Hundreds of fairgoers turned out for “Ye Olde Harvest Festival,” a celebration of the European Renaissance era. Attendees browsed artisan booths selling jewelry, clothing and art while others tucked into food truck fare, watched swordplay and joined in live action roleplay.
“We have twice as many performers, easily. We have one and a half times the vendor booths about,” Damro said.
Gabrielle Damro helped found the event. She said organizers planned this year’s festival with a lot of lessons from last year’s debut in mind.
Last year, heavy rain forced vendor tents and the stage to move at the last minute.
This year they planned ahead for that.
“We took time and curated where all the vendor booths were going to be very specifically for, I would say, weeks, if not a solid month to make sure that nobody was on super wet or super muddy or super sloped ground,” Damro said.
Damro said it worked well, though they learned some new lessons – like to bring more straw to soak up water.
Even with stretches of heavy rain, crowds stayed strong. Organizers say more than 400 people came through the gates on Sunday alone. A masquerade ball in a new venue kicked off the festival.
New additions included a pirate-themed tavern. Co-founder Sage Anderson said some came from outside the peninsula.
“We got to have fire spinners this year that was fantastic, and six of them came all the way from Fairbanks,” Anderson said.
Anderson and Damro say there’s room to grow, including in the recently re-opened campground above the park.
“Last year, I was dreaming about having vendors all the way through there too,” Anderson said. “Or even LARP all the way up in there, quests all the way up in there or something. Yes, we are looking at that area is usable for renaissance fair purposes,” Damro said.
Damro said new vendors and performers are already reaching out about next year’s fair, from blacksmiths to cider press demonstrations. She said the best part is seeing that excitement grow.
