Hail and well met! Have you ever wanted to visit the time of Queen Elizabeth I?
Well, this year’s fair is over, but the Original Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire will return next spring!
The Renaissance Faire opened in 1963 in Agoura, near Malibu, to bring part of the past to the present. Over the years, it moved around until it moved back to the Los Angeles area. Since its opening, about 20,000 people visit each weekend! The dates to go to the fair are April 5- May 18 on Saturdays and Sundays, only minutes from Pasadena.
When you first enter the fair, you see people doing 17th-century crafts, like a spinning wheel. The actors show you what daily life looks like in that period, like you’re in a live theatre. Everyone is in character, even the visitors. They talk in old English and greet each other like “Good Morrow to you, sir, ” adding small details that make you feel like you are time-traveled.
Although not everything is old-fashioned. You will see people dressed casually with baseball caps and plastic cups. Visiting Queen Elizabeth I and her well-dressed court makes up for seeing someone wear a tank top. They all play a role and are deeply in character with a backstory, but the most fun part is when she does the “Queen’s Progress,” where they carry her in the litter to the joust, where you feel like you’re experiencing a royal progress.
Depending on which weekend you choose to go to the fair, there will be a theme each week, a little twist! For example, the weekend of April 12 & 13, 2025, the theme was Pirate & Marketplace, so it was only natural for treasure hunts, pirate trivia, and sailor knots. Then on April 19 & 20, 2025, it was Cottagecore weekend where you would cook ancient recipes, dance your heart away at Fairy Frolic Drum Jam, and Toadstool Time, where you find your toadstool.
When you get hungry, you could try the iconic turkey leg, which was a popular food during that time. As you walk around with a turkey leg in your mouth, you can visit many of their shows, like one where a stuntman swallows swords. The show “Little Girl, Big Show” is a tiny gymnastic girl who does acrobatics and jokes around with the crowd. Besides shows, there are lots of hands-on activities that will keep you busy. Archery and axe throwing for the more intense folks, then there is a petting zoo to keep your little ones occupied.
Anyone who dreams of experiencing the Renaissance age is welcome to the fair. The reviews are full of people who went to the fair in the mid-80s to now, taking their kids just like they did. Some waited for their kids to get older so they could truly remember the experience and also get a history lesson. “The first time I went, my friends took me, right at the beginning of college, and it was so exciting, it was like walking into a live theater,” said Mrs. Van Ackeren, who first visited the fair in 1992. Then last year, she went with some students using a GEF grant that Isabel Maghagnian (’25) had won.
The fair lasts until May 18, and the weather has cooled down compared to previous weeks. So if you are interested, visit the fair, and if you miss it, it happens every year on the same dates. You can also volunteer to work during the fair through the Guild program, where even during your lunch break, you would have to be in character. Every person who visited the fair always wanted to come back. It is an amazing experience and a great way to kick off the summer break.
