Arizona Renaissance Festival 2023 Final Weekend

Arizona Renaissance FestivalPhoto byArizona Renaissance Festival

This weekend brings with it the Fool’s Masquerade Final Huzzah! If you haven’t been to the Arizona Renaissance Festival this year, this is your last chance. Take this unique trip back in time to a place Queen Elizabeth could never have imagined.

Located in the foothills of the Superstition Mountains, the Arizona Renaissance Festival is one of the largest events of its kind in the United States. Come revel in the atmosphere of a 16th century European village where history and fantasy come together. The Festival’s 50-acre village is filled with sixteen stages of nonstop entertainment, music, comedy, falconry, dance, mermaids, and acrobatics. Foolish pleasures mix with artisan treasures as you shop, eat and mingle with a cast of nearly 2,000 colorfully costumed characters.

Kids free this weekend

Children ages five to twelve get in free with three non-perishable food donated to the Superstition Community Food Bank booth at the Faire.

This weekend's guest author

Guest Author Sharon A. Skinner of Mesa will be at Ann Chamberlin’s Book both days. Sharon is the author of nine novels, two collections of short fiction and poetry and a picture book. As a freelance editor and book coach, Skinner helps writers get the stories from their hearts and heads onto the page. She writes fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, and the occasional steampunk for audiences of all ages. Her Healer’s Trilogy, which starts with The Healer’s Legacy, is a fan favorite. Skinner serves as the Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) AZ.

Skinner is a proud US Navy veteran, and one of the first women who served aboard a US Navy vessel, the USS Jason (AR-8). In October 1980, Skinner was among the crew of approximately 800 men and 45 women when the Jason and her crew deployed for a six-month WestPac cruise in support of troops for the Iran hostage crisis.

You can read more about this popular author, her writing, and her service at her website, sharonskinner.com. If you’re a writer looking for a coach to help you bring your story together, visit bookcoachingbysharon.com

Eat, drink, and be merry

Throughout the village of Fairhaven you’ll find pubs serving beer, wine, and mead. You can also find soft drinks and bottled water. Of course, there are all kinds of food options, including the famous turkey legs, steak-on-a-stake, bread bowls, and even pizza.

For seasoned patrons of the Arizona Renaissance Festival, it’s an annual tradition to make at least one stop at the Chocolate Maker. Their three locations offer the unique triple chocolate blend of two dark and one white chocolate. Enjoy raspberry or cherry chocolate cups, frozen bananas, and frozen cheesecake. The most popular items at the chocolate shop are the strawberries, served either dipped in chocolate and chilled, or as a bowl of cool sliced berries topped with warm chocolate.

The details

• WHAT: The 35th Annual Arizona Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace
• WHERE: 12601 East US Hwy 60
• WHEN: This weekend, April 1 and 2
• HOURS: 10AM until 6PM, rain or shine.
• TICKETS: Children under 4 are always free. Tickets purchased at the Festival Day of Show are $34 for adults 13 years and above and children 5-12 are $22. Senior discount tickets (60 and over) and Military (i.d. required) are $32 and only available at the Festival Box Office. Tickets are available online. Save $1 on tickets at Bashas’ and Food City in advance.
• Parking is FREE courtesy of Bashas’ and Food City
• For information call 520-463-2600