I love a theme party and the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is the biggest costume party of the year! The theme is “renaissance” but within 5 minutes of being inside the gates you’ll see that the dress code isn’t universal; medieval, vikings, cottage core, witches, Zelda, Lord of the Rings characters, Dr. Who, Mario Kart, you name it – the gangs all here!

Minnesota Renaissance Festival Food:

BLT Dog: Crumbled Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayo with a Brat on a Bun.

This BLT Dog is found at the Bacon stand and I gotta admit this was the best kept secret of the Renaissance Festival. SO good. I am excited to start making these at cookouts.

Wild Rice Soup in a Bread Bowl

I grew up eating bread bowl soup at RenFest. My mom used to take us as kids and we got to pick out our own lunches and I ALWAYS picked bread bowl soup. Yum.

I will say that the breadbowls are dug deep, but they’re not really wide inside so it is a lot of bread.

Meatballs and Marinara in a Bread Bowl

My brother-in-law got the meatballs and marinara in the bread bowl. He said it was exactly what you’d expect. Good, but nothing noteworthy.

Giant Pickle

I can’t go to RenFest (or any fair) without getting a pickle. Always the perfect way to hold me over when I’m starting to get hangry.

Birria Philly: New in 2024 

This was a new one at the fair and found at the Philly stand. My sister-in-law got it and confirmed it lived up to the hype.

Dilly Nachos: Nachos with Fried Pickle Slices

Brother-in-law got these dilly nachos and I couldn’t resist trying some myself. The mix of the fried pickle with the chip was perfection.

Korean Corndog

I didn’t get ketchup with my Korean Corndog, because husband hates ketchup and I was planning on sharing, but I have to admit this is pretty plain without any condiments. I must admit that the cheese version with the hot cheetos crust I had earlier this year was way better.

Scotch Egg: Hard-boiled eggs encased in sausage and then breaded and fried and topped with sausage gravy

I think these are disgusting, but my husband loves them so you’ll have to take his word for is since I won’t put this in my mouth lol. This was the first time he tried it with the gravy and was hesitant at first, but recommends it.

New York Cheesecake with Cherries

After all the beer and breading and the humidity a cold piece of cheesecake hit the spot.

Minnesota Renaissance Festival Drink:

I didn’t take photos of everything we drank, but traditionally husband gets his fill of Oktoberfest and I also tried a mango beer and had a few moscow mules. Below are a couple of the specialty brews!

Mermosa: This one was a substitute version made with vodka, orange juice, and blue curacao

If you are looking to get messy, these are no joke. By far the most heavy handed cocktail of the fest.

Mead

Mead is the alcohol you should drink if you want to be on theme. Mead is made by fermenting honey with water and yeast, but other ingredients like fruits, spices, grains, or hops. You can also mix them!

Available Meads:

• Mead Blackberry Tart
• Mead Cottage
• Mead Egyptian
• Mead Forest Fruit
• Mead Odin

Atmosphere:

For the most part, RenFest is open air/outdoor entertainment. You can catch shows and acts all day throughout the grounds, including games and activities for kids and adults alike.

In addition you can pay to participate in some extra experiences. We’ve previously done Pig N’ Swig and Much Ado About Mead, and this year after two years of it being sold out, we were finally able to score tickets to the Pub Crawl which was my favorite of the three.

Pro Tip: buy online for these experiences ahead of time!

Minnesota Renaissance Festival (King’s Gate)
3525 145th St W
Shakopee, MN 55379
GET HOURS & WEEKEND INFO