Things to Do in Miami: Florida Renaissance Festival 2023 at Quiet Waters Park

The Florida Renaissance Festival is coming off its greatest yr in its 30-season historical past. Ticket gross sales had been stronger than ever — 100,000-plus attendees, in line with organizers — following a one-year absence because of the pandemic. And the pageant additionally posted a report variety of first-timers, which bodes nicely for the way forward for the medieval occasion.

So why is the Florida Renaissance Festival altering issues up this yr?

“We prefer to maintain issues recent for the regulars, particularly these season move holders who come seven, eight or 9 instances [per season],” Bobby Rodriguez, the pageant’s founder and producer, tells Miami New Times over Zoom. “We need to give them a cause to return again. The very last thing we need to hear from the patrons that come to the Renaissance Festival is that it is the similar factor yearly.”

One of probably the most notable adjustments to the pageant — which returns to Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach from February 4 by March 26 — is the rise from seven weeks to eight weeks. And similar to all the opposite weeks, week eight could have a theme: a Mad Hatter’s Circus. This new Lewis Carroll-inspired theme joins others such because the Wizarding World’s Faire, Barbarians & Dragons, Steampunk & Time Travelers, Pirate Invasion, and Highland Fling.

“Our line is that the Florida Renaissance Festival is between delusion and historical past,” Rodriguez says. “We’re not simply making an attempt to be traditionally right. We additionally need to herald myths like fairies and magic. We began doing that ten years in the past, and other people actually purchased into it. Plenty of the themes don’t have anything to do with the renaissance, however that is what individuals needed.”

Also new this yr is the redesign of the pageant’s structure. Expect new walkways to associate with the brand new levels, indicators, and props the pageant has been constructing for the reason that summer season. There was some pushback the final time the pageant underwent a dramatic redesign, so Rodriguez is conscious of the chance concerned when introducing a brand-new structure.

“I believed it was superior and would work nice, however individuals simply hated it,” Rodriguez says of the earlier redesign. “Some individuals prefer to know that once they flip the nook, the music stage will probably be there. I’m crossing my fingers that after 30 years of expertise, I will not make as many errors as I did years in the past.”

But do not anticipate a whole overhaul of the pageant. Regulars will probably be completely satisfied to know that the extra standard points of the occasion will stay intact.

The jousting present, the pageant’s hottest attraction, will proceed to happen thrice a day. The R-rated tent will pack ’em in once more with its adult-oriented comedy reveals, together with the brand new “Filthy Irish Pub Stories.” You can nonetheless throw a tomato on the insult-hurling antagonists within the Tomato Torture sport and shoot Captain’s Cannons. And, sure, there will probably be turkey legs on the market, as typical — it would not be a real renaissance pageant with out them.

If you are on the lookout for one thing candy to eat, Chateau Hibbele will solely promote crème brûlée. Rodriguez says the first-time vendor will use a dragon-head lighter to burn the sugar on prime of the basic French dessert for that desired caramelized impact. Other notable desserts embody the nitrogen smoking ice cream and cereal puffs from Shawn Grissom (A.Okay.A. Magical Desserts and Drinks) and alcohol-infused muffins from Spirited Slices.

As for costumes, they are not obligatory however, as all the time, are inspired — not that attendees want a lot coaxing. More individuals than ever are dressing as much as attend the pageant.

“It obtained to the purpose seven or eight years in the past once we had all our performers put on badges so that you simply’d know they had been a part of the present. But the badges did not assist a lot,” Rodriguez says. “A giant proportion of patrons gown up. They do not want a lot of an excuse to put on a fancy dress.”

Florida Renaissance Festival. Saturday, February 4, by Sunday, March 26, at Quiet Waters Park, 401 S Powerline Rd., Deerfield Beach; 954-776-1642; ren-fest.com. Daily tickets value $14 to $32; kids 5 and youthful get in free.