About RenFest.org
RenFest.org is your comprehensive guide to Renaissance Festivals across the United States. We connect festival-goers with the artisans, entertainers, and events that make the Renaissance Festival community so special.
Our Mission
We aim to be the most complete and up-to-date resource for Renaissance Festival information, helping visitors discover new festivals, find their favorite artisans, and plan their faire season. Our goal is to drive more traffic to artisan sites, online stores, and social media, and to support initiatives that benefit the Renaissance Festival community.
Our Story
RenFest.org's proprietors, JonK and Cheryl, are quite fond of the Renaissance Festival community and look forward to attending the Carolina Renaissance Festival every year. Saddened by the cancellation of their local Renaissance Festival and those across the country due to COVID-19, they established RenFest.org in 2020 to promote the work of the artisans and entertainers whose livelihoods were so affected by the pandemic.
On their first date, JonK and Cheryl bonded over their mutual love of Renaissance Festivals, and when they eloped in 2018, they headed to the Carolina Renaissance Festival for their honeymoon. When not hard at work updating RenFest.org, JonK and Cheryl love playing games (card, board, and video), being creative, and playing with their cats.
JonK and Cheryl
JonK and Cheryl attend the Carolina Renaissance Festival together every year. Their shared love of Renaissance Festivals brought them together — and brought RenFest.org into existence.
JonK, Site Archivist
While a student at the University of Florida, JonK joined The Thieves' Guilde and performed for 5 years at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire and other Florida festivals. He played parts such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Merlin.
After landing in North Carolina in the mid 2000's, JonK continued performing in community theatre but never made his way back to Renaissance Festival acting. Outside of the festival and stage acting, he has always made a living in the web and software development industry.
Cheryl, Site Sage
Cheryl was first introduced to Renaissance Festivals as an elementary school student in Indiana and was especially taken with "Soak a Bloke, Drench a Wench" and the jester's ear of corn. They also attended festivals in Ohio and Minnesota before moving to North Carolina. Although they have always had dreams of working in a faire, Cheryl has a PhD in nutritional biochemistry and works as a writer in the pharmaceutical industry.
Get Involved
Are you an artisan or entertainer? Submit your listing to be included in our directory. Have a correction or suggestion? Contact us — we'd love to hear from you.