The Queen has spoken: The absolute best things to do at the 2024 AZ Renaissance Festival
The 2024 Arizona Renaissance Festival is underway, and the 50-acre piece of land in Gold Canyon east of Phoenix is packed with over 200 artisans selling their wares, performers whipping fire and cracking jokes, brave knights fighting to the death and more.
With so much to do and see and eat and buy, planning a trip to the Arizona Renaissance Festival can become a little overwhelming. Fear not: The Queen herself has graciously shared some of her favorite things about the festival.
From picking a must-see show to zeroing in on what delectable treat you should by from the food stands or even which themed weekend is her favorite, here's what Queen Katherine recommends as the best things to do at the 2024 Arizona Renaissance Festival.
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Best things to see and eat at the 2024 Arizona Renaissance Festival
"Let them eat cake" may not have been the exact words Queen Katherine (also known as Beckah Rubinstein) but she did mention her new favorite addition to the menu: chimney cakes.
Thankfully, she also divulged a few other things you absolutely should not miss while visiting the Arizona Renaissance Festival.
The Twinstrels: Twin minstrels Snickety von Scurvy and Sforza von Sumption bring a mix of traditional folk melodies and their own unique compositions to the festival. Queen Katherine described listening to their melodic tunes as a "religious experience."
Jousting: One of the most attended events is the jousting tournament. This is a three-part performance with the finals featuring a realistic re-creation of a joust to the death. Queen Katherine is particularly fond of the joust to the death, calling it "so exciting."
Chimney Cake: "It's from Romania. They take dough and they wrap it around a dowel stick, and they roast it over the coals. Then, they take it and roll it in several things like chocolate or Fruity Pebbles, cinnamon and sugar or just have it alone." So says the Queen.
Viking Invasion: Every weekend there is a new theme, and the newly added Viking Invasion weekend is a favorite of Queen Katherine.
The Artisans: With over 200 shops offering everything from jewelry to weapons to leatherwork to pottery and so much more, there's no way you'll go home empty-handed. "So many lovely things, and they're very talented, I could never do what they do!"
Queen Katherine's best advice for not missing out on anything?
"Your best option is to come for two or more days. You cannot see the whole festival in one day. It is 50 acres, and it is immense and wonderful and there are wonders around every corner."
Arizona Renaissance Festival 2024
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Feb. 3-March 31.
Where: 12601 U.S. 60, Gold Canyon.
Admission: $34, $32 for age 60 and over, $22 for ages 5-12, free for age 4 and under.
Details: www.arizona.resfestinfo.com.
Meredith G. White is the entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic |azcentral.com. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, as @meredithgwhite, and email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Best things to do at 2024 Arizona Renaissance fair, per the queen
