CastleFaire 2025
Bit late on writing this, but better late than never! Dig into all the photos I took at CastleFaire 2025 below, or read on to see what you could get in on next year!
Event Information
CastleFaire is held at Uhuburg, Eagle Owl Castle in Helen, Georgia. Helen is a quaint little Bavarian town nestled in the Appalachian foothills of northeast Georgia. Uhuburg opened recently after many years of construction. Uhuburg is a family-owned medieval-reproduction castle and home of one of the few winter renaissance festivals in the country. Read more about Uhuburg.
CastleFaire, Uhuburg’s first renaissance festival, was held in January of 2024, which I was lucky enough to attend as a vendor. CastleFaire 2025 was so much bigger and better!
The Event
This year’s CastleFaire was held the weekend of January 17-19. The past two years it has started on Friday with a slightly shorter open time, then Saturday and Sunday all day. The most exciting thing about this event is definitely that it’s held at a medieval-style castle, but the second-most exciting thing - it’s held in the winter! This event gives faire enthusiasts like myself the opportunity to create a winter renaissance festival look, or dust off one we have that we’ve never been able to wear because so many faires are held in warmer months.
The Weather
So the weather is sometimes great, sometimes not. It is the winter, after all, so if you plan to come, do dress accordingly. This past year, we had AMAZING weather on Friday. It was so amazing, in fact, that many of us vendors were shedding layers as we’d all prepared for the less-than-amazing weather and precipitation that had been predicted. Friday night, the rain came, and unfortunately my canopy got a little soaked through, but we shook it off Saturday for a drizzly and cold day filled with guests in amazing costumes. Sunday brought the most fun weather though. Sunday morning began crisp and cool but otherwise fine, then as the day went on, the temperature dropped and for the last four hours of the day, WE HAD SNOW FLURRIES. I greatly enjoyed this even though I spent the majority of the snow flurry weather trying to keep the wind from knocking my wares all over the (wet) ground. My dear partner may get mad at me for saying this, but I kinda, sorta, almost hope it flurries again next year. Maybe.
The Vendors
Hanging out with the other vendors before, during, and after these events is honestly my most favorite thing. I was right across the way from the lovely lady at J&E Crafts and we had a great time chatting and watching each other’s booths when needed. I also got placed next to my neighbor from last year. Hi, Woodchips! This year, I was one of the first vendors along the stone path out behind the castle, drawing patrons in towards the other vendors down the path past me. While I didn’t get to wander much and meet too many new vendors, here’s a brief and certainly not comprehensive list of some of my favorite fellow vendors:
Woodchips Adventure Utensils - wooden cups, bowls, plates, and other wares that are historically accurate or historically inspired
J&E Crafts - chaimail jewelry and accessories
TK Eyecatcher - bone jewelry and keychains
Darkstar Machinations - smithed metal jewelry
The Dragon Eye Artist - dragon eye art, jewelry, and accessories
Special shoutout to my friends Ruby Hound Forge who sadly weren’t very close to me but they were there!
Entertainment
This year we had a bunch of new entertainment on the schedule! My personal favorite was watching the folks from Palmetto Knights demonstrate full-contact medieval combat on the castle wall, which was so much fun! There were also swordsmanship and combat demos from the folks at Appalachian Sword Club. Best of all, both of these were mere feet from my booth, which meant I could watch while still keeping an eye on my booth, and honestly this was my favorite part. I hope we all end up with our same locations next year!
Other entertainment included belly dancing, medieval music, Celtic music, and the Punch & Judy show not far down from my booth too. I’m excited to see what new entertainment they’ll get next year!
The Mountain
The city of Helen is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and in true medieval fashion, Uhuburg is located atop one of these foothills (seems pretty mountain-y to me). Due to the location atop said little mountain, it can be a bit precarious making the trek uphill, which is why Uhuburg provides a small bus as a shuttle up and down the mountain. This year, they also added a small market in the meadow at the base of the mountain to allow patrons to browse vendors while they waited for a shuttle, which I think adds even more to the vibe of attending a faire at a castle. Like you get to visit the little “town” before visiting the castle. I wish I’d had time to explore the meadow market myself, too!
