Olde Dominion Fantasy & Medieval Faire, Thaxton VA

September 2024

During a long conversation with some friends a few months ago, they mentioned that they were going to help out at a local Renaissance Faire. Since it had been years since I’d gone to a Faire, I decided to drive down Route 81 to check it out on this beautiful late summer’s day.

My past experiences had been with the Maryland Renaissance Festival and the Virginia Renaissance Faire. Both are large, multi-week events with many dozens of vendors and artisans and sprawling grounds. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The Olde Dominion Fantasy & Mideival Faire was naturally more modest in scope, with “only” a few dozen vendors, but it had a different energy. It was filled with locals who were here because this was their Faire, their opportunity to dress up and buy bookmarks and crystals and dice. The vendors were lined up in colorful stalls on the slightly rolling open fields of the event space. Those fields offer no natural shade, but thankfully, the late summer weather was warm but not oppressively hot.

Besides the vendors, about a dozen actors played out a Robin Hood story throughout the weekend. They put on a version of the famous archery scene with Prince John and the Sheriff attempting to unmask Robin, though in this version the local goblin king delivered a message from Robin before being led away in chains by the guards. In fact, throughout the day, those who spoke out against Prince John — including guests — could get arrested and put in the stocks for a few minutes, a charming bit of immersion.

My favorite part of the Faire was the quest board, where you could receive a small notebook for your quests. The board listed 6 primary quests to complete, one for each of the classic D&D attributes of strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. Each could be completed in a minute or two: answer a riddle from a cast member, drink a “potion” at a particular vendor, etc. In addition, there were numerous other quests scattered around the faire grounds, such as counting the pictures of goblins that had been posted up in various places. It gave you something to do besides just wander around looking at goods (though there were plenty of those).

I stayed for a good 4 hours, which is a long time for a small Faire like this. Literally everyone was in a good mood, informative, and helpful. I chatted with a few vendors and had a great time with all of them. I can’t wait to go back next year!

Cost: $30 for the weekend/$16 per day for adults, $14 for the weekend/$8 per day for children 5-17

Conditions: 82° Fahrenheit, mostly sunny