I would say having this event at Depot Park is definitely an improvement. Although the event space is a bit more condensed, it's a much nicer space. The food vendor lines are incredibly long so don't come hungry. However, they do have some really good options. If you hit the dominos pizza line just right, you'll get a freshly delivered pizza with a low wait time. The bathroom lines were just as crazy. They do have porta potties that are much faster but if you want a real bathroom, you will need to wait. The shows seemed to be more entertaining than in previous years. All in all, it was a good time. Go into it expecting it to be packed with people and having to wait in lines but you will enjoy yourself. Depot Park is so much better of a venue than previous years and it was free...you can't really beat that. read more

So we missed a year of the fair because of the pandemic, but it has returned for 2022! With the return comes a new location as well, as Alachua County has sold off the old fairgrounds by the airport. The new location off of Archer road near Haile Plantation has some things to be desired, but for a temporary location it wasn't so bad... at least, the fairgrounds themselves weren't that bad. The layout of the fair at the new location is different from the old two-lane model that was used at the airport. Now it is more of a quadrangle approach, with one quad assigned to vendors where you can buy all kinds of really expensive things that are half the price on the Internet, one quad assigned to food, one to the jousting field, and the final one assigned to the living chessboard and SCA fields. This actually presents a problem, because the location is the site of the old YMCA baseball fields, and the fences for the fields are still in place, creating barriers for a number of the areas and preventing the flow of people from one area to another. In addition, no longer is there a draw of people past some of the areas that they would normally have been drawn past in order to get to the jousting fields, which means that the SCA and living chess area had a lower flow of patrons, which is too bad because the living chessboard had its best year ever. Parking was also an issue, as the dirt road leading to the parking was rutted and kind of scary, particularly for those with lowered vehicles. Hopefully your suspensions are in good working order! Traffic to the fair is also an issue, with the line of traffic backing up along Archer Road all the way to the Interstate at a couple points during the day. As it is near Haile Plantation, a number of newer housing developments are in the area as well, and the added traffic was not a welcome thing to people living in the area, as could be witnessed by some signs along the road as you worked your way to the parking lot. It would be very surprising to see the medieval fair occur again at this location. As for the fair itself, it is about the same. Most of the same performers and vendors were there, and the horses did their thing by charging back and forth across the jousting field. Good times for those that want to see a good show and buy some expensive trinkets. read more

Last time I was at the Faire I was not on YELP and we have not been in awhile, but let me tell you back in the 90's this was a real rager. I lived and worked in Gainesville for a few years while in school and loved going way back when. Finally made the trek back and it was alot of fun. Very family friendly. Less raucous, but still lots of fun. The ride in can be a little tedious, but after parking the fun begins. Great beer options. Meade and great local breweries are available. Lots of "sideshow" entertainment. Vendors were very interesting and plentiful. Food looked good, but we made the wrong choice on the Dill pickle corn dog. It was not very good. The costumes were great. Some people went all out with the costumes. We ended the day with the jousting contest. Although well staged it was really good and a great way to end the day. Drive back out of the Faire was much less stressful. We will definitely be back next year!! read more

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If you are looking for a great time out with the family, friends and loved ones, or you just want to get your geek on, look no further. This is a fantastic place to go for an adventure into a wonderful world of thought and imagination. The acts/shows are so creative and entertaining and always make you laugh and cheer. I like to explain this event as more of a medieval carnival. It's full of carny games with silly prizes, lots of vendors to buy goods from, such as armor, corsets, swords, etc.; And, of course all kinds of carnival food! Whatever your tastebuds are craving, you will find it here along with some good grog (beer). What's really makes this outing so much fun is to see the enormous amount of fans who come too this party in full costume in all there glory! Can't wait to go next year! read more

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Going to a medieval fair or renaissance festival is great fun for kids of all ages. My friend and I, both of us grandmothers, had a great time. When you walk through the gate, there are actors in period costumes, playing their parts to entertain those attending. There is always a theme. The king and Queen are visiting the village for the day and activities and celebrations abound. There is jousting on horseback, minstrels, plays, acrobats, you name it, and all done in a comedic way. Smiles and laughter is all around. There are lots of vendors selling their wares, all having to do with the medieval time period. Food and drinks abound. You can try some mead which is an alcoholic drink made from honey. This is a fun festival at the fairgrounds. They don't have a dedicated village set up that is the only reason I gave it 4 stars. Otherwise it would get 5. read more

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire - The big kids - Festivals Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Our Red Hat Sisters, "Feathers R Us" came today in an RV. The festival seems very organized and prepared. Everyone was friendly here today. My friend Karen got Elfin ears today. She looks cute! The lady glued them on and painted them for ger($20.00). They are made out of latex. The lady said come back next year for a re-painting of the ears. We chatted with a "Juggler" and a man with an owl. I took a picture of Leslie with the owl in her shoulder. The food, coffee, and other foods were good. It cost under twenty dollars to get to get in. I bought in advance on Event Brite ahead of time. It is very cold today, so I am back in the RV WARMING UP FOR A FEW. Brrrrr! Perfect conditions for snow flurries. Overcast, cold and windy. Still having a great time anyway. If you have never been before, you need to consider coming next year. Dress up too! Lots of fun and entertainment. read more

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The fair is always a blast! I love that we have such an awesome event here, things like this are why I love Gainesville. The faire has many shops with medieval themed items to buy from swords to corsets to chainmail. There are activites and rides like dragon rides, swings, horseback riding, and even camel rides. My favorite part is the acting and demonstrations. There is a processional, jousting, human chess, a duel, falconry, juggling, comedy shows and many other acts! They are all so authentic and well rehearsed. The only downside is that it gets extremely crowded! If you don't like crowds try to go early or late when it isn't as busy. It is also a little pricey. I would highly suggest for kids, there is so much to do! read more

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Traffic handling ruined our visit. Literally sitting for hours trying to get in, which cut our visit down, and getting out? A nightmare. For the cost? Not worth it. read more

You're going to spend a pretty penny on everything, but you'll have a good time. The people who organize this event really care and put a lot of time, energy and love into making it. read more

This faire is amazing! This was my second year going and I highly recommend it. It's held at the alachua county fairgrounds, off of ne 39th Ave. It's so entertaining to see all of the cool costumes and the various shows and acts they have going on. There are beautifully hand made crafts, swords, clothing, and of course..... Delicious fair food like funnel cakes and turkey legs!!! This time, I took my kids on the dragon ride, which was definitely the highlight of the trip. It's this wooden dragon on ropes that swings back and forth. It may sound kinda lame but I promise it was super fun!! It's powered by this amazingly strong guy who pushes it back and forth (really high!!). He even climbed up on the dragon and hung upside down on the rope while it was swinging. Obviously, I'm a bit obsessed with this dragon ride and if I weren't married with children I would probably run away with the medieval faire carnies and become a resident faerie princess. Go to the faire!! Make sure to ride the dragon and eat a funnel cake! read more

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You gotta love the wenches! The Alachua County Fairgrounds is transformed into a bustling medieval marketplace for the 23rd Annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. Come be swept away by medieval magic as troupes of actors, street performers and musicians journey back to the days of yore on January 24-25 & 30-31, and February 1, 2009 . Revel in the sights and sounds of one of North Central Florida's premier events. Join the crowd and cheer for your favorite contender as mounted knight's joust in full plate armor on the tournament field. Applaud street performers who dance, juggle and jest for your amusement. Listen to minstrels playing period music and enjoy continuous live entertainment on eight stages. Browse through the bustling medieval marketplace for that perfect gift or trinket. Watch and enjoy as King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table battle the forces of evil in a strategic living chess match, or test your own skills in games of chance, strength and skill. Watch and learn as more than 150 artisans demonstrate their skills in blacksmithing, weaving, leatherworking, woodcarving, pottery and much more. Indulge in a feast fit for a king in our food court, where you can find sweet potato fries, bloomin onions and our famous giant turkey legs. The Faire is the perfect place to bring even the youngest members of the kingdom. Children delight in visiting the royal pavilion, where they will become lords and ladies of the court of Hoggetowne. Indulge not only your children, but also yourself with rides on a camel, pony or even an elephant. Human-powered push rides further add to the authentic medieval fun. Faire hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Ad-mission is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 5-17 and free for children under 5. On Friday, January 30th tickets are half price. read more

I know the NY Ren Faire in Tuxedo is bigger, but I really enjoyed this one so much more. Less crowded and more to do and see! Less obnoxious. There's archery (with live targets), bird show, jousting, stuff for kids, lots of interesting vendors...although, if you're going to sell things that cost multiple hundreds of dollars, wouldn't you devise a way to take credit cards? I can take credit cards on my iPhone, and it costs me next to nothing. Just a little tip, vendor-who-shall-remain-nameless. Parking was close by, lots of food and drink variety and easy to find, drinking tents with "gold" and drinking songs being performed live....overall, I had a great time. read more

The fair is great fun I went with my friends which was better than when I went alone and we had a great time watching everything and doing stuff. I recommend watching the jousting because that is really cool and ask questions at the tents they have some really interesting stuff. My friend and I who asked the questions had more fun than my brother and friends who didn't. They also have cool things for purchase and the food is good(Get the gyros). All in all it was great and a great experience and atmosphere with all the people dressed up and what not. I ran into some other friends there who said they had a great time too. I definitely loved it and will go back at some point. If you can, go here it one of the best things to do in Gainesville. read more

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire - Me with a guy in costume - Festivals Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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This annual festival held at the fairgrounds is a great way to spend an afternoon being outside and being around happy people in costumes. It's actually a lot of fun especially when your drinking. Plenty of beer being sold here and if you're hungry, go ahead and get one of those giant fried turkey legs to munch on while you're checking out all of the kings, queens, lords, friars, knights, princes, princesses, witches, wizards and other noblemen dressed to the nines. read more

While the event itself is not particularly interesting (spaced out mostly boring shows), the people watching is fantastic. I'm not sure why they think it is medieval, but this fair draws people dressed in fantasy, cosplay, highland, historical, and more. They all wander around talking loudly in terrible Brittish accents. Grab something deep fried from the midway, a $5 pint of beer, and watch and wonder where they all come from. read more

Faire was fine. $17 for an adult ticket. The show with the chessboard was cool with some entertaining actors and funny fight scenes. Jousting show was a miss for me. I ate a gyros which was super on point. The small, one man shows were probably the highlight for me. The Medieval Faire is definitely worth checking out for something to do on a weekend if you've got nothing going on. If you have to miss it, don't worry, you're not missing a lot. read more

The Faire was wonderful but parking was really bad. The parking was nothing but a field of cacti. We had to get our tires replacement after parking there. Find a parking nearby that is a pavement. We end up spending more on tires replacement than the tickets to the faire. read more

I am not exactly sure what I was expecting when visiting this faire - I guess a 'more' medieval theme. I was surprised that after 30 years of running this there wasn't more medieval backdrops or scenery that they could of used to give it that old world charm. There was plenty of stalls to look at and a variety of medieval themed items for sale (most of them very over priced and not great quality). The one thing we really found lacking was seating - there was just one small tent to sit down and eat in and no other seating available unless you were watching a show. For older people or people just needing a rest from all the walking - it would be nice to have a place a sit. The lines at the food stalls made it very hard to move around as people were blocking the path as they stood waiting in line. We went to watch the jousting but were very disappointed - they had seating on just two sides and not much seating at that and the two sides were the only places you could watch from. I managed to find a small space to stand and some very rude and tall people pushed in front of me completely blocking my view. When I said "excuse me you just blocked my view completely" - they just ignored me completely and as a result I didn't get to see any of the show. There were many people walking around in costumes including pirates, zombies etc. which seemed a little odd. It was fun to look around but I don't think it is something I would go back too. We were able to park in the disabled parking area and were very thankful to have this option as the main parking was quite some distance away and would of been to far for me to walk. read more

I went to this event as a school chaperone. It was fun for the kids and if I'm still in the area next year I'll bring my youngest daughter. The only things that took away from the theme was the guy dressed as Deadpool and every other person in costume seemed to be wearing fairy wings LOL. All in all though, it was a good time for the kids. read more