Renaissance faires in Montana

Montana's renaissance faire scene is young by national standards and largely built by nonprofits, theatre companies and volunteer societies rather than commercial promoters. Its biggest-scale event, the Montana Renaissance Festival, was launched in 2012 by organizer Ken Haak at ZooMontana in Billings, outgrew the zoo around the time COVID struck, and moved to Red Lodge in 2022 after an invitation from the Red Lodge Chamber and Home of Champions Rodeo, whose arena seats 6,000. That festival, led by Haak and Doug McIsaac, has since returned to Billings at the MetraPark fairgrounds, where its 2026 edition was planned around more than 230 vendors, nine stages and expected attendance of over 25,000, with organizers estimating millions of dollars in annual economic impact from the tourism it draws. The state's Celtic wing centers on the Bitterroot Celtic Society, a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) that stages the Bitterroot Celtic Games & Gathering at the historic Daly Mansion in Hamilton on the third full weekend of every August — now past its 17th annual edition and described locally as one of the biggest events in the Bitterroot Valley. Charity is a recurring thread: the Magpie Foundation, founded in 2021 by Natasha Bivens and her daughter to support Montana veterans, runs the Magpie Renaissance Faire as a fundraiser whose proceeds have bought firewood for Vietnam veterans, with most of its roughly 36 hand-picked vendors coming from Montana. On the Hi-Line, Montana Actors' Theatre's faire at Bear Paw Bowman Campground in Beaver Creek Park has been an annual tradition since 2022, when it began as a production of Macbeth with a few vendors; it has since grown to 45 scheduled vendors with daily attendance climbing from about 300 to 500 people, and it stays free to attend thanks to local donors.

Sources: Lively Times — Montana Renaissance Festival moves to Red Lodge · Laurel Outlook — Montana Renaissance Festival is taking over MetraPark fairgrounds · Bitterroot Celtic Society · Bitterroot Star — Another successful Celtic Games and Gathering · MSU Exponent — Upcoming Magpie Renaissance Faire supports veterans and local artisans · Big Sandy Mountaineer — Montana Actors Theater's Renaissance Faire Returns to Beaver Creek Park