Jousting, turkey legs: Myrtle Beach area Renaissance fest recreates medieval era
Mythical & Medieval Fest will ring in 10 years by hosting the festival for the first time over two weekends, beginning Saturday.
Over the past 10 years, the Myrtle Beach area festival has grown, starting off with 400 people on 4 acres of land in 2013 to 3,500 people on 15 acres of land last year, said Shellie Rabon of Caleb’s Dragonfly Dreams. She’s hoping there will be 4,000 people in attendance this year.
“We just said OK, well, if we’re having this large of an attendance in one weekend, let’s try to do two weekends and see how it goes,” Rabon said.
All of the proceeds from the festival will go to Caleb’s Dragonfly Dreams, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing activities for children in group homes. Mythical & Medieval Fest is the charity’s main fundraiser.
Caleb’s Dragonfly Dreams helps out three group homes in Horry and Georgetown counties.
The Renaissance festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 11, 12, 18 and 19 at RH Acres along Socastee Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids ages 4 to 11 and can be purchased on the website or at the red ticket building.
In order to prepare for two weekends, Mythical & Medieval is planning different activities on different weekends. There will be a jousting show Nov. 11 and 12 and mounted archery Nov. 18 and 19.
Rabon said organizers decided to host the longer event this year to celebrate the festival’s longevity and allow more people to attend. In past years, they have had trouble with parking and people wanting to attend but were out of town the weekend of the event.
Because of the success of the Mythical & Medieval Fest, organizers also have planned a second event called Shadow Bay Celtic Festival. That event will be on April 27 and will include such activities as highland games, Celtic music, vendors, blacksmith demonstrations and an artisan area.
Prior to the renaissance festival, Caleb’s Dragonfly Dreams brought in funds from grants but Rabon said it was hard.
“We used to do grants and it took up a lot of time researching grants, trying to do the grant, and then you wouldn’t even know if you got the grant,” Rabon said. “It took away from us actually doing the activities with the kids, which is why we started the nonprofit.”
Rabon knew she wanted to do one big event to raise money but wasn’t sure what. She then attended a renaissance festival in Florida and was inspired to bring it to Myrtle Beach.
The nonprofit uses the money from Mythical & Medieval for birthday presents, crafts and an annual winter trip to North Carolina.
“We’ve just been blessed by a great community,” Rabon said.
This story was originally published November 9, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
