Renaissance Faire gears up for fourth annual show in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Renaissance Faire is gearing up for its fourth annual show at the Ag grounds, ramping up activities to celebrate an attendance milestone set last year. 

“We hit 10,000 at the gates last year. I had always promised myself that when we hit that number, we were going to do something awesome,” said Gail Stamp, owner of the Strathmore Medieval Faire and Artisan Market.

In addition to hosting the international joust, which will feature athletes from across Europe, Australia and Canada, the faire is throwing a Saturday night concert with The Devil’s Brigade as the headliner. 

Stamp explained that anticipated attendance increases year-over-year tend to be between 3,000 and 5,000 people. Should the Strathmore event ceiling out around the 10,000 attendees mark, she said it’s still a number the team can be satisfied with. 

“This company is all about growth. It is growing with everyone who is a part of it, which would be … I would say somewhere in the area of 100 small businesses. Most of them are from Alberta,” said Stamp. “This event, no matter where we take it, it is successful. People want to get out, they want to have fun, they don’t want to deal with all the politics or the yuckiness that is going on out there. They just want to come out with their families and have some fun.”

In addition to the concert and joust, Stamp explained the weekend-long event will feature a mix of new and familiar faces, with a new layout for patrons to explore. 

These will include regular features such as heavily armoured combat, roving magicians and storytellers, Gaelic dancing, and a new Viking group, among others. 

Stamp added due to recent industry saturation, next year’s event is likely to look noticeably different in order to keep the show fresh and unique.

“We have entertainers that I couldn’t imagine doing the show without. Lothar the Magician, he is amazing, the people love him. Angus and Dolina, they are full of song and dance and laughter, and they will have over 100 people up and dancing. How does it get any better than that?” she said. “Even if we bring in a lot of the same attractions, it is important that we also bring in new ones … we will bring in more rather than switching them out, and we will see how it goes next year.”

Continuing to utilize the local Ag grounds, Stamp added there remains plenty of space to grow the event and saturating the venue for years to come. 

Should the traffic begin to feel difficult to manage, she said she is also prepared to potentially add a day to the event.

The event will take place Aug. 21, opening between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. as well as Aug. 22 and 23 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.