May 18-19, 25-26 & June 1-2, 8-9, 2024

10AM to 6PM, Rain or Shine

1990 Jacksonville Jobstown Rd.

Columbus, NJ 08022

The NJ Renaissance Faire Story!

The Dream, The Faire, and Over Ten Years of Stories

One Crazy Idea

Five Dreamers

A Dream Come True

The New Jersey Renaissance Faire was conceived in 2009 by T.J. Miller, John Williams and Phil Leipf. Their mutual love of Renaissance faires as a way to touch and engage an audience brought them as if by the magic of Crossford woods to Liberty Lake and to Andy Pritikin. The magic swept him in as well for he had only seen his first Renaissance faire that very year!

Two years later, in 2011, master glass blower Jason Klein joined the family with a unique vision and experience from the merchant side of things. Since then, we have seen our small team grow to include an Education Department, Marketing Department, and even now a Stage Management Team!

The Many Stories of Crossford

Crossford is a village like any other in the English countryside in the 1500’s. Situated in the Duchy of Northumberland, Crossford is a shire that is a jewel in the cap of the noble Duke of Northumberland. Her fields are rich and her citizens filled with merriment and love of crown and country.

The story is mostly true. Most of the year, Crossford is truly like any good English town, but at those magical times of the year, the solstices and the equinox, the magic of the ancient woods that loom over Crossford come to life. Those fey woodlands are a link, a portal to different times and Crossford sits on ley lines that make her a destination for visitors out of time who come to Crossford to solve some dilemma in their lives.

Each year at the festival, the people of Crossord wait and see what figure out of myth and history arrives and help them find the way back on their paths.

Season 1 - Robin Hood
At the time of the fall Equinox in 1557, Maid Marian was brought to Crossford to save her from a marriage to the evil Sheriff.
Season 2 - King Arthur
Nearing the time of Beltaine, 1558, King Arthur and his knights arrived in Crossford to fend off a curse placed on them by Morgan le Fay.
Season 3 - The Three Musketeers
In 1559 at the summer solstice, D’Artagnan was brought to Crossford along with the Three Musketeers to save his love and his future as a Musketeer.
Season 4 - William Wallace
In 1560, William Wallace and King Edward Longshanks battled in the village of Crossford, but they were merely players in the decisions of Robert du Bruce who stood at his personal crossroads.
Season 5 - William Shakespeare
In 1561, William Shakespeare suffered from writer's block, and thus had to face the characters of his own tales come to life thanks to the magic of Titania and Puck.
Season 6 - The Pirate Invasion
Young Francis Drake arrived to Crossford in 1562, only to encounter the infamous pirate Blackbeard and his crew, and Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy.
Season 7 - Vikings and the Queen
Queen Elizabeth visited Crossford, just in time for the arrival of Brunhilda, her father King Budhli, and his Vikings seeking his daughter's hand in marriage.
Season 8 - The Artists
The 4 Greatest Artists of the Renaissance came back to thwart Niccolo Machiavelli from corrupting a young Cardinal Medici.
Season 9 - Grace O'Malley Returns
The Irish Pirate Queen was forced to take up the cause of her people after the cruelty of Sir Richard Bingham escalated.
Season 10 - Queen Elizabeth
The Queen of England herself visits Crossford in 1566 to discover its mysteries while fending off various suitors that wish her hand in marriage.
Season 11 - Sir Pistachio
While COVID closed our gates, Sir Pistachio and the Lords of Adventure treated us to an online faire!
Season 12 - The Fairy Masquerade
A Great Fairy Masquerade was held in 1568 as top court scientists tried to discover why all of Crossford's villagers were being held captive in the fairy woods.
Season 13 - Return of Robin Hood
Robin Hood returns in 1569 to help his nephew Will Scarlet escape the clutches of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
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