Renaissance Faire Etiquette and Customs

Faires run on a set of conventions that regulars absorb over years and nobody explains at the gate. None of it is difficult, and none of it is enforced — but knowing it makes the day warmer, funnier and less awkward. Here is what actually matters.

Talking to Cast Members

Costumed cast stay in character, sometimes rigorously. They will address you as "my lord" or "my lady", ask what brings you to the village, and treat your phone as a baffling wizard's mirror. The single most useful thing to know is that you are allowed to play along, and that playing along is the whole point.

You do not need to be clever or funny. "Good morrow", a small bow or curtsey, and answering questions as though the village is real is plenty. If you are asked something you have no answer for, "I could not say, my lady" works every time.

If you would rather not engage, that is completely fine too. A polite smile and walking on is understood instantly — cast are experienced at reading who wants to be drawn in and who does not. What is considered poor form is trying to break a performer's character deliberately, correcting their history, or heckling a scripted scene.

A Little Vocabulary

• Huzzah! — the all-purpose cheer. Used constantly and sincerely.
• Well met! — "nice to meet you".
• Good morrow / good day / good e'en — hello, by time of day.
• My lord, my lady — how you and everyone else will be addressed.
• Prithee, pray tell — please, do tell me.
• Playtron — a visitor who dresses up and plays along, as opposed to paid cast.
• Garb — faire clothing.
• Mundane — the ordinary modern world outside the gates.
• Peace-tied — a costume weapon secured in its scabbard so it cannot be drawn.
• Bottling / passing the hat — collecting tips at the end of a street or stage act.

Nobody will test you on any of this, and forced Elizabethan English is not expected. Enthusiasm counts for much more than accuracy.

Tipping: The Thing Most First-Timers Get Wrong

This is the most important item on the page. A great many faire performers — street musicians, jugglers, mud shows, sword swallowers, fools — are paid primarily or entirely out of tips collected at the end of their set. Admission does not cover them.

• If you watched a whole act and enjoyed it, tip. A few dollars per person is normal and welcome.
• The hat comes round at the end, and the performer will usually make a joke about it. That joke is doing real work.
• Carry small bills. This is the main reason to bring cash to a faire even when everything else takes cards.
• If you cannot tip, staying to the end and applauding loudly genuinely helps — a visible, enthusiastic crowd draws the next one.

Photographs

Cast and elaborately dressed visitors are generally happy to be photographed — many have put months into an outfit and are pleased to be asked. The convention is simply to ask first.

• Ask before photographing a person, especially a child who is not yours.
• Do not photograph during a stage act if the performer has asked you not to, and never with a flash.
• Asking a cast member in character usually gets a better photo, because they will pose in character.
• Be conscious of blocking a path or a sightline while you set up a shot.

Shops, Artisans and Haggling

Much of what is sold at a faire is made by the person selling it. That shapes the etiquette:

• Ask before handling anything delicate, and assume blades and glass are hands-off unless invited.
• Haggling is generally not the custom at American faires, unlike a market. Prices on handmade work reflect labour; asking for a discount on a hand-forged piece tends to land badly.
• Asking how something is made is always welcome. Artisans will usually talk at length and it is one of the best parts of the day.
• Blacksmiths, glassblowers and other demonstrators are working with genuinely dangerous materials. Stay behind the marked line and keep children close.

General Conduct

• Do not touch people or their costumes without permission. Elaborate garb is fragile, expensive, and attached to a person.
• Mind the lanes. Paths are narrow. Step to the side to stop and talk, and watch for processions, horses and carts, which have right of way.
• Horses deserve room. Do not approach or feed jousting horses, and keep back from the arena rail unless seated.
• Faires are family events. Bawdy humour is traditional and the cast are good at pitching it, but the code of conduct applies to visitors too.
• Drink at a sensible pace. Mead and ale in full sun are stronger than they feel.
• Clean up after yourself. Most faires are run on tight margins by people who love them.

If You Are Bringing Children

Faires are usually excellent for children, and most have a dedicated children's area, a knighting ceremony, or quests to complete around the site. Worth knowing in advance: agree a meeting point, because a busy faire is crowded and the lanes wind; and warn younger children that cast members will talk to them in character, which delights most and unsettles a few.

The Short Version

Say "huzzah", ask before you photograph, tip the performers, do not touch the costumes, and play along as much or as little as you like. That is the whole of it.

Ready to go? Find what is running near you in the directory, or browse faires by state. Also worth reading: what to expect at your first faire and what to wear.