Medieval and Historical Holiday Festivals in California

California’s historical festivals at a glance

California is where the American Renaissance faire was born, in 1963, and the state still has history-themed festivals in nearly every season. Strictly medieval events, set before about 1500, are rarer than Renaissance faires, but there are several, and December brings a distinct group of historical Christmas festivals.

Here is how the year breaks down. Dates change from year to year, so confirm on each event’s official site; where an organizer has published 2026 or 2027 dates, they are included.

• Spring: Renaissance faires in Irwindale and Escondido.
• Summer: Koroneburg in Corona, Summer Knights in Santee, and the Central Coast Renaissance Festival in San Luis Obispo.
• Fall: the Northern California Renaissance Faire in Hollister and the fall Escondido faire.
• Winter: Dickens and Victorian fairs, candlelit adobe tours, Las Posadas and medieval Christmas festivals.

Winter and Christmas festivals

These are the events that make December different. Instead of a spring market, they recreate how people once celebrated the holidays, in very different periods.

The Great Dickens Christmas Fair (Bay Area)

Set in Victorian London, the Dickens Fair fills the historic Cow Palace exhibition halls near San Francisco with theaters, pubs, shops and characters drawn from Charles Dickens’ novels and the Victorian stage. Its official site lists the 2026 season as weekends from November 21 to December 20, plus the Friday after Thanksgiving, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Because it fills exhibition halls, it is a good bet in wet weather.

Christmas in the Adobes (Monterey)

Monterey’s historic adobes are the stars here: for two evenings each December the Monterey State Historic Park Association opens them up for a holiday walk. The 42nd Christmas in the Adobes is set for Friday, December 11, and Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. in Historic Old Monterey, with adobes lit by luminarias, holiday decor, music and refreshments. Guests pick up a wristband and map at will call.

Las Posadas on Olvera Street (Los Angeles)

Las Posadas is a Christmas procession that reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter, sung from door to door. At El Pueblo de Los Angeles, it runs for nine nights each December and ends on Christmas Eve, with a children’s piñata, champurrado and pan dulce. It is free and needs no reservation. In 2025 it ran December 16 to 24; check El Pueblo’s official channels for 2026 times.

Medieval Christmas festivals (San Diego County)

If you want the holidays older than Dickens, look for a medieval Christmas festival. In East County San Diego, the Yuletide Medieval Festival at El Monte County Park in Lakeside is set in England in 1420 and runs December 5 and 6 and December 12 and 13, 2026. It has jousting, reenactor guild encampments, a feast, St. Nicholas, Father Christmas and Krampus. Medieval Christmas was a twelve-day season of feasting that began on Christmas Day, which gives these festivals a very different feel from a Victorian fair.

Victorian Riverside: the Riverside Dickens Festival

Riverside’s Dickens Festival celebrates Charles Dickens and the Victorian era, with a few steampunk touches, and its organizers describe it as an Inland Empire tradition now in its 33rd year. It is not a December event: past editions have been held in late winter, in February. The organizers are recruiting volunteers, performers and vendors for 2027, so watch the official site for dates.

Spring through fall: medieval festivals and Renaissance faires

The rest of the year belongs to the faires. In order of the calendar:

• Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Irwindale: spring weekends at Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area; the 2027 season is announced for April 10 to May 23.
• Escondido Renaissance Faire: an Elizabethan-themed faire at Felicita County Park that traditionally runs in spring and again in fall.
• Koroneburg, Corona: a Renaissance festival styled as a German village of the 1500s, announced to return in 2027 on weekends from May 29 to June 27.
• Summer Knights, Santee: a medieval festival that debuted in June 2026 with horseback jousting, archery and a battlefield reenactment, organized by the Kiwanis Club of Santee.
• Central Coast Renaissance Festival, San Luis Obispo: a July weekend festival at Laguna Lake Park set in the 16th century.
• Northern California Renaissance Faire, Hollister: fall weekends at Casa de Fruta; the 2026 season ends October 24 and 25 with a Halloween fantasy theme.

Year-round: a medieval dinner show

Between festival seasons, Medieval Times in Buena Park offers a dinner-and-tournament show in which knights compete on horseback, jousting included, while guests eat. It runs on a scheduled calendar rather than as a seasonal festival, so it fills the gaps when no faire is open.

Planning a December history trip

Winter historical events tend to be shorter and more tightly scheduled than spring faires, so a little planning helps.

• Book early. Holiday events often run only two to five weekends, and evening tours and feasts can sell out.
• Check indoor or outdoor. Exhibition-hall fairs suit rainy days; outdoor festivals and candlelit walks need warm layers.
• Watch the clock. Sunset comes early in December, so evening events feel like night by late afternoon.
• Pair events. A weekend in one region can combine a festival with a historic site visit nearby.

Medieval or Renaissance: how to tell what you are getting

Labels are loose. Many events called Renaissance faires borrow knights and castles from earlier centuries, and some medieval festivals are set close to 1500. The useful questions are what year the event is set in, whether it focuses on shows or on living history encampments, and whether it runs in daylight only or into the evening. A Victorian Christmas fair, a 1420 medieval festival and an Elizabethan faire can all feature costumes and music, but they recreate worlds centuries apart.

For a winter trip, also check whether the event is indoors or outdoors and what time the sun sets. Outdoor December events turn cold after dark, so dress in layers.

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