out Ded Bob. This ventriloquist act is very humourous, but fair warning, his humor is very mature. But, he is really funny. I gasped and groaned at some of the jokes, but overall really enjoyed his show. Note that Ded Bob is only at the festival for two more weekends only!
Of course, you can’t have a Renaissance Festival without musical entertainment and the Colorado Renaissance Festival has some fantastic performances to see. CRAIC is one of the most popular performers with their rock-style that absolutely has the audience moving and cheering them on. Their last performance of the day is epic and not to be missed. For some more traditional music, check out The Reelin’ Rogues with their storytelling and music which is very entertaining. I really enjoyed their music and personalities. And for a flavor of both, check out Celtic Legacy with their mixture of rock and Celtic storytelling.
If you are a parent and wonder if your kids will enjoy the festival, they are plenty for them to do. There are a bunch of kids rides, a maze for them to go through, but one of my favorite groups kids seem to love is Unicorn Hugs. Lady Brittany and Lady Raven are there to introduce to you to their live unicorns. The unicorns are absolutely adorable and Lady Brittany and Lady Raven have the perfect personalities working with children. And even if you don’t have kids, give them a visit. They are so sweet.
And if you just like to walk around there is so much to see between the food vendors, which has a wide variety of things to eat, drink vendors, who also have a wide variety options, and merchants for your shopping pleasure. One of my favorite things to see that weekend was the Parade. A whole cast of characters from the Royal Court, the Joust, merchants, and more. Definitely a worthwhile event.
Besides all of this, there is something special about this festival. It took me a bit to figure it out, but it’s the people. The attendees are hardcore fans of the festival. You can see their eagerness waiting for the gates to open. You can see their enjoyment during the performances. And how much they enjoy dressing up in appropriate period garb or cosplay. The fans make the atmosphere of the festival feel more jovial and alive.
This festival feels like a huge celebration no matter where you are going or what you are seeing. Though, if you want a party, stop by the Pirates Pub to be entertained with some fun songs from The Crimson Pirates and naughty songs from Chaste Treasure. Both were very entertaining and memorable.
Overall, should you attend the Colorado Renaissance Festival? Absolutely! The Festival grounds are beautiful, it is very reasonable price-wise, entertainment for all ages, and a really fun time. For more information, visit the Colorado Renaissance Festival’s website at https://coloradorenaissance.com/.