The scent of turkey leg is in the air and people are speaking with all kinds of crazy accents, it must be that time again! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Renaissance Faire season is upon us! Last year, I fell in love with the New Jersey Renaissance Faire and my family has just been counting down the days until it was time to return. When people hear me rave about the faire, they often wonder if it is family-friendly and the answer is a resounding YES! There are tons of things to do with your family at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire and since I pretty much consider myself an expert by now, I thought I’d give you a kind of tour of it all!

1. Adventure Scavenger Hunt: The Scavenger Hunt is our favorite activity. The kids are given a board of clues for an elaborate and entertaining scavenger hunt. There is a little extra fee but it forces them to interact with the characters of the Renaissance Faire, which are absolutely and positively the best part of the Faire! A prize can be earned for finishing the board!

2. Dice Knight Adventures: Similar to the scavenger hunt in that you’re interacting with the characters, the Dice Knight Adventures game is more advanced and can be done by your older kids or adults. You’re given quests, level up, and it’s incredibly fun for all. My husband and I, also sometimes our eight year old, really enjoy playing this game altogether!

(Quenton the Inventor had us help him with his flying machine last year!)

3. Human Chess: Some of you may be familiar with human chess from the Harry Potter series. In case you’re not, the NJ Ren Faire strategically plays a game of chess using the characters as pieces and then they actually battle each other for a winner! If your kiddos are lucky enough, they may be chosen as chess pieces for the match but don’t worry, the kids won’t be battling! (They’ll just do that in the car ride on the way home. Or is that just mine?!)

4. The Joust: I feel like all kids either like horses, swords and competitions, or all three, right? Watch knights go head to head on their horses and cheer for your favorite! It’s also socially acceptable here to boo the other team and my kids really get a kick out of being encouraged by the cast to do that!

5. Dressing up: Don’t underestimate the amount of enjoyment a kid can get out of dressing up! Encourage the kids to wear their favorite princess or pirate costumes to a place where they will be acknowledged as such! Everyone bows to our princesses and treats them as true royalty!

6. Shops: It’s lovely to just peruse the shops of jewelry and candles, homemade swords, and all kinds of things. We’ve created our costumes here and also picked up cool gifts like a carved wooden fan and painted bird whistle.

7. Shakespeare Approves: I can’t say enough how fantastic the beloved Shakespeare is. All of the Shakespeare plays you know as kid-friendly as they can get, with improvisation and audience participation. They are hilarious and even if you see the same play, it’s different because audience members have a variety of personalities and Shakespeare plays off of them. There was the guy with the Bob Ross hair cut that made it into the show or the time that I died because I had too many children! We’ll see him at least once for every day we go! (Shakespeare will be present at weekends two and three of the New Jersey Renaissance Faire!)

8. Playgrounds: Are the kids ready for some extra free play to run some more of that energy out? Check out the two playgrounds that the Faire grounds have on site. One is a fun pirate ship that the kids always love to roleplay pirates on!

9. Knight School: After the chess match every day, the spectacularly skilled Knights of Crossford bring up children from the show to train them on knightly virtues. Kids get to sword fight with wooden training words against an evil black knight. We’re really looking forward to seeing it this year and we adore all of those awesome, hard-working knights. Our heroes!

10. Glass blowing demonstration: It’s so cool for both children and adults to watch how the glass blowing happens. Watch from safety while they show you and explain how each step is done. My kids are always mesmerized!

11. Fairy Tea Party: Possibly the most adorable thing at the Faire! You know how when you go to Disney, the kids’ eyes light up in the presence of their favorite princesses? That’s how it is with the fairies! Their faces light up and you can see in their eyes that they are feeling that magic. The fairies laugh and play with them and make them feel so special. Needless to say, kids adore the opportunity to have tea and treats with their magical friends! There is a small additional fee for this one but it’s 100% worth it to see those stars in their eyes!

12. Shelli Buttons: Shelli is an aerial acrobat who balances high on ribbons and has the kind of playful personality that the kids love! At the Smithville Renaissance Faire this year, my kids watched every single one of her shows because they are just that enamored with her skill!

13. Nipper’s Nook: New this year! A kids area with crafts and entertainment for the kids of Crossford. Led by the background-checked counselors from the Liberty Lake Day Camp, Nipper’s Nook will be a separate spot for the kids to play at an additional cost.

14. Lords of Adventure: A two-man sword fighting comedy show with a great message about living a life of adventure and quality of life! These two are wise like old wizards but joyful like children. They both have personalities that remind me of what I imagine Santa Claus to be like if he was to handle swords.

15. Shows at the Shakespeare Stage: There are two new kids shows rolling out for the season called “Duper the Fox” and “An Adventure with Unicorns”! They’re perfect entertainment for ages 5 through 12!

16. Unicorn and pony rides: Need I say more?!

17. Cosplay fans: Walking through the Faire, you’ll meet all kinds of fabulous creative minds who aren’t part of the official cast, like Lord Oakheartt the tall forest creature or the woman who turned her wheelchair into a flying unicorn. It’s so cool to see what people come up with and I think it really makes the kids brainstorm their own future ideas for costumes!

18. THE CAST: I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it some more, the characters are our FAVORITE PART! The whimsical fairies, funny pirates, playful townspeople, there are so many amazing interactive cast members! Also, keep an eye out for Thimbleberry the Wood Sprite (June 2 & 3 only), the wandering magic Leprechaun, and Starkadr the Skald is a Viking Storyteller with fascinating tales to tell the kids.