The 2025 Florida Renaissance Festival: Travel Back in Time to the 16th Century

Good Morrow! This past weekend, the annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off its 33rd year in Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach. The popular festival attracts over 100,000 annual attendees and features over 100 artisans selling their wares and over 100 performers (from around the globe) entertaining attendees of all ages. It’s an assemblage of sword fighters, musicians, minstrels, magicians, wenches, and just about whatever else was in fashion during the 16th century.

Florida Renaissance Festival

From February 1 to March 23, 2025, the Florida Renaissance Festival presents eight consecutive themed weekends, promising a captivating look inside a bygone era where knights, jesters, and royalty reign supreme. The theme for this past weekend was ‘Jester’s Jamboree – A Gaggle of Giggles’, with the Village of Kimmendale “magically transformed into an enchanting Kid’s Kingdom, where whimsy reigns and every child is treated like royalty.”
 

 
Daily entry is $36 for adults and $15 for children (ages 6 to 11), with children five and younger entering for free. My ladyfriend Serena and I were equipped with media passes (and our Sony Alpha cameras) thanks to the festival’s PR Director (and longtime amigo) Jose Boza (gracias!). And we probably shot about 17,000 photographs between us.
 

 
This festival is a photographer’s dream. Why? Well, it’s filled with wonderfully wacky people who have no reservations about posing for a picture. It’s also got great music, food, and entertainment (not to mention wenches, warlocks and a swashbuckler or two). Need more convincing? Check the photographs…

Oh, and there’s a link to the WHOLE GALLERY at the end of the post!

Serena tried her hand at axe-throwing – it didn’t go well…
 


















The Florida Renaissance Festival is produced by the nationally acclaimed and multiple award-winning Bobby Rodriguez Productions. Bobby Rodriguez, like myself, is a native New Yorker, born & raised in Harlem. His parents were immigrants, arriving in this country from Puerto Rico in 1930. You can view more images from my past visits to this enchanting festival.
 

As for Serena and I – we had a wonderful time. By our troth! Fare thee well, my readers; and get over to the Florida Renaissance Festival lest ye be judged a mammering, knotty-pated fopdoodle (trust me, you don’t want that to be one of those!).

Want to see the full gallery of photographs? VIEW THEM HERE

Photographs taken with the Sony A7RV using the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 and FE 35mm F1.4 G lenses