Philadelphia Renaissance Faire offers medieval magic

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Philadelphia wound back the clock at historic Fort Mifflin over Memorial Day weekend.

Not to reenact a famous American Revolutionary War battle — but to relive the dawn of the English Renaissance with a splash of Medieval fantasy.

The third annual Philadelphia Renaissance Faire capped its three-day run Monday, with tabletop game tournaments at the Gaming Stronghold, axe throwing and archery contests at the Proving Grounds, blacksmith demonstrations and live performances galore.

Joyce Willis and her daughter Ntazia Brittingham bonded over their shared “nerdom.”

“It’s also really nice to just to experience something outside of the everyday that we see in Philadelphia to get away to allow for an opportunity for a fantasy and cosplay and just smiles and also the historical aspect of it too,” Willis said.

Costumed faire-goers and casually dressed attendees engaged in role-playing activities under the Memorial Day sun to the tune of folk songs. Artisan vendors played into the bit, serving up helpings of huge turkey legs.

“We had no plans for Memorial Day and I always remembered doing this when I was a kid, so I wanted to bring my own kids to experience the Renaissance Fair,” attendee Christopher Muessig said.

Daniel GreenWolf, co-founder of the fair, is also a magician and a fire breather. He’s been enamored with Middle Age-era showmanship since he was a child.

“It was the last bastion of vaudeville,” GreenWolf said. “There was nowhere else that you were going to see a storyteller, a juggler, a belly dancer, a fire performer and a magician all in the same place in the course of one day. You wouldn’t see that anywhere else except for a Renaissance fair.”

This festival is somewhat of a reincarnation. The original Philadelphia Renaissance Faire folded during the COVID-19 pandemic and never returned.

With experience running fairs in New England, GreenWolf and co-founders Patrick Colton, Sam Negraval, Tom Sales and Aaron Van Yuga decided to resurrect Philadelphia’s iteration of the festival. GreenWolf said the goal is to elicit a “wow.”

Festival goers were enjoying the atmosphere.

“I love the sort of village-y feel to everything. I feel like we’ve been transported back to, you know, a whole other time period,” Willis said.

Brittingham, who works at Gaffney Fabrics in Germantown, created her and her mother’s purple and black costumes. Esmarelda from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame inspired her outfit.

“Mostly people are piecing their outfits together or they’re making them by hand and I just love to see everyone expressing themselves,” she said.

Niche vendors make a living leaning into medieval fantasy. Andrea Zawadowicz, with Dragon’s Eye Leather, travels across the country with her partner Dave DiCantio selling handcrafted leather items at various fairs.

“We love our Ren fairs because it’s a great community and other vendors such as ourselves,” Zawadowicz said. “We have a whole community of us and it’s really great to be loved and accepted here.”

Jesse Lechok, of DimensionXStudios, creates lifelike creature wearables and items to wear with costumes. He considered himself a “Dungeons & Dragons kid” growing up.

“I very much love this environment and the vibe of it all and just like to see the joy on people’s faces whenever they see something that they feel that character and it helps them embody that,” Lechok said.

The feeling appeared to be contagious. Local bard Thom Fuewellery attended last year’s event as a patron, dressed up in era-authentic attire. Fair organizers hired him on the spot. Now, he performs songs at other fairs across the region.

“Any chance I get to dive in and bring smiles and merriment to folks through something that I can do, whether it’s cooking for people or playing some music, I’m here to do it,” he said.

Organizers say the Renaissance fair will return next year.