I’ve long wanted to go to a Renaissance Faire! And I’m glad to have discovered we have one nearby in Mission, B.C.

The Mission Ren Faire is in its infancy, having only started last year. This year, it scaled to a 3-day event. I will say that there were kinks to the process and event, but I really can’t fault a community-made event that was run by community volunteers. I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues to evolve in the years to come, given its enormous success this year!

We decided to go on September 19th, 2026, the Saturday. We prebought tickets, which we’re grateful for because they were sold out in the end, and there were only a small number of tickets available for walk-ins the day of. And even those immediately ran out at the start of each day.

We got to the Faire at about 1:30 PM, and it took about an hour and a half to get into the event itself. The lineup was a bit bonkers, and not moving very fast. We could see the volunteers doing what they could! We had also pre-purchased a parking pass, and for a brief moment when we pulled up to the parking lots, a volunteer told us “Sorry, I know you pre-bought a parking spot, but we’re all out.” We continued to drive towards the actual parking lot though, as there was really only one way to go, and we did get waved into the parking lot and were granted a spot.

After getting into Fraser River Heritage Park—actually, I mean the Realm of River’s Edge—we immediately started exploring what there was! The park was divided up into different sections, each with its own theme! I was surprised by the different performances and activities happening all around the park. Lots of stages and tents for attendees to discover!

The weather wasn’t bad. It was about 23°C and not raining! However, I think the 1.5 hours lining up to get into the event in the sun, as well as large areas without shade were a bit much as I was in a few layers, but I couldn’t complain given there were people in full knight’s armor or face paint! The most painful part was how long the lineups were for food and drinks. Given the lineups, we were glad we brought a water bottle. I was starting to get super dehydrated. I would’ve loved a lemonade or some of the smoked meats we could smell from various stands. But the lineups for every single place was 1+ hour long. There were several food stalls that sold out of stuff completely too!

Lots of cool vendors were set up at the Faire. I had wanted to do a bit more shopping, but eventually, we had to leave in order to get some food and proper drinks. I think they’d benefit next year if they had even just areas to sell soft drinks and water around. Even vending machines would work!

Absolutely loved that almost everyone dressed up for the event! It was surreal seeing a variety of costumed folks surrounding the shop stalls. It was truly like we were brought to another century! If you are attending, you will feel left out if you don’t dress up. So just do it!!

I heard that even between Saturday and Sunday, the organizers managed to make quite a few adjustments to improve on their processes. Again, really looking forward to next year’s event!