Jousting contest between two knights at the Oxford Renaissance Festival. Photo taken by James Burnard
Fantasy and history were brought to the London area over the weekend with the Oxford Renaissance Festival for its 11th year.
The festival started in Woodstock in 2014 where the event got its name from Oxford county. It then moved to Dorchester and now is hosted in Thorndale since 2024.
The renaissance festival hosted many acts and shows including The Eyrie, Kai in Wonderland, The Vaudevillian, and the Knights of Valour.
Organizers say to host a festival of this size, it involves a lot of the community especially volunteers.
President of Ticketwindow, Paul Rivard, says “it goes all the way to the volunteers that help with, you know, even garbage cleanup, greeting people at the gate, scanning tickets, putting wristbands on, helping park cars. It takes a lot of people to run a festival.”
“I think we’re pretty close to 20 volunteers that I know of,” said Rivard. “But there are other departments that also ask for volunteers to support and do other work.”
Credit: Oxford Renaissance Festival / faires.ca
Rivard continues stating that “we usually put our hands out to any organization that wants to take it on… for years, we’ve always believed in supporting charities, and whatever they collect on donations at the parking, whatever amount it is, we’re happy that they could take that money, and it goes to their cause.”
This years donations go to the Optimist Club of Grand Bend & District, which supports youth programs and initiatives.
Festivals and Events Ontario named the Oxford Renaissance Festival one of their top 100 festivals and events for 2025.
Nearly 15 000 visitors attended festival at the Thorndale Fairgrounds over the weekend.
