COVID-19: Social distancing is not enforced at this event. Some of the staff wears a mask. All…read morevisitors are not expected to wear a mask. It's optional now. There are some hand sanitizers available for visitors to use. This place is open and available with no limited capacity. They are not sanitizing in between visitors. I mention these things in my reviews for the sake of protecting immunocompromised people like the elderly and people sick with cancer and other illnesses.
COVID-19 Vaccination Proof: This event currently does not require proof of vaccination.
While I was here several months ago, I asked if they had any special offers and they weren't offering any at the moment. They also do not allow pets in their event UNLESS it's a service animal.
Parking: The parking lot for this establishment is pretty massive. When you enter the grounds, turn left. There you will be directed to pay for parking ($15 for regular cars - general parking, $30 for VIP parking, $23 for RVs and limos, and $38 for buses) and where to park. As mentioned by my excellent buddy, Justin, parking for handicapped individuals freaking suck. Whoever organized this event sucks. Handicapped parking is in lot 3, which is hella far away from the event. You would think it would be much closer to the event, but noooooo. Some idiot organized it to be like this. Why?!?! Please make the entrance closer to the handicapped parking lot in the future. That would make a lot of sense. They take cash and credit cards.
Event: The festival offers immersive 14 - 17 century Elizabethan-era entertainment, jousting tournaments, artisanal shopping, and medieval food like turkey legs. The event itself was very fun and entertaining. I had a great time with my close friend. I highly encourage anyone who attends to dress up. If you don't, you will stick out like a very sore and ugly thumb. If you do dress up, costume weapons must be sheathed and peace tied. Also, wear comfy shoes. There is soooooo much walking. It's also hella dusty at this event, which is lowkey on point with ye - old England. To add on, when Justin and I attended this event in mid May, the weather was soooo on point because it was gloomy and overcast. This is exactly how I imagined old timey England during the renaissance.
You can absolutely bring food and drinks into the event, but they cannot be picnic food, food that requires heating or refrigeration, alcohol, anything in glass containers, and coolers. You can bring water, but it cannot be opened yet. Or you can bring an empty reusable water bottle for it to be filled up at the event. There are plenty of bathrooms (porta potties and hand washing stations) at this event.
Note: While at the event, we didn't see any refillable water bottle stations. Where were they hiding?
Food: My bestie and I got the tri tip sandwich and french fries. Honestly, coming into this event, I already knew that the food was gonna be mid. Lmao I had low expectations for the food because I wasn't really there for the food. Plus, I guess this was also kinda lowkey on point with the renaissance era in England because food in that time period was also mid. Lol I was primarily there for the medieval vibes and jousting, which delivered in spades. I would honestly go every year just for the medieval vibes and jousting. Screw the food there.
Anyways, the tri tip sandwich was overly priced with a meager amount of meat in the sandwich in a sad ass hot dog bun. It was more of a sad- wich. This is why I removed one star. Flavor wise, it was okay. My friend knows that I'm not the biggest fan of anything BBQ, but I'll eat it anyways. The fries that we got were plentiful for the price point and it was very crunchy. I was disappointed when it wasn't really salted, which made it taste bland TBH. I should also note that the tri tip sandwich and fries were cold by the time we sat down and ate them because we spent like 10 - 15 minutes walking around and finding a place to eat. Don't be like us. Eat your food while it's hot.
Staff: The staff here are very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They accept both cash and credit cards. There is no credit card minimum. Still, cash is king at this event. Many vendors only take cash, so bring at least $100 per person.