Huzzah! Ren Faire triumphs on Whidbey
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Fairgoers showed up and showed out at the Whidbey Ren Faire over the weekend, which drew a whopping 15,161 attendees, according to Arielle Morgan, the Whidbey Island Ren Faire president.
Giants, knights, queens, fortune tellers, fairy squashers and more roamed the venue, Beach View Farm located near Oak Harbor. Entertainers around the faire delivered laughs and smiles galore — from fire breathers to magicians to fighting knights and a 30-second cartoonist.
Jousting was the star event of the weekend. Each team represented one of four countries: Scotland, England, France and Spain. Combatants were introduced, riling up the crowd with each country’s own chants in a medieval accent. People screamed “fight, fight, fight,” “viva France” and more. Of course, the crowd was wild, booing the opposing teams and hooting when their team was up. The fighters were no less passionate, disarming their opponents, knocking them to the ground, kicking them in soft places, spitting on them and more. A kind fighter even offered a potato to a peasant in the crowd. He said the audience member probably needed it.
The food vendors served exactly what you’d expect: giant turkey legs, sometimes bigger than the consumer’s wee face, meat pies and more. The signs at every stall, advertising shops selling items like costumes, jewels and shells, were Ren Faire-inspired, transporting fairgoers to a fantasy realm. Kids played with swords or danced in their fairy wings in the kids’ realm.
What’s a festival without trinket trading with others? Some passed out fairy gold and others gifted mini Highland cows to their favorite encounters. This News-Times reporter traded in a trinket for a fortune from a passerby who gave her a piece of paper that read, “Thou now has the plague.”
However, still symptom-free, the only thing the News-Times reporter can clearly say she got was her whimsy back. She saw people greet each other in character, admired the dazzling costumes, drank lemonade till her stomach hurt and laughed with absolute strangers. The restraints were lifted, and everyone was authentically free to be whoever they wanted to be.
