March 27, 2026 • 9 mins
Step into a world of knights, jesters, and turkey legs as Heather Brooker takes you inside the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale. From epic jousting matches to immersive entertainment and one-of-a-kind shopping, Julie McMillin, Social Media Director for Renaissance Entertainment Productions, joins Heather to preview what visitors can expect this season and why this beloved Southern California tradition continues to draw crowds year after year.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to entertain Me, a show where we cover
all things entertainment, from socol to the silver screen. I'm
Heather Brooker and this week we're tackling the ren Fair.
Turkey legs are roasting, nights are jousting, and the corsets
are officially back in season. The Renaissance Fair in irwin
Dale is one of the things I look forward to
(00:22):
the most in spring because every spring the area around
the Renfair completely transforms and goes back in time to
Elizabethan era and people get dressed up, they go and
they eat and it is such a fun week or
several weeks actually of immersive entertainment and food and old
(00:44):
world fun. So joining me now to talk more about
that is Julie McMillan, the social media director for the
Renaissance Entertainment Productions, and she's going to give us a
preview of what we can expect this year. Julie, if
this is someone's first time going to the fair, what
can they expect to see?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Oh, the Renaissance Fair is a village and that's the
feeling that you should have, at least in your mind
when you're coming for the first time. This isn't just
a stage with some booths in order to go do
a little bit shopping and watch a couple of shows.
This is a place where we have actors, more than
two thousands of them, who have set up and recreated
(01:25):
their own little village where the Queen is visiting for
the day, and so everybody's pulling out their Sunday best
and pulling out all the stops. There's parades, there's salutes,
there's all kinds of feasting and frivolity and dancing and
maypoles and all kinds of nonsense that happens every day
in order to welcome her and you her guests into
(01:49):
this living village. We're really thrilled to create that sense
of lived in that you don't really get at a
say a music I think would be the best comparison,
and that this is a place where you'll see people
going about and doing their daily tasks, where you don't
(02:10):
usually see that when you're, you know, at a place
that is purely for entertainments. When's the last time you
saw somebody, you know, building a horseshoe at Blacksmith Forge
over at Coachella. You get that over there, but here
you're gonna get people, cooking, baking, crafting, weaving, the whole
nine yards. And so we try to create that slice
(02:33):
of life, a little cozy vibe adventures that happen at
the fair. That's really something that you can only get
at the fair.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, there definitely is that, as you said, lived in
feel to it. It's, you know, you see craftsmen, like
you said, and you see there's lots of characters interacting
with people as they're walking around and drinking their meat
and having their you know, turkey bic moment. And it's
also it's feel like also such a joyous celebration of
(03:00):
this time period. And for people who may not know,
what is the time period that the Renaissance Fair sort
of takes place in.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
So we take place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
the first so fifteen fifty eight right until nearly sixteen
hundred is when we focus on specifically, So you're gonna
see the rate at the end of the sixteenth century.
So Shakespeare is alive and well and has all these
(03:28):
contemporaries are doing their thing, and the queen and her
court are out on progress when everybody is still young
and able to do such things, and to see and
be seen by the populace. So you're going to see
it's not a page of history, it is a chapter
of history. Because yes, is Shakespeare alive? Yes? Is he
(03:48):
ten years old? Also? Yes, but it's okay, he's grown
up at the Renfair. And that's that's how we're we're
doing things here because we want people to be able
to enjoy everything that comes up in the history books.
So we're smoohing it all together. And that's why we're
Our tagline is where Fantasy rules, because yeah, we're focused
in the history, but you know, we blow the lines
(04:10):
a little bit so that everybody can have fun and
understand what's going on.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So talk to me about what I can wear, what
I can dress up as? Can I come dressed up?
Will if I'm in my normal clothes? Will I still
get to participate in all the fun?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh? Absolutely. We don't have a costume requirement, So I'll
say that first off. I know there's a lot of
live action role playing events that are requiring costumes, and
those type of events are becoming more popular. That's not
a requirement at the Renfair. You can come in whatever
makes you comfortable in fact, based on whatever the weather's
doing that day. Please come in whatever makes you comfortable
(04:48):
so that you can enjoy your day at the fair.
Now that being said, if you want to come in costume,
yes please do. We don't have any requirements outside of
you know what La County puts out as decency lost.
So you're welcome to come in your renaissance attire. You
are welcome to come up dressed as an elf, as
a fairy, as a character from Star Trek, you know,
(05:10):
whatever it is you want to come as. Absolutely we
are welcome. We want everybody who wants to come with
a spirit of play. I love that you guys.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
That reminds me. You guys also have themed weekends like
a cot or weekend, which is also another way that
people can get involved in if they want to dress up.
But also people, like you said, do not have to
dress up by them. That can be someonet intimidating for
some people. But really one of our family's favorite things
about the event is, like you said, just this sense
(05:40):
of play. It's like stepping back in time into another world.
Everybody is from, like you said, the craftsmen and the entertainment,
just being so joyful about the experience. If there's one
thing that somebody cannot miss when they go this year.
What do you recommend they see?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh, heaven see? And that depends on what type of
adventure you're looking for. If you're looking for the high impact,
high thrill type of thing and you don't mind, you know,
a little bit of violence, then I would absolutely say
you can't miss the joust. I know it's it's the perennial.
Everybody goes and sees the joust. No they don't, because
(06:23):
everybody thinks that everybody goes and sees the joust. So
I absolutely that if you're looking for the cozy vibes
and you want to get a little hand crafty and
hands on with history, then you're absolutely looking for Queen's
College or Kid's Kingdom or two different places that have
(06:43):
the different you can walk away with a thing that
you made. If you're looking to rock out in terms
of music, then you absolutely need to see The Craik Show.
And then we've got five new entertainers coming this year
that I have never been seen before, and so I'm
always gonna recommend those. We've got our uh, our acrobat,
(07:09):
Oh hang on, I got it. We got our acrobat
Derek Derek. We've got our knife thrower, Jack Dagger, We've
got our sword swallower and violin player Jim McKenzie. We
have our do we have our new magician, the Master
of Misdirect, and we have Morning Nights the One Woman's
(07:29):
Sword Fight, and that's a hoot, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
So, if you absolutely need to see see something that
has never before been seen at the Renaissance Pleasure Fair,
I would say also go see Morning Night because she
is an absolute delight.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I love that too. That there are some more body
options for grown ups, but there's also lots to do
for people with families and children. Oh yeah, And it
truly is just like a fun fest. And like I said,
we enjoy it every year as a family and we
are definitely looking forward to it again this year. So Julie,
(08:08):
thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it,
absolutely happy it's all and we are happy to go
again this year. Maybe we'll even meet the Queen or
a knight or a jester, who knows. Either way, it's
always a good time at the Renfair. We hope to
see you out there as well. As a quick reminder
of a few stand up comedy shows coming up if
(08:29):
you want to come out and laugh with me at
the ice House in Pasadena. I'm going to be performing
with Home by nine Comedy on April twenty fifth, then
again with the Bleep Comedy Show. That's a clean show.
If you like your comedy clean, come out on May third,
and then the Renegade Comedy Show not clean but definitely
definitely going to be a good time. That's on May
(08:50):
twenty second. All the shows at the ice House. You
can get information on my website Heatherbrooker dot com. Thanks
for listening to entertain me, everybody. You can listen anyway
air on the iHeartRadio app
Welcome back to entertain Me, a show where we cover
all things entertainment, from socol to the silver screen. I'm
Heather Brooker and this week we're tackling the ren Fair.
Turkey legs are roasting, nights are jousting, and the corsets
are officially back in season. The Renaissance Fair in irwin
Dale is one of the things I look forward to
(00:22):
the most in spring because every spring the area around
the Renfair completely transforms and goes back in time to
Elizabethan era and people get dressed up, they go and
they eat and it is such a fun week or
several weeks actually of immersive entertainment and food and old
(00:44):
world fun. So joining me now to talk more about
that is Julie McMillan, the social media director for the
Renaissance Entertainment Productions, and she's going to give us a
preview of what we can expect this year. Julie, if
this is someone's first time going to the fair, what
can they expect to see?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Oh, the Renaissance Fair is a village and that's the
feeling that you should have, at least in your mind
when you're coming for the first time. This isn't just
a stage with some booths in order to go do
a little bit shopping and watch a couple of shows.
This is a place where we have actors, more than
two thousands of them, who have set up and recreated
(01:25):
their own little village where the Queen is visiting for
the day, and so everybody's pulling out their Sunday best
and pulling out all the stops. There's parades, there's salutes,
there's all kinds of feasting and frivolity and dancing and
maypoles and all kinds of nonsense that happens every day
in order to welcome her and you her guests into
(01:49):
this living village. We're really thrilled to create that sense
of lived in that you don't really get at a
say a music I think would be the best comparison,
and that this is a place where you'll see people
going about and doing their daily tasks, where you don't
(02:10):
usually see that when you're, you know, at a place
that is purely for entertainments. When's the last time you
saw somebody, you know, building a horseshoe at Blacksmith Forge
over at Coachella. You get that over there, but here
you're gonna get people, cooking, baking, crafting, weaving, the whole
nine yards. And so we try to create that slice
(02:33):
of life, a little cozy vibe adventures that happen at
the fair. That's really something that you can only get
at the fair.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, there definitely is that, as you said, lived in
feel to it. It's, you know, you see craftsmen, like
you said, and you see there's lots of characters interacting
with people as they're walking around and drinking their meat
and having their you know, turkey bic moment. And it's
also it's feel like also such a joyous celebration of
(03:00):
this time period. And for people who may not know,
what is the time period that the Renaissance Fair sort
of takes place in.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
So we take place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
the first so fifteen fifty eight right until nearly sixteen
hundred is when we focus on specifically, So you're gonna
see the rate at the end of the sixteenth century.
So Shakespeare is alive and well and has all these
(03:28):
contemporaries are doing their thing, and the queen and her
court are out on progress when everybody is still young
and able to do such things, and to see and
be seen by the populace. So you're going to see
it's not a page of history, it is a chapter
of history. Because yes, is Shakespeare alive? Yes? Is he
(03:48):
ten years old? Also? Yes, but it's okay, he's grown
up at the Renfair. And that's that's how we're we're
doing things here because we want people to be able
to enjoy everything that comes up in the history books.
So we're smoohing it all together. And that's why we're
Our tagline is where Fantasy rules, because yeah, we're focused
in the history, but you know, we blow the lines
(04:10):
a little bit so that everybody can have fun and
understand what's going on.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So talk to me about what I can wear, what
I can dress up as? Can I come dressed up?
Will if I'm in my normal clothes? Will I still
get to participate in all the fun?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh? Absolutely. We don't have a costume requirement, So I'll
say that first off. I know there's a lot of
live action role playing events that are requiring costumes, and
those type of events are becoming more popular. That's not
a requirement at the Renfair. You can come in whatever
makes you comfortable in fact, based on whatever the weather's
doing that day. Please come in whatever makes you comfortable
(04:48):
so that you can enjoy your day at the fair.
Now that being said, if you want to come in costume,
yes please do. We don't have any requirements outside of
you know what La County puts out as decency lost.
So you're welcome to come in your renaissance attire. You
are welcome to come up dressed as an elf, as
a fairy, as a character from Star Trek, you know,
(05:10):
whatever it is you want to come as. Absolutely we
are welcome. We want everybody who wants to come with
a spirit of play. I love that you guys.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
That reminds me. You guys also have themed weekends like
a cot or weekend, which is also another way that
people can get involved in if they want to dress up.
But also people, like you said, do not have to
dress up by them. That can be someonet intimidating for
some people. But really one of our family's favorite things
about the event is, like you said, just this sense
(05:40):
of play. It's like stepping back in time into another world.
Everybody is from, like you said, the craftsmen and the entertainment,
just being so joyful about the experience. If there's one
thing that somebody cannot miss when they go this year.
What do you recommend they see?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh, heaven see? And that depends on what type of
adventure you're looking for. If you're looking for the high impact,
high thrill type of thing and you don't mind, you know,
a little bit of violence, then I would absolutely say
you can't miss the joust. I know it's it's the perennial.
Everybody goes and sees the joust. No they don't, because
(06:23):
everybody thinks that everybody goes and sees the joust. So
I absolutely that if you're looking for the cozy vibes
and you want to get a little hand crafty and
hands on with history, then you're absolutely looking for Queen's
College or Kid's Kingdom or two different places that have
(06:43):
the different you can walk away with a thing that
you made. If you're looking to rock out in terms
of music, then you absolutely need to see The Craik Show.
And then we've got five new entertainers coming this year
that I have never been seen before, and so I'm
always gonna recommend those. We've got our uh, our acrobat,
(07:09):
Oh hang on, I got it. We got our acrobat
Derek Derek. We've got our knife thrower, Jack Dagger, We've
got our sword swallower and violin player Jim McKenzie. We
have our do we have our new magician, the Master
of Misdirect, and we have Morning Nights the One Woman's
(07:29):
Sword Fight, and that's a hoot, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
So, if you absolutely need to see see something that
has never before been seen at the Renaissance Pleasure Fair,
I would say also go see Morning Night because she
is an absolute delight.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I love that too. That there are some more body
options for grown ups, but there's also lots to do
for people with families and children. Oh yeah, And it
truly is just like a fun fest. And like I said,
we enjoy it every year as a family and we
are definitely looking forward to it again this year. So Julie,
(08:08):
thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it,
absolutely happy it's all and we are happy to go
again this year. Maybe we'll even meet the Queen or
a knight or a jester, who knows. Either way, it's
always a good time at the Renfair. We hope to
see you out there as well. As a quick reminder
of a few stand up comedy shows coming up if
(08:29):
you want to come out and laugh with me at
the ice House in Pasadena. I'm going to be performing
with Home by nine Comedy on April twenty fifth, then
again with the Bleep Comedy Show. That's a clean show.
If you like your comedy clean, come out on May third,
and then the Renegade Comedy Show not clean but definitely
definitely going to be a good time. That's on May
(08:50):
twenty second. All the shows at the ice House. You
can get information on my website Heatherbrooker dot com. Thanks
for listening to entertain me, everybody. You can listen anyway
air on the iHeartRadio app
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