For eight weekends every spring, over 100,000 visitors travel to the Atlanta area to experience 16th-century England, during the reign of King Henry VIII. The Festival is more than a local favorite. It was voted as one of the top 20 Events in the Southeast from the Southeast Tourism Society. The Georgia Renaissance Festival gets visitors from all over the country, bur mainly the Southeast.
Not a Typical Renaissance Festival
The Georgia Renaissance Festival opened its doors in 1986. Since its opening, the festival has grown from your typical medieval-themed fair into a regional travel destination. The festival offers mass appeal due to its variety of entertainment. Entertainment Director Catie Osborne says, “The way we’ve been approaching the fair for the past couple of years is to offer things for everybody.”
The fair has the standard medieval-themed activities you expect like jousting tournaments, glass-blowing, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, dancers, and wandering minstrels. The festival offers themed weekends such as Highland and Pirates throughout its season. This gives cosplay lovers an opportunity to strut their best costumes along with other cosplay fans. Catie says there’s something for everyone at the festival. “There isn’t a ‘typical’ person that comes to the fair,” says Catie, “If you are really into costuming, you can cosplay or you can shop for cool costumes; we’ve got live music, and we’ve got a lot of beer if you are into that.”
The fair has something for everyone. There’s plenty of entrainment and experiences for grown-ups too. Try the pub crawl with friends. Make your way through all the pubs at the fair sampling their finest brew and listen to bad jokes, hear great music, and play a few bawdy drinking games. Tickets are $35 per person with limited spots available. Catch the Tortuga Twins’ 4:30 show for adult humor and fun. Have a birthday, family reunion, or wedding coming up? Have your event at the fair! Yep, you can book a private event at the Georgia Renaissance Festival.
Hypnotherapist, Rick Stratton, has been traveling the United States for years making people laugh while performing his comedy hypnosis show at the Festival.
Family Friendly Fun
The festival is definitely family friendly too. “You can bring your whole family and there’s plenty of things that appeal to everyone,” says Catie. “From morning until night there’s nonstop entertainment.” Kids will love the games, rides, haunted ship, and rock-climbing wall. There’s a 32-acre Artisans Market that hosts a number of arts and crafts demonstrations, including weaving, spinning and coin minting. Don’t forget the food! There’s plenty of pubs and shops that sell turkey legs and other goodies like mac and cheese on a stick, giant pretzels, and root beer floats.
First-timers will see no down time, and it may seem overwhelming at times. No worries, use the helpful “customize your experience” tool on the festival’s website. You can plan your entire day of activities with ease. Click on the shows you want to see, the rides you want to do and even the food you’d like to eat. Once you’ve made your selections, the tool creates an agenda and emails it to you – easy peasy!
Admission and Other FAQs
The Georgia Renaissance Festival is currently open and runs through June 2, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30am – 6pm. Adults admission are $23.95 each, children (6-12) are $11.95 per child, and children 5 and under are free. Buying your tickets online will save you a few dollars. There is a military discount and up to four accompanying family members can get in for $8 each. On Memorial Day Monday, all active and retired military get in free (ID required). Admission includes all entertainment shows, jousting tournaments, contests and special events, the children's play kingdom, the royal petting farm, juggling school, and more. You can leave and re-enter the venue the same day only. The Georgia Renaissance Festival is located off of I-85 (exit 61 for Fairburn and Peachtree City), approximately eight miles south of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Parking is free and no outside food or beverages are permitted.
Where To Stay
Since the festival is so close to Atlanta and other large suburban cities, there’s plenty of places to stay if you prefer hotels. There are plenty of RV parks to set up camp around the metro Atlanta area. Here are a couple of recommendations from local Georgia RVers:
Chattahoochee Bend State Park is located at 425 Bobwhite Way in Newnan, GA. Rates start at $28 per night plus daily park pass fee. The premium sites have partial hookups (just water and eclectic). The park features canoe rentals and 12 miles of hiking trails.
Pine Lakes RV Park is a small, private RV park located at 142 Bagley Rd in Newnan, Georgia, about 10 miles southwest of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It’s a small campground, so call ahead to make sure there’s a space available. Rates start at $40 per night.
Nearby Attractions
The location offers a ton of fun things to check out in and around the city. On the south side of the city, there’s the Atlanta Zoo, Oakland Cemetery, Centennial Olympic Park, and Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. If you want to venture into downtown and midtown, check out the Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta Botanical Garden, World of Coca Cola, and Piedmont Park.