Against a backdrop of comedy, drama, mystery, suspense and sometimes an outright defiance of the most powerful monarch in the entire known world, unbridled merriement somehow manages to reign supreme as the castle gates swing wide on August 9th to mark the 28th year of fun and frolic at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire on the royal grounds of Mount Hope Estate and Winery.

The revelry begins when hundreds of colorfully costumed characters, together with a Renaissance village full of guildsmen, chefs, musicians, jousters, dancers, and characters from all walks of 16th century English life, bring to life a grand country holiday designed to captivate the senses and transport you 400 years back in time to Merrie Olde England’s days of yore.

The suspension of reality and the transition to a very different time and place begin as you stroll along the red stone walkway past the massive Carriage House Wine Shoppe and Victorian Mount Hope Mansion. From atop the castle gates, villagers, peasants and pirates beckon you forth to join the celebrations. Below, surrounded by scores of welcoming players, you find yourself caught up in the rollicking beat of a band of strolling minstrels clapping your hands as a group of gypsy women begin dancing to the music of fiddle, hand-drum and tambourine.

Looking beyond to a horizon dotted with jugglers, jesters, fire eaters, stilt walkers, and yet more dancers and musicians, you realize that this is a festival of grand proportion.

Below is a description of what you'll find in these our Entertainments.