Colonial Market Days: A Tryon Palace Renaissance Fair

Colonial Market Days

“Colonial Market Days: A Tryon Palace Renaissance Fair” comes to Tryon Palace June 3-4 for a weekend festival that celebrates the cultures and early inhabitants of North Carolina.

Held in the spirit of a traditional renaissance fair, “Colonial Market Days” will feature the period of 1660-1720 with an outdoor market, encampments, and multiple performance stages that will come to life with a variety of entertainers, including musicians, puppet shows, magic shows, singing, dancing, and theatre. Visitors will also enjoy performances by the Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps and Jonkonnu Troupe.

Featured on the Tryon Palace South Lawn will be cultural areas representing the early inhabitants and settlers of what would become North Carolina like the French, English, German and Swiss, as well as Native Americans and Africans. Visitors can also meet with pirates and privateers to learn about life on the seas during that time.

“We are excited to bring New Bern’s history to life in a fun new way that our guests haven’t seen before,” said Amber Satterthwaite, Tryon Palace Director of Education. “Through music, arts, theatre, food and stories, our guests will be able to appreciate the unique characteristics of the various cultures that created the foundation for our town, and they’ll also find the common threads that wove these cultures together.”

The fair will also include a wide range of children’s activities like pony rides, a petting farm, and activities and crafts. Food vendors, historical goods, and craft vendors will be available.

Tickets for Colonial Market Days are $20 plus tax for adults and $10 plus tax for youth ages 7-18. Tryon Palace Foundation members receive a 10-percent discount on tickets. Children ages 6 and under are free.

Colonial Market Days is presented by News Channel 12 and Hampton Inn of New Bern.

For more information call 252-639-3524 or visit TryonPalace.org.

Upcoming events at Tryon Palace include:

June 6: Behind the Scenes: Costume Shop

June 10: Tryon Palace Garden Lecture Series

June 15: North Carolina Symphony at Tryon Palace

June 16: Lunch and Learn: The Mystery of the Palace Grounds and Gardens 

Submitted by: Craig Ramey, Director of Public Affairs, Tryon Palace