Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival
- Dates
- Jun 5 to Jul 25, 2027
- Status
- Announced
- Venue
- Festival grounds, 955 Elm St (Hwy 22), Henry County
- Price
- Not announced
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Aug 24, 2026
The experience
What's special
The Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival turns a rural Henry County site in Eminence into a summer-long faire: eight weekends of Saturdays and Sundays from late spring into July, with full-contact jousting, live armored combat, reenactments, and continuous stage shows from mud comedy to fire-eating and sword-swallowing. Now past its 21st year, the fair mixes its renaissance core with fantasy zones, a fairy forest where children receive fairy names, an Enchanted Forest play area, and a daily knighting ceremony at the king's court, while two bars - including a 21+ pub that turns to bawdy drinking songs late in the day - keep the adults entertained. The same grounds host a wider festival calendar through the year, including a Celtic festival, a Viking festival, and a Dickens Christmas festival.
What people love
Attendees rate this faire warmly and consistently call it worth the ticket: great performances, fun vendors, and above all the atmosphere - friendly, drama-free, and welcoming enough that solo visitors report leaving with new friends. The full-contact jousting is the marquee draw (the horses have included rescues from retired racers), the mud show and escape artists are repeat favorites, and families single out the Enchanted Forest and the daily knighting of children. Compared with the bigger Ohio festival, regulars like that it gets a good turnout without miserable crowds - about a third the size with space to breathe. The consistent cautions: bring sunscreen and a refillable water bottle since shade is scarce on sunny days, lines grow at peak hours, mornings - especially Sundays before alcohol sales start - can be slow, and most visitors find a full day covers everything.
Last time around
The 2026 festival - the fair's 21st year - ran Saturdays and Sundays from May 30 through July 19 in Eminence, opening to local press coverage highlighting musical performances, jousting, and armored combat and reporting a positive vibe from the new season.
See it before you go
On the lanes & stages
Set in the Renaissance period. Event style: faire.
Lineup
Costumes & what to wear
Do I need a costume?
Lots of attendees come in costume, but plenty prioritize comfort, and no one stands out either way, garb can also be bought on site from the vendors. The practical advice from regulars is about heat, not accuracy: Kentucky summer weekends run 90+ degrees with little shade, so heavy full get-ups are a liability, lighter thrifted pieces, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle are the standard kit
Joining in
Shows and demonstrations run continuously across multiple stages staggered around a large site, full-contact jousting, live armored combat, reenactments, a mud show, a fire-eating and sword-swallowing sideshow, escape artistry, and pub sings, with fantasy zones along the lanes, games, two bars including a 21+ pub, and daily rituals like the king knighting children each afternoon. Vendor applications open annually (2026 applications closed)
Getting there
Nearest airport SDF.
How do I get to Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival?
Taxi & rideshare 1
There is no public transit, rail, or intercity coach that reaches Eminence, so a car-based trip is the only option from either airport. From Louisville's SDF it is roughly a 40-45 mile, ~50-minute drive northeast into Henry County; from Lexington's LEX it is a similar 50-55 mile run west. A one-way rideshare over that distance is costly, most fly-in visitors rent a car instead (see below). Book any return ride well ahead, as drivers are scarce in rural Henry County
Book / info →By train
No direct passenger rail to the venue was found. Use the airport transfers or shuttle options above.
By bus
No scheduled intercity bus or public transit route to the venue was found. Use the airport transfers or shuttle options above.
🅿 Parking
On site parking available. Cost Free. Prepay via None, parking is free, no prepay system. Parking is free and close to the gate per the festival. The grounds are all-ages, rain or shine; no pets and no outside food or drink are allowed (bring an empty refillable water bottle)
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire at SDF
Effectively essential: the festival site is deep in rural Henry County with no transit, rail, or bus service, and parking on site is free. Rentals are available at both SDF (Louisville) and LEX (Lexington); a car covers the whole airport-to-gate trip in one leg
Search car hire →Live price search coming soon.
Where
Venue
Festival grounds, 955 Elm St (Hwy 22), Henry County
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival?
Budget stays 1
251 Breighton Cir, Shelbyville, KY, about 12 miles / 15-20 min from the festival grounds
≈ $90-130 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Mid-range hotels 1
110 Clubhouse Dr, Shelbyville, KY, about 11 miles / 15 min west of the festival grounds
≈ $120-160 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Luxe hotels 1
La Grange, KY (Oldham County), roughly 20 miles / ~30 min northwest of the festival, between Louisville and Eminence
Book direct →Airbnb & private camping
Vacation rentals are limited right in tiny Eminence but more plentiful around Shelbyville, La Grange, and the Louisville east end, all within a 15-30 minute drive. The festival runs eight summer weekends (Sat/Sun) rather than one peak date, so availability is generally manageable if booked ahead
Search Airbnb →Henry County and the surrounding rolling farmland is good rural-stay country; Hipcamp lists private-land tent, RV, and glamping stays across this part of central Kentucky between Louisville and Lexington, a fitting basecamp for a summer faire weekend, since the festival itself offers no on-site camping
Search Hipcamp →Pricing
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