Here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know…the Michigan Renaissance Festival has been around since 1979…that’s 42 years! I had no idea. We have been going for about 22 years and I honestly thought it had only started around that time. Really, no idea.
I love writing this blog because I learn so much stuff! Let’s go learn so more..
SPECIAL NOTE:
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MICHIGAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL IS OPERATING THIS YEAR FROM AUGUST 22ND – OCTOBER 3RD.
THIS LEAVES ONLY TWO MORE WEEKENDS FOR YOU TO GO AND ENJOY THIS YEAR!
Welcome To Hollygrove, One and All
Hollygrove, Hollygrove…what secret world do you hold? And, just where the heck are you?!
Actually, the Michigan Renaissance Festival is held annually in Holly, Michigan at 12600 Dixie Highway. Dixie Highway is accessible from I-75 and is located between Flint and Pontiac. For me, it was a one and half hour drive from Jackson. The drive up wasn’t bad because I took US-127 N to I-69 and finally to I-75 and Dixie Highway.
I took US 23 South to I-94 coming home and it was a bustling engorgment of vehicles that made my teeth hurt from too much lockjaw. In other words I hated the traffic. I’m just putting that out there…
BUT, even with all of the driving and incompetent people with cars, the day was 1000% worth it all. I guess it’s no secret if I will give this venue a Yay or Nay, huh?
When You Arrive
Depending on the day and time you arrive, you may be able to scoot right in and be flagged to a parking spot or you may be sitting on Dixie Highway for a while and patiently waiting. I stress be patient. The workers are moving as quickly as they can to get everyone in and moving – plus there are usually policemen in the road directing traffic and you don’t want them to pay you special attention, right?
The venue itself technically opens at 10 am and we arrived around 9:40 on Sunday morning. I honestly expected to be sitting in line – it has happened before and I already knew the festival is very popular this year – but we scurried behind everyone in front of us and parked quickly.
The parking lot is a little bit of a walk from the entrance but the walking path is asphalt. There are also porta potties around the halfway point for those who had a long drive and drank an extra large Big Gulp getting there.
If you need handicap parking, it is available closer to the entrance.
Facilities On The Grounds
As you enter the grounds you will most like be offered a brochure from someone who will say something like “Here you go, please feel free to throw this away for me”…at least I was…but take it and give it a look over.
The brochure will have a map that shows you where certain things are located around the village grounds such as ATM machines, stores, eateries, show stages and really important things like Lost Children, First Aid and Information.
It also shows the location of the porta-potties. There are several around but the majority are situated by the entrance up front and the heckler in the back corner. Each bank has several available but the pump “sinks” were not functioning while I was there so take hand sanitizer or wipes with you.
An item I always have in my bag are the compressed washcloths and I want to share with you in case you are unaware of them. I find the cloths on Amazon and they are a blessing and a helper! Just pour a little water on them and you can wipe up a messy meal very quickly. My husband used one after eating the turkey leg and it was so much easier than trying to hunt down napkins. You can find them here if you’re interested. You will get a 100 piece bag for less than $11! (This is an affiliate link that I may receive payment for but at absolutely no cost to you)
I’m Hungry
There are a lot of places to grab some food while you are at the Renaissance Festival. You won’t starve but it will cost you plenty. I took photos of some of the booths to give you an idea of the prices and selections available.
Of course, the most popular item found here are the turkey legs. I suppose it’s not a renaissance festival without them. They are bigger than the ones I buy in the grocery store and I saw several couples sharing them making the cost much more affordable when you’re feeding two. Just a suggestion…
The food options include turkey legs, soup in a bread, pizza, chicken wings, fish and chips and more. The prices for the food seemed to start around $7 for most items and went up from there.
Sodas and water are served in bottles and the prices are $3 for the Pepsi products and $2 for the water. I also saw a lot of people walking around with cups of beer but I didn’t see the prices for the alcoholic drinks.
Fun And Games For All
One thing the Michigan Renaissance Festival does not lack is entertainment!
It doesn’t matter if you’re an adult or a child, you should not be bored here!
The festivals has several stages with shows going for all age groups. To give you an idea, we watched a juggling act in one corner of the village, the Washing Well Wenches in another corner, jousting on the end and a music group near the entrance. And that was only a few that were going on that we actually stopped at. These were all free to watch too.
There was a Birds of Prey show that looked interesting and was holding even the kids attention as we walked by!
Speaking of kids…there are games and rides they can interact with. I do believe there was a charge for most of them though.
Don’t be discouraged. While there are a lot of games that require payment, there are still many things around the village you can enjoy without spending any additional money.
Shop Until You Drop…But Bring Your $$$, Honey
There is a TON of shopping available to visitors but none of it comes cheap so bring your wallet…and possibly your ATM card. Yes, they do have ATM machines here because they want you to buy something.
There is a huge variety of items to look for and, frankly, it is hard to not walk away with at least a little something – but not impossible. I’ve done it many, many times before.
This year the only thing outside of food I purchased was a henna tattoo. I spent $15 on mine. My daughter paid $25 for her’s but it was larger and more detailed than what I choose. My husband bought something from one of the glass stores and spent about the same as I did.
A lot of people, especially those with little girls, bought the flower head wreaths. I saw those priced around $6 in most of the stores.
Some of the stores selling their wares included leather goods, crystals, handblown glass, tons of costume and cosplay clothing, candles, pottery and so on. Even broomsticks.
The most affordable features were services like the henna tattoos (although they can get pricey depending on your choice), hair braiding and face painting.
I was surprised at how many people come here to specifically shop. And for expensive things, too! I walked by one woman who was telling her companion that she bought here wedding dress at one of the stores we were all near. I never really thought about that and I can’t imagine the price tag on it but if that’s what you want, it’s good to know you can get it here!
Yay or Nay?
As I said at the begininng, it was obvious from the start of this post that I would say Yay and that’s still true. If you are looking for an event to visit every couple of years, this is a great choice. There is a lot to see and even participate in, if you choose to. If you would just like to sit and people watch, you can do that too. However, for the price tag associated with this, I cannot imagine going every year. We used to but as the prices rose, our visits became fewer and farther between. Until this year, we hadn’t been to the renaissnce festival in roughly 10 years.
To write this post, this time I did something a little different than I normally do. I offered discounted tickets to a few followers and had them give me their impressions. Since my family has been going off and on for a while, I wanted different prospectives. Here is what they had to say:
- There were not enough places to sit and rest throughout the venue
- The prices were very high for almost everything
- They had to sit for an hour on Dixie Hwy before being able to park and enter
- They all said they liked it but wouldn’t go back anytime soon
- A couple of them were even bored and didn’t find much to interest them
I do agree there needs to be more seating throughout the venue for those who need to take a break. Even most of the tables that are available for eating are standing only.
I’ve already talked about how expensive everything in the faire is…
One of the things I noticed walking around the village is the over abundance of garbage around the trash cans. They have a lot receptacles around but they let the cans severly overflow. Many of them had several bags encircling them but not tied up so the trash spills back out and I didn’t see one single person going around to gather those bags. I did see a woman taking them out of the trash can and putting in a new bag but that was it. The garbage laying around was just very unsightly and could be better managed. Afterall, they get thousands of visitors each weekend so this can’t be unexpected or new.
I would like to give a special shoutout to the man with the booth “The Black Dragon”. When he saw a couple with a Husky dog, he immediately brought out a bowl and water for it. Humanity at it’s best! (See the picture I snapped above with the shopping photos). You are an awesome man!! If you are at the faire, please stop by his booth. You may find a treasure and support him in the process.
My final thought: If I had not received the complimentary tickets to attend, I really don’t think I would have gone this year. At nearly $25/each, it would have cost me around $75 just for the tickets. Even the discounted tickets would have totaled $66. I think that is a bit steep. When we first started attending, the price was around $12. While this is a great day out and we very much enjoyed it, I don’t believe the average family can afford the tickets and the high food prices, etc. which ultimately hurts the event itself. This is just my opinion, others will disagree and that’s ok.
Things To Know
- The festival is open Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 7pm, Rain or Shine
- Tickets are available on their website, at the gate or at participating Kroger, Menards, and Costco locations. Discount coupons are available at participating Tim Hortons and Hungry Howie restaurants. The gate price is $24.95/Adults and $15.95/Children…Advance price is $21.95/Adults and $13.50/Children. Parking is Free!
- All ticket sales are non-refundable
- Each weekend is themed. The weekend I went the theme was Shamrocks and Shenanigans. Although I can say with a lot of certainty that it doesn’t matter which weekend you go, you will see all the same stuff. Same shows, same costumes, same everything.
- Tickets are available for special events at an additional fee. Some of those events are the Pub Crawl, the Queen’s Tea, Feast of Fantasy and more. The prices will vary depending on the event.
- Most of the shows and acts are free and included with your ticket price. HOWEVER, they all pass around a receptacle for tips at the end.
- Dogs (and ONLY dogs) are welcome but must be leashed and most were muzzled, as well. There is a charge to bring your dog and a laundry list of rules. I would strongly advise you to read the rules prior to taking them. You can find them by clicking this link: https://www.michrenfest.com/faq/#dogpolicy If you have an anxious pet, please leave them at home for their own sake. This is a very crowded and noisy place and there is no sense (even irresponsible) putting your furfriend in that predicament
- No outside food unless medically necessary, such as baby formula, and only one water bottle per person and it can not be a refillable one.
- If you have any questions about policies, including COVID-19 related ones, please visit their website for more answers. https://www.michrenfest.com/faq/
Cost Of The Day
- Gasoline/Mileage $3.109/gallon; Mileage was 204 miles
- Admission: Tickets would have cost $24.95/each, I had three complimentary tickets for this trip
- Food: 1-Turkey Leg $10 2-Orders of Fries/1-Chicken Wings $15 3-Bottles of Water/1-Soda/1-Sweet Tea $12
- Henna Tattoo – $15
- Glass Trinket – $15
- Kettle Corn (1 Bag)- $8
- Total Costs: $75
Nearby
- Bottoms Up Food and Spirits Restaurant
- Holly Recreation Area (see previous post explaining recreational passports https://thecoddiwomplist.com/a-surplus-of-fun-in-the-sleepy-hollow-state-park/)
- WhoaZone
- River Rock Bar & Grill
- Auburn Hills/Holly KOA
- Whiskey River Bar & Grill (248) 241-6502
The last time I went a guy was walking around another guy on a leash and he had on a spiked collar. And my ex husband yelled at me for an hour for buying 4 incense sticks for a dollar. But I would like to go back.
If he thought the incense sticks were expense then, he’d have a heart attack now!
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