It’s time for the Castle’s Renaissance Festival

What are you doing this weekend? If it doesn’t involve jousting and corsets, you’re missing out. 

One of our favorite things to do each year is check out the Castle of Muskogee’s Renaissance Festival. I’ve been going just about every year for more than two decades now, and it just keeps getting better. As I talked about in our Halloween Castle 2022 post, the management team behind the Castle is constantly looking for ways to upgrade visitors’ experiences, and it shows. Just as the Halloween festival has gone from pretty standard to fairly mind blowing through the years, the Castle’s Renaissance Festival has earned its place in the top tier of annual Oklahoma family events. 

This year, we decided to get into the spirit of things by breaking out our best new garb (garb = ren faire attire), which, for Lucy, meant dressing as an adorable mushroom fae. Each weekend features its own special theme, and the theme when we stopped by was Fantasy, Vikings & Travelers out of Time – King Oberon. It was a perfect environment for an adventurous mushroom creature, and Lucy ran into a few fellow fungi. 

Here’s a rundown of our favorite ren faire adventures from 2023’s festival:

1. The faeries

Whether you’ve got young kids with you or you just really love fairies because, let’s face it, they’re amazing, you definitely want to walk the trail to Castleton’s fairy glen. Along the way, you’ll meet all sorts of delightful fae folk as you wind past the enchanted forest. 

2. The mermaid grotto

Keep following the enchanted trail and you’ll end up crossing paths with a grotto full of merfolk. They’re friendly creatures, and they love to visit with kids of all ages. Follow that trail to the end, and you’ll find yourself in a pirate bay. 

3. The musicians

It’s worthwhile to check out some of the many talented musicians you’ll find playing on stages around the festival. We were especially impressed by the bagpipe and drum band Wolgemut.

4. The costumes

The costumes at the festival never disappoint. We saw all kinds of creative and interesting garb and ran into a host of characters. I even ran into some representatives from the United Federation of Planets. 

5. The homemade desserts

The Renaissance festival is a minefield for anyone counting calories, but if you have to break your diet, this is the place to do it. If you stop by the Castle Keepe, the cherry amaretto liquor cake from Blue Sun was to die for, and we always enjoy picking up some local honey-infused treats from Roark Acres. 

6. The swashbuckling

The festival offers plenty of high quality stage shows and performances, and we found a new favorite this year in the Renaissance Men. Combining their swordsmanship and comedic timing, these guys had us literally in tears. Please go follow them immediately on Instagram. 

7. The artisan goods

You know how we all spent the past three years buying way too much from online megastores because of the Rona? This is your chance to make up for it by supporting incredibly talented artisans and vendors. From the gorgeous stamped leather goods of Boar’s Head Leather to handmade, theater-quality costumes and artisan-forged swords, it’s a great chance go fill up your treasure chest with one-of-a-kind goods.     

8. The send-off

It’s always sad to leave a good time. But the send-off you experience when you’re leaving Castleton’s festival totally takes the sting out of the fact that your day of jousting and chivalry is drawing to a close. All of the castle folk gather near the exit and sing you on your way, and it’s absolutely delightful. 

If you’re planning to head to the Castle this weekend, here are a few things you should know:

• Parking is free.
• The festival is rain or shine.
• You can buy tickets online here.
• The festival runs weekends through June 4th at 3400 W Fern Mountain Road in Muskogee. 

Don’t forget to tag @tulsakids when you share your Instagram pics of the festival! Have a magical week in your nebula!