11/23/2023 Update: There is also the St. Andrews Renaissance Faire in Ames. 2023 was its third year.
The new Ames Renaissance Faire has been announced for April 13-14, 2024. Very few details have been released so far, but their website currently says:
Opening Ceremony at 11am!
Join us and step back in time for the first Ames Renaissance Faire located at 1400 S 4th St Ames, IA.
Watch sword fights, circus acts, fire-eating, sword-swallowing and enter on a quest to find the town bandit!
https://amesrenfaire.square.site/about
The 4th Street location is the property used by the Ames Haunted Forest in October.
The Ames Renaissance Faire makes the third new Renaissance festival added to Iowa since the Des Moines Renaissance Faire (2004-2015, 2019-2021) ceased operations. There was a time when Iowa had as many as seven Renaissance festival events in a year, and we are now back (or beyond) that number. Huzzah!
Here are the currently operating Renaissance festivals, from oldest to newest:
- Iowa Renaissance Festival (1992-current) – Amana Colonies
- Kingdom of Riverssance (2004?-current) – Sioux City
- Sleepy Hollow Renaissance Faire (2016-current) – Des Moines
- Midlands Renaissance Revel (2018-current) – Council Buffs
- St. Andrews Renaissance Faire (2021-current) – Ames
- Travelers Renaissance Village (2023-current) – Greenfield
- Fairfield Renaissance Faire (2023-current) – Fairfield
- Ames Renaissance Faire (2024 announced) – Ames
More to come…
