Clark County’s Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival, aka, Ren Fair is a heritage event that is more than worthy of the Silver State Legacy designation for its ability to reinvent and expand on niche offerings enough to where it makes the community want to come back year after year. The Renaissance Fair depicts the 16th century era with a Vegas twist. It all began in 1993 by County staff, in a small community park outside of Paradise Community Center with two guilds, The Empire Chivalry and Steel and the SCA, four to five metalsmith vendors that sold their wares (swords and knives), one food vendor, one Coors bar and the fighters were the entertainers. The event was a 2-day event, (Saturday and Sunday) without overnight camping. Before the Renaissance Fair became the Renaissance Fair, it started out as a pirate festival in 1992 at Lorenzi Park, the same time Treasure Island Hotel and Casino opened. In fact, the Treasure Island Marketing Department called upon some of the re-enactors of the pirate fest to do a photo shoot on the iconic strip facing ship. Sadly, the pirate themed event did not garner the reception as hoped and was rebranded the following year, 1993, as the Renaissance Fair. The Fair worked in conjunction with the Boulder Arts Festival by inviting their period vendors to participate in the Renaissance Fair.

In 1994 the popularity of the event grew and were able to increase the offerings to 32 performers and twelve to sixteen vendors. With that said the Fair saw an uptick in attendance from two hundred people in 1993 to over six hundred people. Due to the increase in attendance and the size of Paradise Park, the Age of Chivalry Renaissance Fair moved to Sunset Park. In 2001 the Special Events/Cultural Department was created and took over the 2002 event, tasked with growing the festival into a viable community event, all the while, making this a financially sustainable project, which saw the event expand from a two-day event to a 3-day (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) historical extravaganza.  The guilds were allowed to spend the night in their period tents for the entire 3-days, which aided in more involvement from guilds in the tri-state area. By allowing the overnight camping, the tents started to create a village, much like in the Middle Ages and today. This allowed participants to learn about the lifestyles and daily routines of how people lived, talked, and interacted with one another. As time went on and the event grew, people were able to learn about the lifestyle, but also added the “Vegas twist” with a whimsical fairy fantasy flare.

In its infancy stage the Fair’s footprint encompassed approximately 2.5 acres, 2 reenactment guilds, a few performances, six merchant and food vendors with an attendance of approximately 200 people over the course of 2 days. In 2000 the fair moved to Sunset Park as it outgrew Paradise Park and expanded its footprint to approximately 7 acres, the attendance grew to approximately 1000 people and the entertainment offerings grew by 20%. Now in its 30th year the event spans over 31 acres, garners an attendance of 52,000+ patrons, offers guild reenactments from 35+ guilds surrounding the tri-state area, full contact jousting, 268+ performances, over 100 merchant and food vendors. 2018 saw the addition of a public camping area that sees campers from as far east as Alabama and as far north as Oregon. Over the last 4 years (excluding 2020), the event started with just 6 campers and have seen an increase of 600% as of 2022 with over 400 public campers, all while increasing the ante each year by adding yurts, special performances, a royal feast (with the King and Queen), authentic swag, such as medallions, steins, and other memorabilia.

The unique aspect of the fair is it allows participants to be immersed in the medieval times and brings to life the lifestyles and daily routines of knights, ladies, the common folk, and those who fought for the honor of their King or Queen. Guild members, re-enactors, strolling performers and vendors dressed in period costumes provide a time-travel experience as they wander through vendor village, watch demonstrations and full contact jousting in the main arena, enjoy music and songs performed with the musical instruments of the period and perhaps even try a turkey leg or “pastries” made in the olde English tradition. 2015 saw the creation of “9” themed villages to help the public understand what they were encountering/experiencing. The villages were developed to help increase traffic flow throughout the entire fair by creating curiosity and intrigue as people strolled down the paths. Themes include the Royal Court, the Royal Recreators, Mercenary Narrows, Kids kingdom, Pirates Port (Port towns), Barbarians Bourg, the English Village, Vendor Village, and the Enchanted Forest. It also made it easier for people to identify where they were and communicate their location to friends and family if separated (before Google created pin locations).

One of the more notably well received parts of The Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival has been the free Student Day on Friday for all students. Since 2001 Parks & Recreation offered all local schools an educational, fun filled, experience to students of all ages and all types of schools (public schools, home school, charter schools, etc.) interested in learning more about the Renaissance Period. To enhance the student experience we send an educational packet and a map of where the designated entrance and bus parking is located to aid in field trip ease of arrival.
We also strive to create high quality events at low to no cost, so we offer free Friday tickets and buy one get one free tickets to the entire community by way of partnerships with radio stations, local convenience stores, social media, mobile app, Groupon, and Community Centers valley-wide. We also travel to all local businesses located within a one-mile radius of Sunset Park to offer free tickets as a show of appreciation for allowing us to create an overwhelming neighborhood impact in the area.
A student from the UNLV Scarlet and Gray wrote in 2021, “Most people along the path are big history or fantasy buffs that not only show up all day in Renaissance garb, but even camp there all weekend. You will see guilds roasting pigs on the spit and sitting down for supper with chalices and furs, every generation participating looks straight out of another time.” Another UNLV student’s favorite part about roaming the Faire, “the atmosphere puts places like Disneyland to shame because it’s full of people who want to be there. Everyone and everything aim to be both fun and historically accurate.”  Another student mentioned “she wanted to attend the Ren Faire because she is very invested in fairy core aesthetics and royal themes, wanting an excuse to show off her new corsets and flowy dresses. She noted, it was very packed, but it was worth it, especially because it is such a unique and comforting environment.
None of the success of the event would have been able to happen if it wasn’t for our community supporters and sponsors: Review Journal, Findlay Chevrolet, The CW, Miller, 94.1, WB, My LVTV, NV Beverage and Anthem Blue Cross to mention a few.

The Renaissance Fair has strong community ties from the local schools to community sponsors, to event participants, and the festivalgoers that come back every year. After a previous average attendance of 36,000, 2021 saw an increase in attendance from 40,000 in 2019 to 50,000 in 2021 making it a record attendance with a 25% increase. We then saw another two and half percent increase in 2022 increasing the attendance to just shy of 52,000 attendees.

For three decades, the Renaissance Fair has brought an average of 46,100 locals and visitors together and has won awards such as the NRPS Program Excellence Award in 2014 recognizing the outstanding efforts in Recreation Programming and 2017 Best of Las Vegas Silver Award in the Arts and Cultural category.

The Age of Chivalry - Renaissance Festival is a longstanding community staple in an unsuspecting town, Las Vegas. Since 1992, this magical wonderland has had something to offer everyone, whether you are a history buff or not.  It boasts shopping, full combat entertainment, historical re-enactments, live performances, pirates, fairies, and an array of authentic period foods and beverages. The path through the 31-acre event footprint leads though 7 different villages where there are opportunities to interact with knights, royalty, mercenaries, barbarians, pirates, fairies, and even hobbits. The event offers a variety of shopping opportunities to acquire renaissance-themed weapons and trinkets from over 100 vendors, as well as plenty of tantalizing eating opportunities at more than 20 food vendors. With 14 different entertainment areas throughout the event, hosting shows ranging from juggling and magic to jousting and sword fighting, there is surely something for everyone to enjoy. At this 3-day event, the merriment doesn’t stop, as there is also a private camping area available. Simply put, this is not your traditional Ren Fair. It’s an event that will invigorate all your senses whether you are 2 or 92 years old.