Oakenmist Renaissance Faire moves to Westminster for its fourth year

The Oakenmist Renaissance Faire returns for its fourth year Aug. 15 and 16, this time at a new venue: the Carroll County Agricultural Center in Westminster.

Oakenmist started in Eldersburg in 2023 and spent 2024 and 2025 at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. The new site gives the faire an additional 10,000 square feet, according to event director and co-founder Lee Correll, who said the extra room is reshaping how the event runs, not just how big it looks.

The move to Carroll County has not cost the faire its regional draw. Correll said online pre-sale data shows ticket demand climbing across nearly every Maryland county this year, even as the event pulls away from its Howard County base.

Correll, a semi-retired software executive, started making wands by hand for his daughter's Harry Potter-themed birthday party and turned the craft into a side business selling at events around the country, WMAR-2 News reported last year. The station described the faire as Correll's brainchild, built with a group of fellow faire-goers.

Correll and his team are using the added footprint to rework vendor and stage placement. "Greater square footage allowed us to lay out all the vendors ... basically in pods, if you will. Every single vendor has a corner spot," Correll said. "So it's really beneficial from their perspective."

Every Oakenmist vendor is barred from also holding a permanent booth at other Mid-Atlantic Renaissance faires, Correll said. "All of our vendors, every single one of them, is not allowed to be a permanent vendor at any of the Mid-Atlantic [faires]," he said. "We are a bit of a vendor incubator. If you already exist some place, if you're a regular and you're going to see a vendor because you go to Pennsylvania and they have a booth all the time, then why should I have them? I prefer to go with somebody who's traditionally a small business and they're trying to make this happen."

Oakenmist's central pitch is what Correll calls active education over passive spectating. In the outdoor arena, instructors teach whip-cracking, sword-swinging, and traditional boomerang throwing. "We added a professional boomerang guy," Correll said. "Boomerangs have been around for quite some time as weapons, so I have a guy that will teach you how to boomerang and even try to catch it ... part of all this is the educational aspect of the faire, and one of the other things that differentiates us from a lot of other types of events." Sean, the Whipsy Rover, runs free whip lessons both days, and a separate station teaches the use of the sling, per the faire's performer listings.

Musical performers are booked with a built-in teaching requirement, Correll said. "You're accustomed to seeing the performances, but you're not necessarily accustomed to getting an opportunity to learn how to do this stuff," he said. "How do you play these instruments? How do you actually pull that bow across the cello? The same thing goes true for others as well." Harper Michele Mountain, who performs on the Proper Stage both days, gives hands-on instruction on plucking strings and pulling a bow between sets. Onias the Mage, who, according to the faire, has performed at events for more than 20 years, discusses the history of magic and teaches basic sleight of hand to visitors of any age from a booth, while strolling, and on the Proper Stage.

Oakenmist's own program notes confirm the musical emphasis: this year's stated goal was to book musical acts patrons would already recognize, at a higher level than in past seasons. New additions to the lineup include the Piper Jones Band, the Hooligans, and the Bard and the Bird, a Maryland duo.

The demonstration roster, listed on the faire's website, runs wider than combat. Avian Encounters & Dragon Wings, a falconry group the faire describes as federally and state-licensed, offers close-up encounters with falcons, owls, ravens, and crows at the back of the marketplace, with supervised holding and photo opportunities. The Baltimore Academy of Defence teaches historical pirate swordfighting technique all day Saturday. Historic London Town & Gardens, the Edgewater site preserving a colonial-era tobacco port on the South River, runs a live indigo dyeing demonstration drawn from Viking Age and Renaissance practice, with fabric turning blue as it hits the air. A blacksmith working under the name Hebrew Hammer sets up just outside the main entrance, and Zephyr Dreaming demonstrates traditional broom-making.

Several area institutions have spots on this year's schedule. The Carroll County Public Library hosts storytimes on both days at the Squire's Spot, according to the faire's schedule, featuring interactive read-alouds, themed book recommendations, and information about library programs.

A University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener group runs a period herbology station in the marketplace, demonstrating the use and cultivation of plants Europeans relied on during the Renaissance and early colonization.

McDaniel Honey Farm, a Manchester operation run by Steve and Angie McDaniel since 1979, sets up by the mead garden entrance to teach visitors about honey bees and their products, offer tastings, and demonstrate how beeswax candles were made in the period.

Correll describes the faire's audience in distinct groups, each with its own draw. "It's gonna be a different set of expectations depending upon who you are," he said. "Are you a family of four and you're bringing your two kids, one of whom is five and the other is nine? Or are you a 22-year-old on your first job or second job? Or are you a veteran of Renaissance faires, not only Maryland, but Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia?"

Families get a pirate-themed treasure hunt built with HoCo Pirate Adventures, a Howard County group that stages monthly clue trails led by the characters Captain Evie and First Mate Sawyer, and is running a free, smaller version at Oakenmist. Correll said kids solve vocabulary and math riddles to open a combination lock on a treasure chest, earning an unfinished magic item they can paint on-site.

Reenactment groups use the faire to recruit, and Oakenmist describes itself as one of the largest recruiting events for some live-action roleplay groups. "You can walk into the ring and fight somebody else with foam boffers with a marshal there and see how you do," Correll said. "They use this as a membership recruiting opportunity ... they're all teaching, demonstrating, and recruiting."

The Society for Creative Anachronism's Barony of Bright Hills hosts the combat arena all day Saturday, per the faire's listings, with period demonstrations covering martial arts, embroidery, illumination, fiber arts, and armor.

Sunday's arena belongs to Maryland Kunst des Fechtens, a Historical European Martial Arts club focused on the German longsword; Maryland Training in Historical Swordsmanship, which invites children to attack its members with padded boffers using period technique; and Amtgard, a medieval and fantasy combat group that uses padded weapons.

Guests looking to relax have the mead garden, a 21-and-older space at the far end of the Main Hall that Correll puts at 7,500 square feet. "There's going to be some percentage of people that walk in, make a turn, go to the garden, grab a glass of mead, and just sit there and listen to the band all day," Correll said.

Rockville-based Clear Skies Meadery, whose meads are made from single-varietal, unfiltered honey and naturally carbonated in stainless steel with no added preservatives, is among the faire's listed partners. Picnic tables sit next to the Bawdy Stage at the garden's rear, where Chaste Treasure, the Piper Jones Band, and the Hooligans perform both days.

Correll estimates that 40% or more of attendees show up in some form of costume, and he said the faire doesn't limit that to era-appropriate garb. On a given day, he said, the crowd can include Stormtroopers, Star Trek characters, and fairies alongside traditional Renaissance dress, reflecting how much the audience overlaps with gaming and other fandom communities.

People come to the faire to see and be seen, Correll said. He said the event is built to be family-friendly throughout and that organizers have added a quiet tent stocked with crayons and coloring books for anyone who needs a break from the crowds or noise.

Running a festival in mid-August in Maryland means planning around heat and humidity. "One of the things that differentiates us is the fact that we are predominantly indoors," Correll said. "In the middle of August, in the middle of heat and humidity in the middle of Maryland, it's actually quite a differentiator."

The Agricultural Center is not air-conditioned, but Correll was impressed with the large fans that cool the space. "It's not air conditioning, but it's certainly a significant amount of airflow," Correll said. The sheer volume of moving air convinced him the space would stay comfortable, though he said organizers may use a portable AC unit for a specific zone if conditions turn extreme, which the faire's FAQ also lists as a contingency.

The Oakenmist Renaissance Faire runs Saturday, Aug. 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Carroll County Agricultural Center, 706 Agricultural Center Drive, Westminster.

Single-day tickets are $23 online in advance or $25 at the door; single-day family passes and weekend passes are $42, and a Royal VIP pass is $70. Family, weekend, and VIP passes must be purchased online in advance. The faire's FAQ lists children 10 and under as free with a ticketed adult; check oakenmist.com before you go.

Parking is free, and the venue is ADA-accessible, according to the faire's FAQ. Full performer and vendor listings are at oakenmist.com.

Featured Photos: from Oakenmist Renaissance Faire website.