Royal Court
You are requested to join King Francois of France, King Henry VIII of England, and their Royal Families, as a member of one of their Noble Courts or Households, while together they visit the Grand Festival in Petite Lyon. The Court Guild plays host to the glitterati, the most highborn and well-dressed characters to be found in all the land, and the critical people required to keep them gleaming! As a Guild, they are focused on performance, as their presence is always in the public eye, be it during the opening ceremony, live jousts throughout the day, at the grand spectacle of our midday banquet, or sending our visitors off after a day well spent. Come join us in Court, where you will make unforgettable memories and everlasting friendships!
Guards
What could be more glorious than being a member to guard the crown! The Guards have the sacred duty of protecting Kings, Queens, and their families. Learn how to have fun, carry banners and keep track of those in crowns that love to run amok of Petite Lyon. In order to join this guild you must be at least 16 years of age and physically capable of walking the treacherous landscape that is our site. Guards Needs You!
Fairy Wing Forest
Once you enter into the wooded and mystical glade of Fairywing Forest, the realm of the fairies who dwell there will draw you further into a world of magical characters, surprising creatures, dance, song, and mystery. The fairy queen awaits you in her entrancing and immersive land.
Bring the folklore and mythos of the world to life as an elf, fairy, troll, ogre, sprite, pixie, or some other magical being we haven’t even thought of! As you might imagine, the mystical grove draws a great many wee folk, both ethereal and not, so it is important to note that this is a very kid friendly environment! We host many group activities like story telling, fairy house construction, and tending to the fairy garden. We spend a great deal of time playing games with little folks and fellow fae, and simply entertaining guests to the wood with good natured revelry and the occasional practical joke. Join us in the grove and immerse yourself in another reality to explore your sense of wonder!
Mermaid Cove
Discover the merfolk in their rustic cove. They have come from seas far and near to make your acquaintance. These playful visitors enjoy bantering with those on two legs; curious to discover why they prefer land rather than sea.
Puppet Troupe
The Puppet Troupe is new at the St. Louis Renaissance Festival! Consisting of King Bubba, Queen Bea, Sparkles the Wizard, Shirley the Jester, Willy the Pirate, and Good Knight, the members of the puppet troupe are head and shoulders above the rest of the village’s citizens- literally. If you see them about (and believe me, they are hard to miss) they love to pose for portraits, crack jokes, and swap stories with all tiny visitors to the kingdom.
Travelers
Are you an extremely outgoing, high-energy person willing to have an unconventional character, a bright & colorful outfit, get a little dirty, and generally act exactly like your mother always told you not to? At the festival, we carry the lowest rate, but that means we get away with everything and we definitely have the most fun! We sing, dance, gamble, play pranks on others, relocate items we desire, and cause glorious chaos! The only occasions where we have to display any manners is when we are interacting with each other or with someone of royalty (and only then if you can’t hide or escape). Come on! Set yourself apart with our unflappable sense of humor and our trademark feistiness!
Village
Welcome to the Village of Balinghem! We are motley and disparate crew with the wildest variety of characters anywhere in festival. From bakers & executioners, poets & musicians, friars & nuns, carpenters & healers, to spirits of the dead, Village is the home of highly developed characters, with an emphasis on performance, characterization and improv. Villagers are not tethered to a specific area allowing you the opportunity to display and hone your performance skills in all corners of the festival. We literally bring the village to life by portraying all the myriad personalities of everyday existence in the most outrageous and engaging ways possible. All the village is a stage and all of you the actors!
Mariners
We are PIRATES! ROGUES! WENCHES! And Scurvy Blokes, yeah that’s it. Blokes! Oh…and Scurvy Wenches! Yea! We play with Cannons! We spend our days Dicing and Gaming! And Pirate Flag making! With PIRATES there are prospects for signing, kids crafts, belching, farting, and joking ’round. We search for Gold and Booty, sing wretchedly, gamble, and drinking concoctions the cook has made, all whilst waiting in this blasted port for the captain to un-sink our ship. You can hang out in camp or go walk-about having a bloody good time. Oh by the way, we eat like we are the King! We also: teach pirate skool, heckle the heck out of everyone, and constantly try to recruit more able bodied sailors to our Piratical Causes…hint, hint!
Family Friendly
Loose Cannon