After record year, Utah Ren Fest returning to Marriott-Slaterville
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- Mead Master Ken Schultz attends Utah Ren Fest in this undated photo.
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- Amelia Weigman attends Utah Ren Fest in this undated photo.
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- Ceili Maccarthy attends Utah Ren Fest in this undated photo.
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- Tre Waldrum Mead attends Utah Ren Fest in this undated photo.
MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE — Since 2006, Sue Bodily has organized Weber County’s very own, homegrown Renaissance fair, Utah Ren Fest. Fresh off a banner year in 2024, the festival returns to Marriott-Slaterville for its 19th iteration next month with three themed weekends featuring performances, competitions, historical experts and more.
“I love history,” Bodily told the Standard-Examiner of her motivations for founding Utah Ren Fest. “There are a lot of people involved with our event who are absolute history buffs. Some of them probably would be worthy of Ph.D.s with all of the work and the time that they’ve spent researching and so forth. We’ve got a couple of folks who are experts in ancient technology, blacksmithing — things that have been done for thousands of years but persisted on into the Renaissance period.
“We just think that it’s great to remember what we’ve come from so that we can see where we’re going.”
This year’s festival will take place on May 10-11, 17-18 and 24-26, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 970 W. 17th St. Themes for the respective weekends include faeries, pirates and vikings/heroes.
According to Bodily, Utah Ren Fest 2024 was the biggest event to date, drawing close to 15,000 attendees across all three weekends.
“We were packed,” she recalled. “We had trouble getting the patrons to leave when it was time to shut down.”
Given the current economic climate, as well as the recent layoff of federal employees in Weber and Davis counties and elsewhere, Bodily understands that it may be difficult for some to attend this year’s event. However, ticket prices have remained static and affordable in an effort to make it as easy as possible for people to come out.
She also noted that people attend Utah Ren Fest from all over the region. As such, a large turnout is expected once again. This year’s festival will feature combat demonstrations, pirate ships, jousting and equestrian games, in addition to a bevy of performers and handmade goods from over 100 vendors.
“There are a lot of very talented people with a lot of cool things to sell, everything from leatherwork to woodwork to even things like hand-thrown pottery,” Bodily said. “We have a fire act that’s coming out clear from Minnesota; it’s called The Courting Jesters, and they will go with one of our premier acts, which is Dueling Pyros. That’s awesome. We have belly dancers that are just phenomenal.”
Also returning are the festival’s Faire by Firelight — an after-hours fire and light show on May 17 — and a Memorial Day procession to honor heroes and protectors.
Admission to Utah Ren Fest is $15 per day for adults and $10 for youth ages 7-14. Children 6 and under will be admitted free of charge. There’s also a family rate of $50 for groups of two adults and up to four youth. Finally, adult or youth attendees in renaissance or pirate garb or faerie wings and hair qualify for a $2 discount. Bodily says that online ticketing will open soon and tickets will also be sold on-site.
For more information and schedule updates, go to https://www.utahrenfest.com/.
