The Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, CA

When it runs

The Faire is a spring event, Saturdays and Sundays only. The 2026 season ran 4 April to 17 May, 10 AM to 7 PM. It returns in spring 2027 and the dates have not been announced yet.

It is held at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, 15501 E. Arrow Highway, Irwindale.

The parking thing that catches people out

Faire parking is free. Santa Fe Dam charges its own entry fee at the gate, fifteen dollars per car, and that is separate from your ticket. Bring it. People queue up having budgeted for one and not the other.

For reference, 2026 admission was $53 for adults, $48 for seniors 62 and over and for military with ID, $28 for children 5 to 12, and free under 5. Senior and military rates were sold at the box office only.

Why it is called the original

Because it is. Phyllis Patterson, a history teacher, and her husband Ron, an art director, put on the first one on 11 May 1963 at a summer camp in North Hollywood. Sixty booths, sets built for $150, and it was a fundraiser for KPFK, the Pacifica radio station. Three thousand people came each day.

Every Renaissance faire in America descends from that weekend. It moved to Glen Helen in 1989 and to Santa Fe Dam in 2005.

What a day there does to you

Nine hours on decomposed granite and packed dirt, and for a lot of people in boots or costume shoes that were chosen to look right rather than to walk in. The ground is uneven, so your feet are making small corrections all day that they never make on pavement.

That is why the day after is worse than the day of. It is not the distance, it is the surface.

Irwindale is about fifteen minutes from our West Covina studio. If you are going on a Saturday, the Sunday after is the appointment worth having.

Serenity Zen, 423 N Azusa Ave, West Covina. Open daily, 10 AM to 9 PM.