Is the St. Nicholas Day Feast Worth It? Who It Suits and What You Get

The short answer

Book the feast if the idea of sitting down to a long holiday meal, with costumed royalty at the head of the hall and performers between courses, sounds like the highlight of your day. It turns a festival visit into an occasion: a date night, a family celebration, or a group outing with a fixed plan.

Skip it if your party would rather keep moving. Festival food vendors sell turkey legs, meat pies and vegetarian options all day, and you can eat whenever you like with a regular $35 Adult Admission ticket.

What you get

The festival describes the St. Nicholas Day Feast as five courses, served at the table:

• Mini charcuterie
• Seasonal soup
• Garden salad
• Roasted game hen with a bangor, mash, traditional stuffing and cranberry relish
• Apple cobbler

Drinks, company and entertainment

Adults are served ale or wine, and guests under 21 get a festive drink. King Henry V and St. Nicholas of Myra preside over the feast, and entertainment fills the gaps between courses.

That mix is the real value of the ticket. You are not only buying a meal; you are buying a reserved seat in the middle of the story the festival tells, set in England in 1420 during the last years of Henry V’s reign.

What it costs

General Admission with the Feast is $110 per person and includes festival entry and a feast seat. A Kids Feast ticket for children under 10 is $65. A separate St. Nicholas Feast ticket is listed at $85; the festival does not spell out what it covers on its own, so call (858) 864-0020 if you are considering it instead of the combined ticket.

For comparison, a day of Adult Admission is $35. If you are weighing the difference, think about what you would otherwise spend on food during the day and whether the seated experience is what your group is after.

Who it suits best

• Couples looking for a festive date with a set dinner time.
• Families who want one calm, seated stretch in a busy day, especially with a Kids Feast ticket for a child under 10.
• Groups of friends who want a shared table and a reason to dress up.
• History and Renaissance faire fans who enjoy the court-and-ceremony side of living history.
• Visitors marking a December birthday or holiday get-together.

Who might skip it

• Guests who need a vegan or gluten-free meal: the festival does not publish options for either at the feast, so call (858) 864-0020 or email info@yuletidemedievalfestival.com first.
• Anyone who would rather spend every hour watching the jousting, the battle pageant and the guild encampments.
• Very young children who struggle with a long sit-down meal.

Saturday 6 pm or Sunday noon?

The two sittings feel different. Saturdays (December 5 and 12) the feast is at 6 pm. Sunset is around 4:30 pm, so you spend the afternoon on the grounds and sit down to dinner after dark, with the festival open until 8 pm. It suits adults, couples and groups who want an evening.

Sundays (December 6 and 13) the feast is at noon, in the middle of a day that runs 10 am to 6 pm. It suits families with younger children and anyone driving a long way home, since you eat in daylight and still have the afternoon to explore.

How to book a feast seat

Feast tickets are sold online with festival tickets on the Events page. Choose your day first, since the sitting is fixed by the day: 6 pm on Saturdays, noon on Sundays.

• Pick Saturday, December 5 or 12, or Sunday, December 6 or 13.
• Choose General Admission with the Feast ($110) for each adult or older child who will eat.
• Add a Kids Feast ($65) for each child under 10, and call (858) 864-0020 about under-10 festival admission.
• Add parking: $10 General Shuttle & Parking or $35 Fairgrounds Premium Parking.
• Watch for your email confirmation and print or screenshot it.
• Ask the festival about arrival time or seating questions before the day, since there is no cell signal at the park.

Limited seats: book early

Feast seats are capped at 100 per day, with 20 Kids Feast seats. Because seats are limited, a given sitting can sell out. If the feast is the reason you are going, book it as soon as you have chosen your day.

Your confirmation comes by email. There is no cell coverage at El Monte County Park, so print it or screenshot it before you leave home.

Questions