Dearest Adventure Seeker,Her Royal Majesty Titania, Queen of the Summer Court of the Fae, cordially invites thee to join her merry band of magic makers for one day only, at the
Renaissance Fair(yland) & Medieval Cabaret
Shouldst thou choose to accept her ladyship’s invitation, the Queen requests that thy attendance be made with open minds & hearts, hungry & thirsty for adventure.
What is a Ren Faire?
A Renaissance faire (or "Ren Faire") is an immersive festival that simulates a historical or fantasy-themed village, usually from 16th-century England or Europe. Ordinarily it is hosted outdoors, but we cannot wait for summer to host ours! So we're doing an indoor/outdoor (weather dependent) festival at the International Palace of Joy.
At Ren Faires: attendees typically come dressed to theme and experience costumed actors, themed food, jousting, and artisan market vendors featuring handmade goods.
Our Ren Faire, Medieval Cabaret, & Night Market
The Poetry Brothel Toronto's Ren Faire will channel and include many of the components of a typical Ren Faire, but will include other literary components, immersive activities, and whimsical events.
Our daytime Ren Faire will include typical Ren Faire activations and will be fun for the whole family! Inclusive of sword fights, live music, poetry performances, and other variety performances - along with a great market - we are excited to finally offer a kid-friendly component to one of our shows.
Our evening Medieval Cabaret will be followed by a Night Market, with more great vendors... and some saucier items on offer. And, of course, the opportunity to experience intimate exchanges of poetry with our performing poets in exchange for a poker chip.
What should I wear?
We encourage attendees at all of our events to get creative and explore fun theme-specific wardrobe. For Ren Faires, folks typically dress in Renaissance era clothing - which is actually pretty vast, considering the Renaissance period is typically considered to be between the 14th and 17th centuries. Additionally, fantasy wear (like dressing as fairies and mushrooms and the like) are very common! We hope you get creative and cannot wait to see what you wear!
The Day time Faire will be followed by a more sensual and ethereal Medieval Cabaret in the evening. This cabaret will include a variety of performance acts, which our immersive cabarets have become known for. The night will conclude with a Night market inspired by the fairy realm and featuring vendors with more mystical goods and services. Visit our event schedule breakdown for more details.
What is a Poetry Brothel?
A Poetry brothel is an immersive literary cabaret, in which performing poets are available after the show for "private readings." These are one-on-one (or small group, if you prefer) experiences of poetry. To experience private readings, all you need is a poker chip (purchased from our front of house team or included in VIP ticket tiers); you present your poker chip to the poet of your choice, and they receive 100% of the value of their poker chips from the brothel madame at the end of the night. Poetry Brothel cabarets also include other variety acts, such as burlesque, drag, circus, music, and more. To learn more about our Poetry Brothel, click here.
Event Schedule Breakdown
3pm Doors, Market Begins
Explore our various vendors, get drinks from the bar, and socialize.
330pm Opening Ceremonies
Join us as we welcome the Queen and her court for the opening ceremonies of the Renaissance Faire! Weather dependent, the ceremonies may occur outside.
430pm Sword Showdown
Knights, ladies, sword fights - oh my! The sword fight will be viewable from outside on the patio, or from within the cafe area of IPOJ.
530pm Poetry Performance
Join us in the lounge for a performance of Poetry as you shop through the Ren Faire Market.
645pm Musical Performance
Join us in the lounge for a musical performance as we wrap up the daytime Market for our Ren Faire and begin to welcome Cabaret Guests.
730pm Cabaret Doors Open
Enter through the lounge as our Medieval Cabaret doors open! VIPs will be guided to the reserved seating areas, and other Cabaret guests will select the seats which best suit them. We highly encourage guests to purchase drinks before the cabaret begins, and drinks are welcome in the performance area of the venue.
8pm Medieval Cabaret
Hosted by Titania, Queen of the Faeries & Madame of the Poetry Brothel Toronto & featuring live performances of music, poetry, drag, and burlesque, our immersive literary cabaret will take you back in time. Sit by faerie rings near the tent of the wise woman, aand enter a liminal space of magic and wonder. Audience prize raffle will happen during this portion of the event.
930pm Night Market & After Party
As we end our cabaret, we welcome audiences back into the lounge for our night market, where vendors will offer magical items, oddities, and psychic readings. Poets will be available for private readings in the Wise Woman's tent within the main performance space, in exchange for poker chips (private reading tokens).
A note on attendee costumes:
We will not turn you away if you do not dress to theme, but we highly encourage that you do! The immsersive element of Ren Faires is amplified by the creative costuming of attendees. Need some inspiration for your costume? This article is a good place to start, and there are many places to seek inspiration like here or here.
Event Venue
International Palace of Joy, 1347 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4L 1C6, Canada
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
