A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival (colloquially renfair or renfest) is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the USA, open to the public and generally commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are short-term events in fairgrounds or other large public or private spaces"State fairgrounds could benefit from fuller calendar", Battle Creek Enquirer, 5 September 2007. Renaissance fairs generally include an abundance of costumed entertainers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts for sale, and festival food. Some even offer camping, for those who wish to stay more than one daySee, for example, the Louisiana Renaissance Festival at [http://www.renaissancefestival.com/viewEvent.asp?eventID=200]. Most Renaissance fairs are set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Some are set earlier, during the reign of Henry VIII, or in other countries, such as France, and some include broader definitions of the Renaissance which include earlier periods, such as the Vikings, or later, such as 18th Century pirates. Renaissance fairs encourage visitors to enter into the spirit of things with costumes and audience participation. All tolerate, and many welcome, fantasy elements such as wizards and elves.

Chicago journalist Neil Steinberg said (of the Bristol Renaissance Faire), "If theme parks, with their pasteboard main streets, reek of a bland, safe, homogenized, whitebread America, the Renaissance Faire is at the other end of the social spectrum, a whiff of the occult, a flash of danger and a hint of the erotic. Here, they let you throw axes. Here are more beer and bosoms than you'll find in all of Disney World."Neil Steinberg, "Out of Time, Nearly: Feast of Fools", Chicago Sun-Times, Wednesday, August 15th, 2007, page 23