ESCONDIDO — Thousands flocked to Felicita Park over the last couple of weekends to see knights, pirates, queens, fairies and more magical wonders at the biannual Escondido Renaissance Faire.
The fair wrapped up another successful spring season as attendance continues to grow each year following the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns a few years ago.
Produced by Olde Tyme Productions Inc., the popular event has been bringing Escondido back to medieval times twice a year for more than 20 years.
The multiple guilds of volunteer entertainers that make up the festival helped transport guests back to the 16th-century Elizabethan era and beyond. Described as a Renaissance fair with a pirate flare, guilds of swashbucklers and buccaneers also joined in on the fun, offering clever pirate names to anyone who wanted to join.
Guests could participate in treasure hunts and archery lessons, enjoy turkey legs and mead, shop for handcrafted weapons, clothing and other trinkets, and watch as knights clashed in jousting tournaments.
“It’s a really nice event,” said event promoter Richard Pavia. “It’s worth it to see the kids’ smiles when they see a knight in shining armor or a queen for the first time — you can’t beat it.”
According to Pavia, the event brings in $60,000 annually for the San Diego County Parks and Recreation division and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city of Escondido in terms of visitor spending at local restaurants and shops. Organizers also donate thousands of dollars to the Escondido Chamber of Commerce each year as well.
The fair will return in the fall for another few weekends of magical, medieval festivities.
In addition to the Escondido Renaissance Faire, Old Tyme Productions also runs the High Desert Pirate Faire in Hesperia after purchasing it late last year.
More photos from this year’s Escondido Renaissance Faire:
