Renaissance faires in South Dakota

South Dakota's renaissance faire scene rests on two festivals at opposite ends of the state, one near Sioux Falls in the east and one in the Black Hills in the west. The elder is the Siouxland Renaissance Festival, whose 'shire of Shrewsbury' has recreated Shrewsbury, England circa 1575 — the seventeenth year of Queen Elizabeth I's reign — since 2002, and which marks its 25th annual edition, billed as a Silver Jubilee, in 2026. It is produced by the Siouxland Renaissance Association, an all-volunteer non-profit whose mission is to share the Renaissance era as viewed from Tudor England through family-friendly events throughout the year. Held the first weekend of June each year at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, the festival lists around 150 vendor booths and six stages, and South Dakota Public Broadcasting has noted that the entire staff works in costume and in character under the motto 'Play in the Past.' Across the state, the Black Hills Renaissance Festival was founded in 2020 by Shareece Tatum; it originally took place in Lead and moved to Kickstands Campground near Sturgis in 2025 after the event grew to need larger grounds. Tatum has said the organization's long-term goal is to acquire permanent land, permit buildings, and expand to multiple weekends, and its 2026 edition drew thousands of visitors in a single day to watch jousting, forging and blade-work demonstrations, and vendors selling hand-crafted goods.

Sources: RenFaire.com – Siouxland Renaissance Festival · Experience Sioux Falls – 25th Annual Siouxland Renaissance Festival · SDPB – A Tour of the Siouxland Renaissance Festival · Dakota News Now – Siouxland Renaissance Festival at W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds · NewsCenter1 – Black Hills Renaissance Fest Finds New Home · KOTA TV – Black Hills Renaissance Fair Draws Crowds · The Ren List – Black Hills Renaissance Festival