Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NILES – Royalty returns to Niles this year – along with pirates, fairies, knights and more.

The Niles Renaissance Faire will be hosted 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 15, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, May 16, at Plym Park.

“There wasn’t enough parking for people we were bringing in,” said organizer Carrie Nyenhuis. “We decided that for parking and for space to grow, Plym Park would be a better option for us.”

The larger space will be filled with entertainment, vendors, food and attendees.

The Niles Renaissance Faire will host acts from “Bell, Book and Canto,” and “The Swords of Valor.” The “Corvus Cohort” will set up an encampment scene where visitors can step back in time as they visit. “The Idiot Ric Roc” and “Scales and Tales,” formerly known as “Mother of All Dragons,” will also be at the faire to entertain guests.

One thing Nyenhuis said is new this year is a swordsmanship museum.

“[The hosts of the museum] will have a little information on what swordsmanship was like in different time periods,” Nyenhuis said. “We are one of the first events they are going to with this.”
The museum will be set up in a way that visitors to the faire can walk through the tent and be able to ask questions, see demonstrations and listen to presentations about swords and swordsmanship.

An all-ages event, there will also be a scavenger hunt for children attending. Nyenhuis said there will be “dragon eggs” hidden in the vendor booths to be found.

“They can return the scavenger hunt to the [faire] queen, and the queen will give them a small prize,” she said.

Among the other attractions will also be a pewter smith, live demonstrations and the Medieval Department of Corrections jail, where for a low fee, a friend can be “jailed.”

“Normally, they have to do something like wear a silly outfit or sing a song,” Nyenhuis said on how participants are then “released” from the “jail.”

Nyenhuis is happy to bring the faire back to Niles for the third time in four years. She has been involved in Renaissance fairs since she was in college.

“I have always loved Renaissance fairs. For 20 years, I always went ‘if only I could just plan it and do it the way I wanted,’” Nyenhuis said. “Now, I am.”

The Niles Renaissance Faire will be hosted rain or shine, and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs to enjoy the event.

Children 4 and under may attend for free, children 5 to 13 years old, seniors 65 years and older, military members and veterans, with valid identification, are $3 for entry, and those 14 years old and over are a $5 entry fee.

Plym Park is located at 401 Marmont St., Niles.

More information can be found at the “Niles Renaissance Faire” tab on the Niles History Center website: nilesmi.org/departments_and_divisions/niles_history_center.