Arts and Entertainment
April 1, 2024
From: Georgia Renaissance FestivalThe Village of Newcastle is getting ready for the biggest party since Camelot!
Schedule:
April 13-14, 2024
Romance of the Renaissance - Opening Weekend!
Chivalry and courtship reign this weekend in the Village of Newcastle.
Treat that special someone and sample delicious food, drink and fun!
1:00pm - Costume Contest
Show off your best garb for a chance to win a prize! Couples welcome!
The Joust Arena
4:30pm - Vow Renewal Ceremony
Pledge your love to each other again - whether it's been 6 years or 60!
The Celebration Garden
April 20 - 21, 2024
Pet Friendly Weekend!
Sponsored by Thrive Pet Healthcare
Bring your fur baby to the Festival this weekend!
Dogs and cats on leashes are welcome - please read and fill out the Registration Form here before you arrive - and check in at our Registration Tent outside the Front Gate.
1:00pm - Pet Costume Contest
Dress your pet in their best garb and compete to win great prizes! Sign in at the Joust Arena to participate.
Joust Arena
3:30pm - Dog Eating Contest - HOT Dog, that is!
Think you can eat with the big dogs? Join us for what could be the most howl-arious eating competition ever! Contestants vie to see who can eat the most hot dogs in three minutes. Sign up at the Joust Arena prior to the contest.
Joust Arena
April 27 - 28, 2024
Highland Fling Weekend!
The Village of Newcastle welcomes the Scottish and Irish (and everyone else, of course!)
Bagpipes, drums and kilted characters abound, plus special contests! Bring your whole clan!
Don't miss the John Mohr Mackintosh Pipe - Drum Band parading through the Village.
The John Mohr Mackintosh
Join us as our special guests this weekend! Marching and performing daily in the village lanes.
Pipe and Drum Band
2:00pm - Bonnie Knees Contest
Think you have the best knees in the village? Put 'em on display for all to see and maybe you'll win a prize!
The Brewer's Pub Stage
3:30pm - Mashed Potato Eating Competition
The Irish have a thing for potatoes - do you? Enter the Mashed Potato Eating Competition! Who can clean their bowl first without using any utensils - or hands!
The Joust Arena
May 4 - 5, 2024
Time Traveler/Cosplay Weekend!
Cosplayers from all universes, time periods, genres, and multiverses will be converging in Newcastle this weekend!
Don your best cosplay and enter the costume contest!
1:00pm - Costume Contest
Show off your best cosplay for a chance to win a prize!
Joust Field
May 11 - 12, 2024
Viking - Barbarian Weekend!
Invaders from the North will descend upon Newcastle and terrible.FUN will occur!
Odin has decreed this weekend be one of fun and frivolity, and so we feel obligated to oblige!
1:00pm - Costume Contest
Contest for all ages!
Joust Field
2:00pm - Best Beard Contest
Think your beard is manly enough to win "Best Barbarian Beard"? We'll be the judge of that!
The Brewer's Pub
3:30pm - Der Flingen of der Fishin Competition
Who can fling a fish the furthest? Open to all ages.
Joust Field
May 18 - 19, 2024
Wizarding Weekend!
Didn't get an owl from that famous wizarding school?
Don't worry - we'll be celebrating all things magical this weekend with wizard-themed costume contests and magical events. Travel by flue powder or your Nimbus 2000, but be here for all the spell-binding adventures!
11:00am - Get Sorted!
Spin the wheel to see what house fate puts you into!
The Crown Stage
1:00pm - Costume Contest
Wizard costume contest - All ages welcome!
Joust Field
3:30pm - Magical Broom Race
Race from one end of the Joust Arena to the other - but don't spill your potion! Open to kids 12 and under.
Joust Field
May 25 - 27, 2024
Pirate Invasion Weekend!
It's a 3-Day Pirate Invasion!
Pirates and skallywags of all ages will find treasure in our special contests, like the Pirate Costume Contest and Walk The Plank Trivia! It's a weekend full of fun piratical hijinks!
1:00pm - Pirate Costume Contests
Pirate Costume Contests - For Adults - Children. Sign up at the Pirate's Treasure Ship. Competition will be judged and prizes provided by the crew of the Pirate's Treasure!
Pirate's Treasure Ship
2:00pm - Walk the Plank Trivia Contest
Test your piratical knowledge and win a prize! Losers will be marooned.
The Brewer's Pub
3:30pm - Pirate Sea Leg Races
Open to kids 12 and under! Try to be the first over the finish line in this crazy race.
Joust Field
June 1 - 2, 2024
Flights of Fantasy/Final Weekend
As the Festival comes to a close, residents of the fairy realm will make the trek to Newcastle to share their magic with us!
Be on the lookout for magical creatures of all sorts!
It's our last weekend - Come out and get one last turkey legge, grab that special treasure you've had your eye on, and see your favorite show! After this weekend, we're history!
1:00pm - Fantastic Creatures Costume Contest
Join in with assorted fairies, goblins, wizards, pixies, and other magical creatures to put a spell on the Festival and possibly win a prize!
Joust Arena
Entertainment:
New! Rota Temporis
THEY ARE BACK! Rota Temporis is a five person, high-energy Celtic band from Italy. The focus on medieval music but with a decidedly heavy metal approach! The driving sound of their pipes and drums might just knock you off your bench! DON'T MISS the end-of-day Front Gate Jam!
Performing All Season!
King's Hall Stage
Shows at 12:15pm, 1:45pm, 3:30pm and their Front Gate Jam at 6:00pm
Barely Balanced Acrobatic Daredevils
They're back, diving through fire, hurling machetes, and testing the limits of natural selection! Don't miss seeing your favorite acrobats endanger their lives in this hilarious, award winning show. The day starts with their "Sharp Knives and Stupid Humans Extravaganza" and ends with the incredible "Fire Finale." Come laugh, cheer, and become a part of the action!
Performing All Season!
Halfwit Harbor
Shows at 10:45am, 12:45pm, 2:45pm and their Fire Finale at 4:45pm
New! Cast in Bronze Carillon
4 tons of bronze bells fill the Festival with their majestic sound! You'll be enchanted by the melodies and energy produced by the 35 bells of the Carillon and Carillonneur Charlie St. Cyr-Paul.
Performing All Season!
Tavern on the Hill
Performances at 11:00am, 12:15pm, 1:30pm, and 4:00pm
DeBracey Joust Productions
You'll be on the edge of your seat as noble knights in shining armor battle and compete with lance, sword, and chariot! This epic show is filled with thrilling stunts, trick riding, and over twelve tons of equine fury!
Performing All Season!
Joust Arena
Tournaments at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm
Pub Crawl Special Event
Join our Crew for a Pub Crawl!
Every Festival Day at 12:30pm, 1:15pm, 3:00pm, and again at 3:45pm, our resident cut-purses and scallywags host a rowdy and bawdy voyage to each of Newcastle's drinking establishments. You'll meet at the Brewer's Pub where you'll get a souvenir tankard to hold yer grog, enjoy some fine beer-drinking entertainment, make your way to the Drunk Monk Pub (and our secret stage just for you), and finally make port at the Tavern on the Hill. Along the way you'll be served a beer at each pub, be forced to listen to bad jokes, puns and/or riddles, hear some great music, and play a few bawdy drinking games while maintaining your sea legs! Huzzah!
This is an additional ticket and does not include admission into the Festival. Pub Crawls are rated R.
Tickets are just $40 available online - get yours when you plan your trip!
Only 30 spots available for each Pub Crawl, so don't wait!
Tavern on the Hill, Drunk Monk Pub & Brewer's Pub
Each Day at 12:30 pm, 1:15 pm, 3:00pm and 3:45 pm
New! Zoltan the Adequate
Brilliant? Amazing? No, just adequate! Come see feats of bizarre geek magic and stunts of sheer stupidity! Watch and cringe as Zoltan plays with fire, swallows a four-foot balloon, and more. Zoltan will fool you, delude you about how you were fooled, deceive you about that delusion, and then bamboozle you about the deception. Surely a curiosity to be reckoned with.
Performing from April 13 thru May 5 only!
Crown Stage
Shows at 11:30 am, 12:45 pm, 2:45 pm, and 5:00 pm
New! Tuey
Tuey has been providing laughter and awe for over 40 years with his clean quality entertainment. He will have you laughing, gasping and applauding as you watch a display of skill that is awe inspiring and a perfect blend of family friendly comedy, jaw dropping skills, and danger.
Performing May 11 thru June 2
Crown Stage
Shows at 11:30 am, 12:45 pm, 2:45 pm, and 5:00 pm
Washing Well Wenches
The Washing Well Wenches are the funniest pair of "ladies" you'll ever meet! Part vaudeville, part sketch comedy, full-on entertaining, the Washing Well Wenches make interactive theater fun for everyone! See their new show in their new location on the Garden Cottage Stage!
Performing All Season!
Garden Cottage Stage
11:30am, 1:00pm, 3:15pm and 5:00pm
New! Boom Boom Shake
With middle eastern roots and a modern vibe, Boom Boom Shake blends rock, world, surf and jam genres together to create a signature sound. BBS will dazzle with world. Bring your dancing shoes, because you won't be able to resist the groove!
Performing All Season!
Fool's Knoll
Shows at 11:00am, 12:45pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm
New! Judas & Magnolia
This husband and wife team will amaze and astound you with their fearless escapes and illusions!
Performing All Season!
King's Hall Stage
Shows at 11:30am, 1:00pm, 2:30pm, and 4:30pm
New! Charry Garcia - One Man Band
Charry Garcia is a magician when it comes to creating beautiful music on a various array of instruments - all by himself! You'll be amazed at the melodies he conjures forth!
Performing All Season!
Middleton Stage
All Day
New! The Reelin' Rogues
From the hills and the seas come The Reelin' Rogues, a bardic band of rebels committed to upholding the monuments of the Celts through song.
Performing All Season!
Marrakech Mews Stage
Shows at 12:15 pm, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 5:00 pm
Free Juggling School
Are you convinced you can never learn to juggle? Sir William Drops will prove you wrong! Sir Will is a master juggler and has been teaching juggling for over 30 years, and really enjoys a challenge. Learn to juggle and receive an official certificate to prove it. And it's free...!
Performing All Season!
Old Towne Area
Lessons every hour on the hour
Iggy the Gargoyle
We're celebrating a Decade of Iggy! Join Festival fan-favorite Ignias Rockford III (Gargoyle From the Left on the Cathedral Wall) as his stone face brings a smile to yours.
Performing All Season!
In the lanes
All day
Juggling Geoff
A unique interactive circus show that includes hat juggling, plate spinning, and other obscure gravity defying feats that will not only ask yourself how does he do that? but... why is he doing that? Come witness the Master of Mischief and Mayhem - Juggling Geoff!
Performing All Season!
Fool's Knoll Stage
Performing at 12:00pm, 1:30pm, 3:00pm and 4:30pm
New! The Lady Victoria
The Lady Victoria specializes in Celtic and Early music on the Hammered Dulcimer. She mixes education and entertainment in a high energy show. Great for kids and music lovers of all ages.
Performing All Season!
Playing in the lanes, and on the Middleton Stage
Performing at 12:00pm, 2:45pm, and 4:30pm
New! The Puppies of Penzance
This brisk, energetic act takes audiences on a jolly trip on a pirate ship manned by pups. Always a favorite, audiences will be blown away by this merry band of mutts and will watch with baited breath to see if Poochie will really walk the plank!
Performing All Season!
Halfwit Harbor Stage
Shows at 11:45am, 1:45pm and 3:45pm
The Barehead Bards
The Barehead Bards perform pub song staples along with classic fiddle tunes. These bards always have fun and put on an entertaining show.
Performing All Season!
Tavern on the Hill, Drunk Monk Pub & Brewer's Pub
Tavern on the Hill Stage 12:45pm; Brewer's Pub Stage 3:00pm; Drunk Monk Pub Stage 4:00pm
Landloch'd!
From the highlands of Scotland, and the Moor-infested lands of Spain, these two men met upon the high seas and decided to share their love of Celtic and pirate music with the masses.
Performing All Season!
Photo credit: SoulCatching Photography
Brewer's Pub Stage and Drunk Monk Pub Stage
Brewer's Pub Stage 12:30pm, 5:00pm; Drunk Monk Stage 2:00pm, 3:30pm
Mother and Father Goose
Stop by the Goose Gazebo and have a visit with Mother and Father Goose and their "children" - gentle, tame geese who love to snuggle on your lap for a photo!
On Display All Season!
Goose Gazebo
All Day!
New! Old Soul Silk Road
These three world travelers stop by Newcastle to regale you with tunes from foreign lands, full of mystery, intrigue and fun!
Performing All Season!
Brewer's Pub
11:30am, 1:15pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm
Queen Amina and her Court
Aminatu the warrior Queen has traveled from her homeland of the Hausa tribe in western Africa to Newcastle to learn about new cultures and to share her own. Watch and listen as she challenges her nation's status quo of male dominance and female submission. As queen, she seeks to honor and represent her people; as a woman, she hopes to be an inspiration to women everywhere to find and harness their power.
Performing All Season!
Throughout the Village
All day
New! Shenanigans!
Shenanigans are known for just that - mischievous music and melodies! A trio of wand'ring Irish bards, they will steal your heart and anything else they can get ahold of!
All Season!
Tavern on the Hill, Drunk Monk Pub & Brewer's Pub
Brewer's Pub Stage 11:00am; Drunk Monk Pub Stage 12:30pm; Tavern on the Hill Stage 2:00pm
New! The Shipwreckers
This duo of bawdy balladeers have washed ashore at the Georgia Renaissance Festival, and you know what that means: naughty tunes, drinking songs, and mayhaps even a heart-felt ballad or two!
Performing All Season!
Brewer's Pub and Drunk Monk Pub
Brewer's Pub Stage 12:00pm, 3:45pm, Pub Sing 5:30pm; Drunk Monk Pub Stage 2:30pm
The Courtier's Academy
Join members of his Majesty's Royal Court as they instruct the young members of the Kingdom in proper court behavior and manners. Upon completion, each young noble receives a certificate from the King!
All Season!
Middleton Stage
Begins at 12:30pm
The Peachtree Handspinners Guild
Throughout the day, the spinners of Newcastle tell tales and spin yarns sharing the history of textiles. Watch the hand spinners create beautiful yarns out of colorful wool, straight out of the dye pot! Learn about traditional women's work and what it took to clothe the world. Located just inside the Front Gate.
Performing All Season!
Old Towne Area
Spinning all day!
The Hounds of Fairhaven
The Hounds of East Fairhaven are a group of volunteers and sighthound owners who enjoy bringing Renaissance history to life. They educate patrons about the role our beloved sighthound breeds played in history. Currently, members of HoEF have Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Whippets, Borzoi, Afghan Hounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Ibizan hounds, Salukis, and Bloodhounds. They also love to share their hounds and promote sighthound adoption and responsible dog ownership.
In the lanes
On display all day!
Date: April 13 - June 2, 2024
Time: 10:30am - 6pm
Location: Various locations in Fairburn
Click Here for More Information