Crafts

The craftspeople at the festival have all undergone a jury process, being selected from several thousand who have applied over the years.  Each year new artisans are juried from almost one hundred new applicants to fill spaces that rarely become available, either as full-time exhibitors or Guest Merchants in the Festival’s limited run shops.  Among juried craft shows and in particular among the major renaissance festival, the Maryland Renaissance Festival attracts the most talented and recognized artisans of these events due to the high customer appreciation for such works by patrons in this region and the festival’s limiting of the number of vendor spaces in the show.  For the exhibitor it ensures a high customer to vendor base and for the patron a level of uniqueness and quality unseen at many other venues.

Mediums represented at the Festival include clothing, jewelry, footwear, masks, wood working, leather work, puppetry, tapestry pillows, marquetry, wheat weaving, knife and sword making, Celtic wear, ceramics, herbal and potpourri blends, fantasy figurines, quilts, stained glass, chainmail, candle wax works, sculpture in metal, clay and wood, old world and original prints, sandcasting, glass blowing, pewter artistry, lampworking, headwear, garden art, engraving, tapestries, blacksmithing, thematic books, decorative gourds, soaps and lotions, ornaments and garlands, brooms, soft sculpture, turned wood, hammocks, coin minting and carving, and games and magic wares.  Service artistry includes henna, hair braiding, face painting, massage and assorted readers.  Unlike many events, the artisans own their shops which many of them have built themselves to exhibit their crafts.

Each season the Maryland Renaissance Festival invites a select few craftspeople to exhibit in the Festival’s Guest Vendor Pavilions to introduce new works to patrons and allow these vendors to experience the festival.

Craft shows are among the most popular shows in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Combining the unique and varied artisans with a village full of entertainment, pageantry, foods and beverages in a 16^th century English village with activities and attractions for the whole family distinguishes the Maryland Renaissance Festival among those shows.

The Maryland Renaissance Festival runs Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day Monday from August 24^th through October 20^th from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Please visit www.rennfest.com for tickets, directions, special events and entertainment listings.