Event Recap: 2024 Carolina Renaissance Festival

By Skywing Knights // December 2, 2024

At long last, we get to the most recent event that I went to this year, the 2024 Carolina Renaissance Festival! My roommate and I have been going to Renaissance festivals for a number of years now. We’ve been to Michigan’s, Maryland’s and North Carolina’s, but North Carolina’s is by far my favorite. Let me show you why!

For the 2024 Carolina Renaissance Festival, we decided to make it a roommate getaway, so it was just the two of us. Bless my roommate’s soul, she was such a trooper as she was sick on the weekend we went. We ended up renting out a hotel room and of course, they gave us the wrong room type and were sold out. So we got the lovely opportunity to share a bed together…. When my roommate was sick. Well, it was that or the couch…. And I, if I don’t mind saying so, have an immune system as strong as an ox. So with a pillow fort between us, we managed to sleep through the night and got ready the next day for the festival.

One of the reasons I love the Carolina Renaissance Festival is because of the shopping to be had there. Unlike the Maryland Renaissance Festival where most shops are out of my budget/price range and don’t carry items I would typically want to buy, I love the variety at the Carolina Renaissance Festival and the 2024 vendors were no exception!

Here are some of my favorite vendors:

• Arte of the Booke
• Mediaeval Mapmaker
• Fairy Secrets Skin Care – Lotion Candles
• The Royal Candlemaker – Carved Candles
• Medieval Mixes
• The Silver Lady Jewelry
• Medieval Metal – Hair Twisters & Jewlery
• Thru Sherri’s Eyes Studio
• The Realm of Terratoff
• And of course… the Finfolk Merchant Company, the store front of Finfolk Productions! <3

Since beginning my mermaiding career as Mermaid Rei, I can’t tell you how much I’ve come to adore the work of Finfolk Productions (as well as one of their partners – Merbella). So the first thing that we did was head straight for their store front to see what they had in stock. My poor roommate, bless her soul, had to tell me to slow down when we arrived as I made my way to the store. I am a weaver by nature and didn’t realize how fast I was going. Normally, I think my roommate could have handled it, but she was a little out of breath due to not feeling so great. So I did my best once she reminded me to slow down to do just that. That said, I was still so giddy to arrive and explore their shop!

I had my orders from friends to look for and I had my own Tail Wish List to fulfill. In particular, I was hoping to find an Andromeda Signature tail and a Secret of Skye Discovery tail (which I could use for practice). I was delighted to find they had a Secret of Skye in my size. And while they didn’t have an Andromeda, I was stunned and ecstatic to learn that they had the exact fin configuration of an Abalone Abyss that I wanted in my size. So then and there, I purchased 2 tails, which I would pick up at the end of the day. But the real prize of the day was my roomie’s purchase – her first tail! A Malibu Discovery!! I truly hope she has a blast with it!

After purchasing our tails, we went back to the beginning of the fair to go through all of the shops. We’re huge candle fans, so we stopped by Fairy Secrets to see all of their new scents and – to see their beautiful and intricate candle designs. Afterwards, we walked through a variety of shops. During this stretch of time, I picked up a funnel cake that had been calling my name!

We slowly made our way through the shops and we ended up buying jewelry and crowns because why not? Additionally, we stopped by Medieval Map Maker to look through all of their beautiful maps, since we remembered loving them last year! We ended up getting some lunch and sat down by the glass making shop to eat.

Nearby, I was entranced by the shop Arte of the Booke and made a mental note to come back and pick up a wax seal! I also found a glass etching shop with a glass jar for dog treats. I was was sorely tempted to get that for my Sadie. (Don’t worry, she was being well taken care of at her grandparents’ place over the weekend!) But I resisted…

After lunch, we continued on our journey, stopping by all of the shops we could. (That’s my favorite thing to do at Ren Fairs – can’t you tell?!) ^^; We found a couple of spice and dressing shops, at which I bought some as gifts. (Though not before I died because I tried one that was spicy and guys – I CAN’T do spicy!!) It was still very good though!!

We finally made it to the very end at which point, we were both very tired. So we began to make our way back, stopping by the FinFolk store and other shops at which I wanted to get some items. (I always purchase on the way back so I’m not carrying them the whole way.) That said, I hope I can find a better bag next year though. I wanted a replacement for my current one, but alas, it was the one thing I couldn’t find.

Still though, I managed to get a Mermaid Wax Seal, a Map, Stickers, two more pieces of Jewelry, and 2 candles from Fairy Secrets. For everything else, I made mental notes to look for them next year. Sooner than I thought though, we came to the end of our day. The final hurdle? Trying to find the car! Next time, I’m literally going to put a flag out. Or count the rows. Or something! The cars went on forever!!

Overall, it was a really fun time. Both my roomie and I wore blue. Though I dolled mine up with a white wig from Arda Wigs and accessorized to make a look for my “land mersona.” I think I’ll look for a pink lipstain from Anastasia for her soon. I love their lip stains and I like the idea of a pink lip for Mermaid Rei. ^_^ That said, I liked the final look and adding to it with earrings and a crown while there. And even though we didn’t watch a joust, that was okay. It was just fun to go, shop around, feel pretty, and dress up for the day. Then after many hours in the car the next day, I came home and was greeted by the many kisses of my pup. Tell me a better way to come home. I dare you. You can’t do it.

I seriously hope that next year we’ll be able to go again. It’s such a wonderful fair and absolutely worth the drive. And as a final event for the year, it’s a great way to go out!

Till next time,

~Skywing