Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival

The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is a long-running, mid-sized Western Pennsylvania faire held on weekends and Labor Day from late August into early October in the village of Morelandshire at West Newton, about an hour southeast of the city off Route 70. The grounds are set into a hilly, forested valley, with trails winding between a marketplace of more than 100 artisans and a slate of stages. Jousting three times daily by the Knights of Noble Cause anchors the entertainment, alongside recurring favorites such as the Craic Show, the Washing Well Wenches, and a rotating cast of comedy, music, swordplay, and acrobatics. Each weekend carries a theme - whiskey and mead, children's, pirate invasion, revelry and romance, time travelers, and a final Celtic huzzah - with costume contests and audience games, free on-site parking, and food and drink stalls that are cash only.

Regulars describe it as small but charming and a reliable annual outing - you can do the shows, marketplace, jousting, and parade in a single day. The wooded, hilly terrain is a repeated draw, making exploration part of the fun, and the giant turkey legs are almost a running joke of affection. The jousting and the Craic Show win particular praise. The honest caveats: it is a mid-sized regional faire, not a spectacle on the scale of the Manheim Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire; a Yelp reviewer flagged that $25 admission covers only shows with other attractions costing extra; food quality draws mixed-to-skeptical comments beyond the turkey legs; entry traffic backs up toward the highway on busy days; and an industrial chemical plant beside the grounds dents the immersion on the drive in.

The 2026 season opened the weekend of August 29-30 and runs weekends plus Labor Day Monday through October 4, 10:30am to 6:30pm, in Morelandshire at West Newton. The program features jousting three times daily by the Knights of Noble Cause, the Craic Show, the Washing Well Wenches, the Crimson Pirates, and a full slate of comedy, music, and acrobatic acts, with each weekend themed - from a whiskey and mead opening and a free-for-kids Children's Weekend to a Pirate Invasion and a closing Celtic huzzah.