The Kansas City Renaissance Festival is an annual Renaissance-themed fair held each fall in Bonner Springs, Kansas, roughly 20 miles west of downtown Kansas City. Founded in 1977, it draws approximately 200,000 visitors over seven weekends and ranks among the largest Renaissance festivals in the United States.
History
The festival launched in September 1977 as a benefit for the Kansas City Art Institute. For its first 23 seasons it was operated primarily as a fundraising vehicle for the Institute rather than as a standalone commercial event. In 1999, Mid-America Festivals — the company that also operates the Minnesota Renaissance Festival — purchased the event and reorganized it as a full-scale professional production. Under that ownership the festival expanded its vendor and stage footprint considerably, growing into one of the country’s premier Renaissance fairs.
The festival
The Kansas City Renaissance Festival spans seven weekends, opening on Labor Day weekend and running through mid-October, with the festival open on Saturdays, Sundays, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. Its program centers on Renaissance-themed live performance across 13 stages, including jousting tournaments, theatrical plays, musical acts, comedy, and magic shows. Artisan demonstrators work in textile, woodworking, and metalworking crafts throughout the grounds, including a fully operational blacksmith shop. More than 165 vendor booths offer handmade goods and period-style food and drink. Annual attendance is approximately 200,000 visitors across the run’s 16 operating days, placing the festival consistently among the top Renaissance fairs in the United States by attendance.
Venue and timing
The festival is held at 628 N. 126th St., Bonner Springs, KS 66012, adjacent to Sandstone Amphitheater. The Bonner Springs location has hosted the event since its founding in 1977. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. daily; the festival closes at 7:00 p.m. on most days.
See also
- bonner-springs-ks
- The KS.City Wiki
See also
- Wiki
- bonner-springs-ks