Review: Michigan Renaissance Festival, Holly, MI - open through Oct. 1
This was my first time attending RenFest! I've heard stories from friends over the years about how much they enjoy going, so I had high expectations for it.
Back in August, I did a giveaway post for the Michigan Renaissance Festival (commonly known as RenFest), and you can read more about the festival at that post, such as pricing and times. The festival is open through October 1st.
I went with my boyfriend and two other friends, and we had great weather that day. One thing I was unprepared for was how much walking there would be, though—I knew the festival grounds were large, but to actually get to the festival grounds from the parking area is about a 15-minute walk.
As you can see in the pic above, a lot of people like to dress up in costume—both actors and the people attending RenFest—which was a lot of fun. There's a reason that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (the dressing up!) and even though I didn't dress up for RenFest, I enjoyed doing some people-watching.
There are a lot of fun shows going on at RenFest, and my advice is to check the schedule before going. We caught the end of the above show (man manipulating fire!) and also two others: a music performance by the band Wolgemut, with bagpipes, which was awesome, and The Ded Bob Show, a popular show that I've been told has been at RenFest for 20+ years.
{Wolgemut is below - apologies for the vertical video, it was originally an Instagram story}
There's also plenty of food available for purchase at RenFest, although be prepared to wait in line for some of the options—we were determined to get a turkey drumstick ($7), but we picked the stand located among all of the main food stands, which was a mistake. I looked at the RenFest map online and found that there were plenty of others, so I sent my boyfriend to go check on those while I waited in the main line; sure enough, he said the line was much shorter at the other location, and by the time he got back I was STILL waiting in the main line.
We stood in line to meet a mermaid too (see above) and although it was fun, it wasn't entirely what I had been expecting—the mermaid doesn't talk, she just squeaks (mermaid language? ha). If I attend RenFest again, I'd like to check out the jousting more, though—it looked to be quite fun, but a large crowd had already gathered, so we only stopped for a minute to watch.
What to know before you go:
- Wear comfortable walking shoes (I wore sneakers) because you will be doing a LOT of walking. The parking lot (basically a field) is huge, there is also a different parking lot for handicapped people that is closer to the entrance.
- Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate—it's $22.95 for adults, and $13.95 for children ages 5-12. Admission for children under age 5 is free. Discount tickets can be found at Kroger, Walgreens, Goodwill, and Menards stores, or online. ClickonDetroit had half-off tickets near the beginning of the season, so if you go next year, check them as a resource, too. (the deal has since ended)
- The festival is open until October 1, 2017, on weekends only, from 10am to 7pm, rain or shine.
- Definitely check out the map online before going—I saw a few flyers while there with the show times, but no actual map.
- The festival does theme weekends, too, so if that's a consideration for you, you can check that out on the website.
Overall, I had a fun time at RenFest and would go back again. One of the friends I went with had already been before, so she knew some of the fun shows to see, which was definitely a plus. There are also games to play and this year they have many new things going on, too, such as a Bloody Mary bar and a live "unicorn"—so even if you've been before, there are always more things to check out.
The Michigan Renaissance Festival is located at 12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly, MI 48442, and is open 10am to 7pm on weekends, through October 1, 2017.
