Renaissance faires in Kentucky

Kentucky's renaissance faire scene is anchored by the Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival in Eminence, a permanent festival built on former farmland and staged as the fictional early-14th-century Scottish Highland village of Briarwood — the first permanent renaissance festival in the state. The Eminence festival completed its 20th season in 2025; it is run by Ed Frederick alongside his wife and daughter, spans eight weekends of summer Saturdays and Sundays, and has become the biggest tourist attraction in Henry County, drawing visitors from Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and the Carolinas, with costume participation growing from roughly 5% of guests in the early years to 70–80% today. The same fairgrounds carry Kentucky's festival calendar well beyond summer, also hosting the Fenrir Viking Festival, the Central KY Celtic Festival and Highland Games, and a Dickens Festival. The mid-2020s brought a wave of new community-run events: the Lexington Renaissance Faire, hosted by local small business Chaotic Good: Coffee, Comics and Games, held its second annual run at Masterson Station in 2026. The Oldham County Public Library in La Grange launched its own first renaissance faire with merchants, crafts, musicians and a petting zoo, and in Carter County organizer Joe Suttles brought that county its first renaissance fair, the Vandalia Renaissance and Fantasy Faire at Shrine Park in Olive Hill, featuring armored combat, jousts and historic trade demonstrations such as blacksmithing and weaving.

Sources: Spectrum News 1 — Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival celebrates 20 years · Wikipedia — Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival · Kentucky Renaissance Fair (official site) · WKYT — Lexington Renaissance Faire draws crowds for second year · Oldham County Public Library — Ye Oldeham Countee Renaissance Faire · Carter County Times — Welcome to Vandalia!