Maryland Renaissance Festival

What Maryland Renaissance Festival does

The Maryland Renaissance Festival is a privately held seasonal entertainment business that operates a single annual outdoor Renaissance-themed festival at the 27-acre Village of Revel Grove in Crownsville, Maryland, near Annapolis. Founded in 1977 and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026, the festival runs nine weekends (19 performance days) from late August through late October, drawing more than 300,000 visitors annually with 200+ professional performers across 10 stages, a 3,000-seat jousting arena, 140+ artisan shops, 42 food and beverage emporiums, and 5 taverns.

The festival's core product is date-specific admission tickets sold exclusively online through a partnership with Big Tickets, with no onsite ticket sales. Pricing is tiered from free for children 6 and under to $31 for adults, plus a mandatory 10% Anne Arundel County/Maryland State Amusement Tax and Big Tickets fees. The 2026 launch of the Villager of Revel Grove membership ($124) adds a subscription-style recurring revenue layer with priority access. Supplementary revenue streams include on-site costume rentals ($10–$30), wedding ceremony stage rentals ($250), vendor booth fees (approximately $900 per craft vendor plus per-weekend guest fees, with 10% of gross for games vendors), and concession-style sales from festival-operated food and beverage booths.

The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer and event-driven: the festival reaches patrons through its website (rennfest.com), organic social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram), email communications, and themed weekend programming including Children's Weekend, Pirate Adventure Weekend, Celtic Celebration, and Harvest Hollow. Customer segments span families with children, adults seeking themed experiences, Renaissance and history enthusiasts, and group visitors, with documented international reach including patrons traveling from the United Kingdom. The company's competitive advantage rests on 50 seasons of operating history, a progressive storyline following King Henry VIII's reign through each season, and a curated ecosystem of performers and handcraft artisans vetted through a jury application process.

Name

Maryland Renaissance Festival

Legal name

Maryland Renaissance Festival

Website

https://rennfest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Maryland Renaissance Festival operates a seasonal outdoor Renaissance-themed festival at its 27-acre Village of Revel Grove in Crownsville, Maryland, drawing 300,000+ visitors annually over nine weekends with 200+ performers, 140+ artisans, and 42 food and beverage emporiums, selling date-specific admission tickets online exclusively.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Festival Entertainment

NAICS

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE), Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Outdoor festival entertainment
• Renaissance themed events
• Seasonal ticketed events
• Artisan craft marketplace
• Live performance venue

Headquarters

HQ city

Crownsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from admission tickets sold online only. All ticket types are date-specific. General admission ranges from $17 (children) to $31 (adults). The Villager of Revel Grove membership provides 4 included days plus priority access for $124.
2. Costume Rentals: On-site costume rental booth offering adult and children's Renaissance costumes for daily rental. Prices range from $10 (children) to $30 (adult Knight costume). Valid driver's license required as deposit.
3. Vendor Booth Fees: Craft vendors pay approximately $900 for full season participation plus ~$125 per guest weekend. Games/specialty vendors pay $150 plus 10% of gross receipts. Food vendors currently not being accepted due to space and septic capacity limitations.
4. Wedding Ceremonies: The festival schedules wedding ceremonies at the Chapel area for $250 non-refundable stage rental fee. Wedding parties and guests purchase their own admission tickets separately.
5. Food and Beverage Operations: 42 food and beverage emporiums operate throughout the village. Food booths accept cash or credit/debit cards. Beverages and games require cash only. Festival-operated booths include items like turkey legs, crepes, gyros, and various sweet treats.
6. Artisan and Craft Sales: Over 140 artisans operate Renaissance shops throughout the village selling handcrafted items including metal work, wood sculpture, jewelry, clothing, ceramics, stained glass, glassblowing, and more. Festival requires handcrafted products created by attending artisans.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Maryland Renaissance Festival sells date-specific general admission to a seasonal, outdoor Renaissance-themed entertainment experience held over nine weekends (19 performance days) from late August through late October at the 27-acre Village of Revel Grove in Crownsville, Maryland. The festival features 200+ professional performers on 10 stages, a 3,000-seat jousting arena, 140+ artisan shops, 42 food and beverage emporiums, and 5 taverns, with supplementary offerings including costume rentals, wedding ceremonies, themed weekends, and an annual Villager membership program.

Product overview

The Maryland Renaissance Festival is a seasonal entertainment venue offering a single core product: the annual Renaissance Festival experience held over nine weekends in Crownsville, Maryland. The core offering includes general admission tickets granting access to 200+ performers across 10 stages, jousting arena, 140+ artisan shops, 42 food and beverage emporiums, and 5 taverns. Supplementary products and services include the Villagers of Revel Grove membership program for frequent visitors, Renaissance Rentals costume booth for patron costume rentals, wedding ceremony services, themed weekend experiences (Children's Weekend, Myth & Magic Weekend, Pirate Adventure Weekend, Celtic Celebration, Harvest Hollow), and vendor/employment application platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Admission Tickets Date-specific admission tickets sold exclusively online through Big Tickets for adults ($31), seniors ($27), and children ages 7-15 ($17); children 6 and under are free but require a free ticket selection. Each ticket grants access to the 27-acre Village of Revel Grove on a specific festival day during the nine-weekend 2026 season (August 29 through October 25).
• Villager of Revel Grove Membership Annual membership program priced at $124 plus taxes and fees that provides four festival days of the member's choosing and guaranteed ticket availability for additional festival days until Thursday 11:59pm before upcoming weekends; non-refundable and non-transferable, designed for repeat visitors across the nine-weekend season.
• Renaissance Rentals Costume Booth On-site daily rental service offering period-appropriate Renaissance attire for adults (Wench $20, Fair Maiden $25, Rogue $20, Outlaw $25, Knight $30, Monk $25) and children (Little Maiden $10, Little Princess $15, Jr. Miss Wench $20, Robin Hood $10, Brave Squire $10, Jester $10, Pirate $10); valid driver's license required as deposit and rental excludes shoes, stockings, and hats.
• Wedding Ceremonies Renaissance-themed wedding ceremonies held at the Chapel near the Fortune Stage, including a $250 non-refundable stage rental fee, an 11:00 AM ceremony slot, and optional harpsichord accompaniment; available September 19 through October 25, with wedding parties and guests purchasing their own admission tickets separately.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50th anniversary season celebrating decades of operation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Big TicketscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Big Tickets is the exclusive ticketing provider for the Maryland Renaissance Festival. After a lengthy search and interview process, the festival partnered with Big Tickets for their ticketing platform. Big Tickets handles all online ticket sales, delivery, and transfer management. The partnership was formed to implement new ticketing strategies including anti-bot protection, staggered ticket releases, and secure resale programs to meet customer demand for accessibility and flexibility.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Texas Renaissance Festival: The largest Renaissance festival in the United States, operating eight themed weekends each fall in Todd Mission, Texas. Directly comparable to MRF in operating model (ticketed themed weekends, artisan marketplace, jousting arena, food emporiums) but at significantly larger scale.
• Sherwood Forest Faire: A Texas-based Renaissance festival operating seasonally with comparable thematic entertainment, artisan vendor ecosystem, and jousting-style programming, similar in scale and structure to MRF.
• New York Renaissance Faire: Operates weekends in the Sterling, New York market, also in the broader Northeast region as MRF. Comparable in seasonal outdoor format, costumed performer ecosystem, and artisan marketplace.
• Bristol Renaissance Faire: A long-running Midwest Renaissance festival in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Closely comparable to MRF in scale, themed weekend structure, and emphasis on costumed immersion and artisan crafts.
• Ohio Renaissance Festival: A long-running Renaissance festival in Waynesville, Ohio. Comparable in weekend-driven seasonal operating model, artisan craft marketplace, and themed entertainment programming.
• Minnesota Renaissance Festival: One of the largest Renaissance festivals in the U.S., running weekends in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. Highly comparable in seasonal outdoor format, artisan-driven marketplace, and themed weekend programming similar to MRF.

Regional players

• Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire: Operates in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the same broader Mid-Atlantic/Northeast corridor as MRF. Comparable themed outdoor festival format with jousting, artisans, and food vendors, but geographically distinct.
• King Richard's Faire: Operates in Carver, Massachusetts. Comparable in New England Renaissance festival format with themed weekends, costumed performers, and artisan marketplace, though serving a different geography than MRF.
• Carolina Renaissance Festival: A regional Renaissance festival serving the Charlotte, North Carolina market. Comparable format with themed weekends, professional performers, and artisan shops, though operating in the Southeast rather than MRF's Mid-Atlantic territory.

Broad incumbents

• Medieval Times: A national chain of dinner-theater venues featuring medieval-themed jousting shows with themed dining. Broader and more commercial than MRF but shares the Renaissance/medieval-themed live entertainment experience with dining component.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mdrenfest
• Facebookfacebook.com/mdrenfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maryland-renaissance-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maryland Renaissance Festival