After 16 years, the popular Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire in Harwinton has come to an end.
Event leaders recently made the announcement on the event website that “after many wonderful years, the sun is setting on Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire. We will not be returning for the 2027 season.”
The immersive medieval adventure event drew more than 18,000 people this past spring from May 22 to June 20 at the Harwinton fairgrounds at 150 Locust Road.
“As Robin Hood comes to an end, The Connecticut Renaissance Faire continues to grow in ways we never imagined. Year after year, CTRF has become larger, stronger, and more ambitious — and we believe its greatest years are still ahead,” a statement said. “Our energy, creativity, and focus now go there entirely…Robin Hood’s adventure ends here. CTRF is just getting started.”
Eric Tetreault, the marketing director/co-owner of the Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire and the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, said that the Connecticut Renaissance Faire outgrew the arrangement with the Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire.
“When the Connecticut Renaissance Faire was a four-weekend show, running a spring faire the same size made sense. CTRF isn’t a four-weekend show anymore. It’s now nine consecutive weekends, and we’d rather do one thing at the level our guests deserve than two things at eighty percent,” Tetreault said.
“Robin Hood’s drew about 18,000 guests this past spring. The Connecticut Renaissance Faire drew about 90,000 last fall, and this season is tracking ahead of that with projected attendance of more than 100,000,” he said.
“At some point, you have to be honest with yourself about where your people and your attention should go,” he said. “Seventeen springs is a real run. We’re not ending it because it failed. We’re ending it because the Connecticut Renaissance Faire needs all our focus.”
Tetreault said the Connecticut Renaissance Faire will not be affected.
“This decision exists because the Connecticut Renaissance Faire is growing quickly. Our fall season in Lebanon is running now through Oct. 25, and 2027 is already in the works. Everything we were putting into the spring can now go into the fall,” Tetreault said.
Tetreault said money wasn’t the deciding factor despite rising costs.
“The deciding factor was that we can’t give two shows our full attention, and we picked the one with the most room to grow,” Tetreault said.
The cast was told in separate meetings before the announcement went public.
As far as performers and vendors, Tetreault said “our Crown Players acting troupe performs at both shows. Other circuit-based performers may be absorbed into our fall show or move on to other events. Vendors who participated in Robin Hood’s are also welcome to apply for the Connecticut Renaissance Faire.”
The Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire turned the Harwinton Fairgrounds into a medieval village featuring performers, armored knights and more every Saturday and Sunday over the six-week period.
The Robin Hood event was founded in 2010 in North Haven and had stops in North Haven, Lancaster, Massachusetts and then Harwinton over the years.
“Putting this into words isn’t easy. Robin Hood was where many called home — the performers who called its grounds home each spring, the families who showed up year after year, the crew that built something from nothing and took genuine pride in it. Letting it go is hard, even knowing it’s the right call,” the statement on the Robin Hood website says.
“To every patron, performer, merchant, and crew member who was part of its story: thank you. For the fun, the frivolity, the laughter, and every memory made along the way. It meant something,” the statement continued.
Regulars of the yearly event lamented the loss of the event on a Facebook post announcing the news.
“This was my favorite faire. Everyone was so friendly and upbeat. The other faires don’t even compare to this one. It was small but everyone was family,” one comment read.
“This makes me so sad. We loved attending this fair every year,” another comment read.
“I am so sad! My kids and I have enjoyed this faire for years, and it’s so close to home,” one person said.