Oakenmist Renaissance Faire

05/29/2026

🌿 Edutainer Spotlight: Historic London Town and Gardens

Step into living history.

Historic London Town and Gardens preserves a colonial-era to***co port on the South River, where visitors can explore the William Brown House (c. 1760), reconstructed buildings, and year-round living history programs.

At Oakenmist, they’ll bring hands-on history to life through the art and science of natural dyeing, drawing from Viking Age and Renaissance traditions. Learn where dyes came from, how they were made, and how color was created from the natural world.

Experience a live indigo dye demonstration, where fabric transforms before your eyes as it turns blue through exposure to oxygen, with opportunities to engage directly in the process.

Visit them in Edgewater, MD to explore their historic site, gardens, and living history programs year-round.

📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

What piece of history would you want to experience firsthand?

05/28/2026

🎪 Marketplace Spotlight: Sweet Treats, Soft Bunnies & Creative Treasures

There’s always something unexpected waiting in the Oakenmist Marketplace! Meet four more vendors joining us this August:

🧵 Boho Fabrics – A woman-owned fabric shop specializing in apparel fabrics, vintage trims, metal buttons, notions, and historical costuming inspiration. Perfect for makers, sewists, and anyone dreaming up their next Renaissance look.

🍰 The Bundt House - Pasadena, MD – Award-winning homemade cakes, breads, cookies, hand pies, and Renaissance-inspired baked goods. Don’t miss their famous Shrewsberry Cakes, a buttery shortbread treat inspired by 16th-century England that sells out every year.

🎲 Wonderland Acres Art – Original artwork, prints, handcrafted gaming dice, and tabletop accessories made right here in Westminster, Maryland. Beautiful art and small-batch dice designed to bring extra magic to your next adventure.

🐇 Big Bunny Birthdays – Friendly bunny meet-and-greets and interactive rabbit experiences for guests of all ages. Stop by to spend time with these gentle, well-cared-for rabbits while learning more about rabbit care and enjoying a calm, adorable moment at the faire.

Which booth are you heading to first? 👀

📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

More Marketplace Spotlights coming soon...

05/21/2026

⚔️ Combat Arena Spotlight: Maryland KdF

Step into the world of historical swordsmanship in the Oakenmist Combat Arena.

Maryland KdF is a club dedicated to studying the martial arts of medieval and Renaissance Germany, part of the broader tradition known as Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). Their practice focuses primarily on the longsword teachings of the 14th-century master Johannes Liechtenauer, drawn from surviving historical manuals.

In addition to longsword, their members explore a wide range of historical weapons, including saber, rapier, sword and buckler, spear, polearms, messer, and dagger.

Watch centuries-old martial traditions come to life in the Oakenmist Combat Arena this August.

📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

Which historical weapon would you most want to see demonstrated? ⚔️

05/15/2026

🎶 Performer Spotlight: Piper Jones Band

Performing Saturday & Sunday at the B***y Stage

Highland pipes. Driving rhythm. Music that moves.

The Piper Jones Band brings high-energy Celtic music to life with soaring bagpipes, powerful rhythms, and rich vocal harmonies. Rooted in traditional tunes from Ireland, Scotland, and Appalachia, their performances blend authenticity with a fresh, engaging style.

Don’t be surprised if they step off the stage and invite you to dance - audience participation is part of the magic ✨

Featuring internationally recognized musicians, including piper EJ Jones and multi-instrumentalist Frances Cunningham, this is a sound that carries both tradition and momentum.

🎶 Live at the B***y Stage
📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

05/13/2026

🏰 86 Vendors Under One Roof!

The Oakenmist Marketplace isn’t just a collection of booths: it’s a carefully gathered community of makers, artists, and storytellers.

This year, we’re bringing together 86 vendors (plus performers and edutainers!) inside the Carroll County Ag Center, creating a space filled with handcrafted goods, old-world skills, and a little bit of magic around every corner.

From leatherwork and fine jewelry to pottery, woodcraft, textiles, and whimsical curiosities - every vendor brings something unique to the Marketplace. Most draw from history. Others from fantasy. All are here to share what they create.

Whether you’re searching for something practical, something beautiful, or something you didn’t even know you needed, you’ll find it here.

🏰 The Marketplace is at the heart of Oakenmist.
And we’re just getting started.

📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

Follow along as we continue spotlighting the 2026 Marketplace.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Tymeless Valley Farm: Renaissance & Theme Wedding Venue:
A small working farm nestled in a secluded valley in northern Maryland specializing in Renaissance, medieval, and fantasy-themed weddings.

05/10/2026

⚔️ What Is the Combat Arena?

At Oakenmist, the Combat Arena is a full weekend of live demonstrations, historical martial arts, and hands-on experiences with different groups rotating throughout the day.

Here’s who you’ll see:

⚔️ Barony of Bright Hills, SCA, Inc. - Page
Explore daily life in the past through armored combat, crafts, and demonstrations of medieval arts and sciences.

🛡️ Amtgard (Kingdom of Crystal Groves)
Fantasy combat meets immersive play - with padded weapons, quests, and a world built on creativity and competition.

⚔️ Maryland Kunst des Fechtens
Historical European Martial Arts focused on German traditions - including longsword, saber, rapier, and more.

🛡️ Maryland Training in Historical Swordsmanship
Live demonstrations of historical combat techniques, plus opportunities for younger visitors to try safe, supervised sparring.

⚔️ Baltimore Academy of Defence - Kung fu, HEMA, American Swordsmanship
Ever wanted to be a swashbuckling pirate? Learn real historical cutlass techniques and step into the world of pirate swordplay.

Throughout the weekend, you’ll see demonstrations, sparring, and opportunities to learn more about each discipline.

⚔️ Come for the spectacle. Stay for the skill.

📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026
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Thank you to our sponsor, Tymeless Valley Farm: Renaissance & Theme Wedding Venue:
A small working farm nestled in a secluded valley in northern Maryland specializing in Renaissance, medieval, and fantasy-themed weddings.

05/08/2026

🎶 Performer Spotlight: Chaste Treasure

Truly a treasure… but questionably chaste.

Chaste Treasure is a delightfully mischievous a ca****la trio serving up clever lyrics, rich harmonies, and just enough sass to keep things interesting. Equal parts refined and ridiculous, their songs dance right along the edge of propriety - and wink while doing it.

🏆 Recently awarded 1st Place A Ca****la Group at the Renaissance Festival Awards, they’re a can’t-miss act of the weekend.

If you like your music a little witty and a little wicked, pull up a seat.

🎶 Live at the B***y Stage
📍 Carroll County Ag Center
📅 August 15–16, 2026

04/30/2026

Today is the last day for early bird pricing (ends tonight at 11:59pm) - save $7 on adult admission, save $9 for family / weekend. August 15-16, Carroll County Ag Center, Westminster, Maryland.

7500 square feet of Clear Skies Meadery mead garden, with The Hooligans, Piper Jones Band, Chaste Treasure and more on that stage; the other major stage has Michele Mountain, Harpist, Julia Marks, Steve Haug, The Bard and The Bird, Onias the Mage, and more! Learn to whip, to sling, to throw (and maybe catch!) a boomerang, some basic magic, learn about (and play) some period instruments, experience a blacksmith at his forge, 5 different combat groups, a Squire's Spot (with mermaids, ogres, fairies, book readings, games and more), Baltimore Krampus, HoCo Pirate Adventures, a 400 square foot aviary with birds of prey (Avian Encounters), the library with kid's book readings, period fabric dying, period herbalists, more than 85 vendors, food trucks galore, everybody in the video below...and turkey legs to boot!

Get your early bird tickets today at https://www.eventbookings.com/b/event/2026-oakenmist-renaissance-faire

Huzzah!

04/29/2026

Next to last day for early bird ticketing...ends tomorrow at midnight. Save $7 per person on a daily ticket (kids...well, they're free with paid adult, they don't save anything.) Save $9 on a family day pass!

Get your tickets at https://www.eventbookings.com/b/event/2026-oakenmist-renaissance-faire

04/29/2026

On April 30 at 11:59pm...the price goes up. If you're looking for early bird tickets, NOW is the time to get them at https://www.eventbookings.com/b/event/2026-oakenmist-renaissance-faire

Vendor slots have been full for months - just in case some traitorous infiltrator tries to tell you otherwise below...

Carroll County Fairgrounds, Westminster, Maryland
August 15-16, 2026

The 4th year for a small (but growing) Renaissance Faire in mid-Maryland! August 15 and 16, 2026 from 10am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday!  Payment at the door is one-day adult sales only.  Get your tickets now and don't stand in line to pay at the door.  Single-day ticket prices increase...