All’s faire at the Fort

By Lethbridge Herald on September 2, 2025.

Three-year-old Finnley Haight crosses swords with a medieval combat re-enactor from the Company of the Black Spear

Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In its first glorious year, the Renaissance Faire at Fort Whoop-Up rose from the mists of time from high noon until 5 p.m. Saturday. History came alive as visitors wandered the grounds and found themselves transported to days of yore, where knights engaged in chivalrous combat, merchants displayed their finest wares.

The faire was free with regular Fort admission with no other coin of the realm required. And the surprisingly large turnout caught the Galt Museum and Archives organizers off guard. According to staff members, they had projected 400 guests at most for the day. By 4 p.m., however, they estimated double that number had passed through the gates. 

“This is beyond our expectations, definitely,” said Fort Whoop-Up site co-ordinator Connor Kenney. “I know that about the first two hours of the day I was just in the parking lot doing parking control. Pretty much every single parking spot in the River Valley was full.”

At 2 p.m. the line snaked from the main building entrance, around the courtyard, along one wall to and slightly past the perimeter entrance to the fort. Some visitors waited up to an hour in the summer sun. The lines finally cleared by 4 PM. It was a great turnout for an event that, according to Kenny, conceived and executive on a lark.

The attendees were made up of people of all ages. Many dressed in period-authentic costumes. A significant number of visitors were members of the local fantasy (Dungeons and Dragons) cosplayer community, dressed up as elves, fairies, samurai warriors and other characters from fantasy comics, movies and video games. 

The Renaissance was a period of cultural “rebirth” in Europe, generally spanning the 14th to the 17th centuries, though dates can vary by region and by historian. Beginning in Italy during the 14th century, it marked a transition from the Middle Ages to modernity.

Renaissance culture and learning were characterized by a revival of classical knowledge and the rise of Humanism, which emphasized human potential and achievement.

The medieval combat re-enactors had the toughest job at the faire. Members of the the local Company of the Black Spears braved temperatures in the mid- to high-20s to provide a full-contact hand-to-hand combat demonstration, clad head-to-toe in full body armor, while wielding heavy swords under the summer sun. 

Raymond Many Bears, elder and Knowledge Keeper of the Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy, was in the audience watching the combat demonstration.

“I’ve always I was, you know, impressed or amazed, especially the young like my grandson is really into the this kind of stuff,” said Many Bears, one  of the Indigenous knowledge keepers for the Galt.

“Coming to this event is very exciting for us, especially of the history that comes from there (Europe) to here,” he says.

Faire visitors got a chance to use (modern) bows and arrows just outside the fort walls; and there was also a period-authentic blacksmithing and cordwaining demonstration at a nearby tent.

Modern renaissance fairs started in the United States in 1963 with the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in California, founded by Phyllis and Ron Patterson as a fundraiser. From this initial event, which was inspired by the counterculture and aimed to provide a “living history” experience, the concept rapidly spread across the country. 

Today, these fairs have become a popular and widespread cultural phenomenon, attracting thousands of people to events across the U.S., Canada, and beyond, often incorporating fantasy and popular culture alongside historical re-enactments.

“It’s a way that, especially for adults, almost reclaim and take part of our childhood,” said Kenney. “Be able to have that more magical component in life…be able to dress up and celebrate some of our different kinds of diverse hobbies in a group setting.”