Renaissance Fairs Near Boston
The big Renaissance faire near Boston is King Richard's Faire in Carver, about 45 minutes south, running weekends from Sep 5 to Oct 25 in 2026 with adult tickets from $36 and children under four free. The closest full faire is a smaller one: the Renaissance Faire at Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester, two days on Nov 7 - 8 at $35 for adults and $10 for kids, with part of the castle interior included.
The other seven spread across five New England states and most of the calendar, from a New Hampshire faire in May to the fall seasons in Connecticut. They divide into multi-week fairground seasons built around jousting and long stage schedules, and shorter runs, from one day to three weekends, that are easy to miss if you don't plan ahead.
Our picks
- Closest full faire to the city: Renaissance Faire at Hammond Castle Museum. Two days in Gloucester on Nov 7 - 8, on the lawn of a 1920s stone castle above the sea, with armored combat and a kids' craft tent.
- The full-scale spectacle: King Richard's Faire. Eleven stages, more than seventy shows a day and three jousting tournaments on 200 wooded acres, eight weekends running.
- A big faire for less: Connecticut Renaissance Faire. $18 for adults, kids six and under free and leashed pets $5, with jousting and a different theme every weekend through Oct 25.
- Going without a car: Salem RenFaire. Reachable from Boston on the commuter rail, one June day at a brewery beer garden on Derby Street, $10 cash at the door.
At a glance
| Option | Admission | Kids' Ticket | 2026 Dates | Run Length | State | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $36source | $22source | Sep 5 - Oct 25, weekends onlysource | Multi-week seasonsource | Massachusettssource | 5 Pine Street, Carver, MA 02330source | |
| $35source | $10source | Nov 7 - 8source | One weekendsource | Massachusettssource | 80 Hesperus Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930source | |
| $10source | June 13source | One daysource | Massachusettssource | Notch Brewing, 283R Derby St, Salem, MA 01970source | ||
| $25source | $20source | May 9 - 17source | Two weekendssource | New Hampshiresource | 80 Martin Rd., Fremont, NH 03044source | |
| $15source | $0source | Aug 28 - 30source | One weekendsource | Rhode Islandsource | Saugatucket Park, 101 High Street, Wakefield, RIsource | |
| $18source | $10source | Aug 29 - Oct 25source | Multi-week seasonsource | Connecticutsource | 122 Mack Road, Lebanon, CT 06249source | |
| $25source | $15source | July 18-19, July 25-26, Aug 1-2source | Three weekendssource | Mainesource | Acton Fairgrounds, 550 ME-109, Acton, MEsource | |
| $15source | $10source | May 16 - June 21, Sat & Sunsource | Multi-week seasonsource | Connecticutsource | 150 Locust Road, Harwinton, CTsource | |
| $20source | $10source | June 27-28, July 4-5, July 11-12source | Three weekendssource | Connecticutsource | Warsaw Park, 119 Pulaski Highway, Ansonia, CT 06401source |
The 2026 faire calendar, May to November
As of September 2026, three faires on this list were still ahead: King Richard's (weekends through Oct 25), the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Lebanon (Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays through Oct 25, 10:30 to 6:00), and Hammond Castle on Nov 7 - 8. The other six ran earlier in the year.
That earlier half of the calendar runs from the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire in Fremont (May 9 - 17) and Robin Hood's Medieval Faire in Harwinton (May 16 - June 21) through the one-day Salem RenFaire (June 13), the Midsummer Fantasy faire in Ansonia (three weekends from June 27), the Maine faire in Acton (July 18 to Aug 2) and Ocean State in Wakefield (Aug 28 - 30). New Hampshire had not posted 2027 dates when this table was updated.
Big fairground seasons or a single weekend
Three faires run for a multi-week season: King Richard's, Connecticut and Robin Hood's. All three have jousting and enough shows to fill a day, and they give you several weekends to choose from. King Richard's is the priciest, and its $36 ticket applies only to the first three weekends before rising to $40 and then $46. Connecticut and its sibling Robin Hood's cost $18 and $15, but they sit about 90 minutes and a little over two hours from Boston.
The short faires trade scale for character. Ocean State packs costume contests and four rival courts into one August weekend in downtown Wakefield, with a Friday night adults-only party. Midsummer Fantasy swaps history for elves, orcs and a fire show, and the Maine faire runs on a fairground where much of it, jousting field included, is under cover in any weather.
Kids' tickets, pets and cash at the gate
Children's prices range from $0 at Ocean State, where anyone under 10 gets in free, to $22 at King Richard's. Most faires charge $10 to $20 for a child, and the free age differs from faire to faire: under four at King Richard's, six and under in Connecticut and at Robin Hood's. Those two Connecticut faires also admit leashed pets. Bring cash for the Maine faire's gate and for Salem, and note that Hammond Castle sells timed sessions, bans weapons of any kind, and parks visitors off-site with a free shuttle.
The options in detail
King Richard's Faire
The region's big one, and the closest thing New England has to a full Renaissance village: 200 wooded acres in Carver with eleven stages, more than seventy shows a day and three jousting tournaments on what the faire calls the largest jousting field in New England. It runs eight themed weekends from early September to late October, about 45 minutes south of Boston, with free parking and children under four admitted free. It is also the priciest ticket here, and the price climbs as the season goes on, so the cheapest way in is an early-September weekend bought in advance.
Renaissance Faire at Hammond Castle Museum
A two-day faire on the lawn of a 1920s stone castle above the sea in Gloucester, and the closest full faire to Boston. The Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword stages armored combat, the museum's curatorial director talks through medieval arms and armor, and wandering performers, a harpist and a kids' craft tent fill out the day. Admission includes access to part of the castle interior, which is what sets it apart from a fairground faire. Entry is by timed session, cosplay is encouraged, weapons of any kind are not, and parking is off-site with a free shuttle.
Salem RenFaire
The smallest and cheapest faire on this list, and the only one you can reach from Boston on the commuter rail. A group of Salem locals who call themselves the Council of Goblins run it as a single June day at Notch Brewing's beer garden on Derby Street, with a medieval marketplace, bards, combat demonstrations and an interactive roleplay quest that sends you around town. Their own description is honest about the scale: a tiny faire that leans on the whole community to feel big. It debuted in 2026, so there is no long track record, and tickets are cash at the door.
New Hampshire Renaissance Faire
A volunteer-run spring faire on open field in Fremont, about 50 minutes north of Boston, with an educational streak: historical knights alongside fairies, local artisans demonstrating their crafts, and a charity mission that has handed the New Hampshire Food Bank and Meals on Wheels six-figure checks. It is the gentlest and most homespun of the region's faires rather than a spectacle, and the organizers have said plainly there was no joust in 2026. The 2026 season is over and 2027 dates have not been posted, so this is one to watch for in the spring.
Ocean State Renaissance Faire
Rhode Island's only Renaissance faire, run by the Contemporary Theater Company across a riverside park and its own theater in downtown Wakefield. It is compact and theatrical rather than sprawling: costume contests, mermaids and pirates, four rival courts you can pick a side in, and a Friday night adults-only kickoff party on the theater patio before the family days on Saturday and Sunday. At $15 for anyone ten or older it is one of the cheapest tickets here, parking is in town lots with a free shuttle, and the whole thing lasts one August weekend, so it takes planning rather than a spontaneous drive.
Connecticut Renaissance Faire
The region's other heavyweight and the best value of the big faires: a full fall run at the Lebanon Country Fairgrounds, now in its 28th season, with a dozen-plus stages, jousting, hundreds of artisan shops and a different theme every weekend. A general ticket costs half what King Richard's charges, kids six and under are free, and leashed pets get in for $5, which is unusual. It is open Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays, 10:30 to 6:00, and sits about 90 minutes southwest of Boston, so it is a day trip rather than an afternoon.
The Maine Renaissance Faire
Three midsummer weekends at the Acton Fairgrounds in rural York County, just over the New Hampshire line and roughly 90 minutes from Boston. Because it uses an established fairground, much of it including the jousting field is under cover, so it runs rain or shine, and parking on the grounds is free. Gates open at ten with the Queen's welcome and close at six. Tickets are mid-priced, but note that buying at the gate is cash only, so bring bills or buy online first.
Robin Hood's Medieval Faire
The spring counterpart to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, run by the same company on its own grounds in Harwinton and now in its 17th year. The frame is Sherwood Forest rather than a Renaissance village: jousting, sword fights, stage shows and a medieval marketplace, with a different theme each weekend and after-dark events on some Saturdays. Prices match its sibling, six and under are free and leashed pets are welcome. It is the farthest west of the Connecticut faires, a little over two hours from Boston, which is the main thing weighing against it.
Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire
Less a history lesson than a fantasy world: elves, fae, orcs, goblins and dwarves at Warsaw Park in Ansonia, now in its 15th season. Five stages of magic, music, theater and live combat run through the day, with archery and axe throwing between shows and a fire show and pub concert on the middle Saturday night. Three summer weekends each carry their own theme, from Summerween to a Celtic weekend. Parking is free, and youth tickets are $10, but at about two and a half hours it is the longest drive from Boston on this list.
How we researched this
This is every renaissance, medieval or fantasy faire we could confirm holding a 2026 event within about two and a half hours of Boston. The Vermont Renaissance Faire in Essex Junction is the one real faire cut for distance, at three and a half to four hours. Mutton & Mead now advertises only a new event with no dates or venue, the Cummington faire's old website no longer belongs to it, and the New England Pirate Faire and Medieval Merriment are listed as no longer active. Salem RenFaire first ran in June 2026, so it has no track record yet.
Admission is an adult one-day ticket at the earliest published price; season passes, VIP tickets and Friday add-ons are left out. Salem's kids' cell is empty because the faire posts one flat $10 price with no child rate. New Hampshire removes its dates from its own site once the season ends, so its 2026 dates come from a faire listing. Connecticut's homepage shows Sep 12 as the start while its tickets page says August 29; Sep 12 is the first themed weekend, so the table uses August 29. Read this table as the record of the 2026 season, and look for each faire's own 2027 dates and ticket prices before planning next year's trip.