Going back in time at the Oxford Renaissance Festival

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Going back in time at the Oxford Renaissance Festival

History comes alive at the Oxford Renaissance Festival 2023 in the Dorchester Fairgrounds and many of the visitors dressed up in costumes from their favourite part of history, or fantasy world, that you could imagine - even many of the dogs were wearing dragon costumes although one Dalmatian was draped in a crocheted covers as a cow complete with udders.

The three day event runs from October 13 to 15, 2023 in the Dorchester Fairgrounds, close to Highway 401, and open from 9:45am to 7pm. Saturday's calendar of events was supposed to get showered on throughout the day, however the ren festival was spared the deluge and was instead kissed with cold winds and cool temps until finally the sun broke through the clouds and blue skies appeared.

Full metal contact jousting

Getting the trebuchet ready

The knights also battled with swords

Entertainment was plentiful and crowd favourites included the full metal jousting as crowds cheered for their knight to become champion in the games, the demonstrations of the pumpkin firing trebuchet and the black powder explosion when the canon was fired. Saturday and Sunday's schedule were identical and there was always something interesting going on. Attendees also enjoyed the Birds of prey by The Eryre, comedy, acrobatic performances by Starlight Aerialist and the Fire Stage with Nekrotic and Valkyrie. There were several stages in addition to the Royal Arena and Fairyland.

Vikings had a small village setup near the trebuchet and the vendor area contained a large number of tents. Nearby was the Boars Head tavern to quench your ancient thirst. Overall a great way to spend a day with family, friends and a couple thousand friendly strangers.

See more photos of the festival after the jump.