Participant Rules

Your badge

• It has your photo on it, and it is yours alone. The gate matches the face to the badge. Do not lend or share credentials.
• Wear it where it can be seen whenever you are on site outside public guest areas.
• Lost or stolen? Tell us immediately. The old credential will be disabled. Replacement is $50.
• Your group’s passes are a cap. If there are more people on your roster than available passes, whoever your group has activated for that day is who gets in. Your booth, act or company manages that — not the gate.

Costume and character

• Renaissance-appropriate costume is required during operating hours, including period-appropriate headwear such as a hat, hood, coif, cap, circlet or similar.
• Use period-appropriate speech around guests when practical. Safety, legal requirements and accessibility always come first. Break character when necessary.

Anywhere a guest can see you

Guests paid to spend the day somewhere that is not 2026. Help us keep it that way.

• No phones in view of guests during operating hours except when taking payment or handling an emergency.
• No smoking or vaping in view of guests or in public-facing areas.
• No alcohol during operating hours.
• Keep guest paths clear of merchandise, props, signs and equipment.

Say what’s true

Guests should be able to trust what they are being told about a product, an event or the Festival.

• Handmade means made by hand. Do not call something handmade, handcrafted, original or artisan-made unless that description is accurate. If you designed it and someone else produced it, say that.
• Describe what you are selling accurately — including materials, origin, age, maker and function.
• If you do not know, say you do not know. Find out or direct the guest to someone who does.
• Do not misrepresent your goods, your prices, the Festival or anyone else working here.

Accurate descriptions protect guests and the makers whose work genuinely is handmade.

Safety on site

• No weapons, illegal drugs or controlled substances on Festival property.
• No pets or animals without written consent, except animals the law requires us to allow.
• No open flames except cooking setups approved by the Fire Marshal.
• See something unsafe? Say something. Tell the nearest manager or the Festival office. Nobody gets in trouble for reporting a hazard.

Social media

The test is simple: don’t post something about the Festival that you wouldn’t post about your own business.

You are welcome to post about your shop, your act, your work and your Festival experience. We want you to. But information shared by participants is often taken by guests as information from the Festival, whether you intended that or not.

• If something is wrong, bring it to us before taking it public. Give us a chance to address the actual problem.
• Post what is confirmed, not what you heard. If you are unsure about a schedule, policy, event detail or Festival decision, ask before posting it as fact.
• Speak for yourself, not for the Festival. Your shop, your act, your opinions and your experience are yours. Do not answer guests as though you represent Festival management unless that is your role.
• Do not post internal, confidential or behind-the-scenes Festival information that is not intended for the public.
• If we ask you to correct or remove inaccurate Festival information, do it promptly. We will tell you what is wrong and why.

Post about your work constantly. Show people what you make, what you perform and what makes your corner of the village worth visiting. Just use the same judgment with the Festival’s name that you would expect someone else to use with yours.

Photos and video of you

We photograph and film throughout the season — the village, shops and the people who make it work. That material is used to promote and document the Festival.

Plainly: if you are on site in costume, you may end up in an ad.

If a particular image presents a genuine problem, tell us and we will do what we reasonably can. The agreement above still applies.

Camping

• Every overnight person must register individually and hold their own photo credential, including children.
• Camping fees are due in full at check-in unless another arrangement has been approved in writing.
• A booth is responsible for camping fees owed by its own crew.
• Posted campground rules and staff instructions apply at all times.

Hours and how your shop looks

• Open 30 minutes before posted Festival opening and remain open until 15 minutes after posted closing.
• Your booth must remain adequately staffed and stocked.
• Bad weather does not automatically mean closing. Remain open unless Festival management tells you otherwise.
• Maintain your structure and guest-facing areas in keeping with the Festival setting.

Selling

• Sell only merchandise and services approved for your shop.
• No roaming sales, hawkers or carts unless specifically authorized in writing.
• Printed or promotional material requires approval before distribution, including flyers, handouts, coupons, QR codes and similar material.
• Do not solicit tips. No tip jars, “tips welcome” signs, tipping QR codes, gratuity prompts on payment screens, hat passing or verbal hinting. Any exception must be approved in writing and may be withdrawn.

Made by hand, not by machine

Without written consent, you may not sell, display or market AI-generated creative work or 3D-printed merchandise.

Neither may be presented as handmade, handcrafted, original or artisan-made.

This applies to merchandise, booth displays, product photography and other public-facing creative work associated with your shop. It does not apply to ordinary behind-the-scenes business tools.

Festival merchandise represented as artisan work should reflect genuine human authorship and craft.

Your space and its equipment

• Enclosed structures require a 5 lb ABC fire extinguisher and a battery-operated smoke detector, plus anything else required by law or the Fire Marshal.
• Keep your space and the area around it clean, safe and in good repair.
• Back-of-house areas must remain clear of trash and unauthorized storage. If Festival staff must clean your area, the cost may be charged to you.
• Anything left where it does not belong may be treated as abandoned and removed at your expense.
• When you leave for the day, shut down unnecessary power. Unplug non-essential equipment and switch off breaker boxes inside your structure where appropriate.

If something goes wrong

• Ask before you guess. We would much rather answer a question than fix a preventable problem.
• Everyone on a roster represents the group that credentialed them. Violations by crew members may be treated as violations of that shop, act or company’s agreement with the Festival.
• Breaking the law on Festival property is a material breach and may result in removal.
• Prohibited merchandise or materials must be removed immediately.
• Serious or repeated violations may result in removal from the Festival without refund.