Saturday and Sunday

Historical re-enactment groups. See what life was like in past times, from Dark Ages and Viking right through to the 1600s, with a special focus on the medieval period.  You can try on armour, hold weapons, or play medieval games. Re-enactors have a passion for history and love to share it with others. 
Live action fantasy role-play. Ever wanted to mingle with Orcs, go on a wizard’s quest, or hunt for treasures? Scy’Kadia will lead you into your own story-weaving world as part of LARP, a fantasy world of live action role-players.
Medieval Archery. Visit the target field and try your hand at archery, with guidance from our traditional archers. Small fee, 10 years and over.
Archery Combat. Play archery tag in a safe and controlled environment. Small fee, 12 years and over.
Artisan Alley. Discover traditional crafts and skills. See how the artisans make their wares, and find something to take home for yourself.
Merchants’ Row. Browse and enjoy faire from all sorts of quality vendors with a wonderful array of goods, try exotic foods, or maybe enjoy a bit of lunch from our food providores. With over 70 merchants this year, there will be something for everyone.
Birds of Prey. Visit the birds of prey with Free Flight Conservation Centre’s display. Learn about the birds. Have your photo taken holding an eagle (small fee).
Feldergast the Fool. Winterfest’s resident juggler, trickster, magician and all round festive Jester will be roaming the crowd and entertaining.
Musicians. Our wandering musicians roam Winterfest and play historical and celtic inspired music.
Winterfest Unicorns. Come and meet the Winterfest Unicorns. They enjoy pats and having their photos taken with their admirers.
Kids’ Corner. Visit our child friendly area, where youngsters can join in with Winterfest’s colouring-in competition, or meet fairies and experience their artistic talents for face-painting.
Mermaids Cove. Meet mermaids from a faraway ocean and take a selfie with them.
Knights School. Ever want to learn to wield a sword & shield? Join in the Knights’ School and have at your friends and foes!
Medieval Animal Farm. Make friends with farm animals of medieval times. Kids can have a pony ride (small fee).

Winterfest hosts an annual Cosplay and Costume competition. We hope that we will see more people joining us in costume or character to enjoy the medieval revelry. There are prizes, so come in your best costume and enjoy the weekend.

Costume and Cosplay competition – Medieval theme

Whether you are inspired by Game Of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings, or stories from fantasy or history, getting dressed up in costume and cosplay is a great way to express yourself and get into the spirit of Winterfest.

To enter, all you have to do is to turn up. Entry to the competition is free. Competition entrants will be invited to parade for our visitors and guests. Entrants will assemble just before 3pm, after the Birds of Prey show and before the joust. There will be announcements about the competition during the day. Our judges will base their decisions on creativity, effort, and originality, and encourage anyone to have a go.

Ideas for Winterfest Costumes and Cosplay:

Game of Thrones; Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit; Dragon Age; Forgotten Realms; DanMachi; Sword Art Online; Tudors; Dragonlance; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Skyrim; Vikings; King Arthur…

Our judges for 2018 are Amber Phillips from Ambion Cosplay, Lj Schulz from Wolf Lord Works, and Dan Axiak from Dan Da Man Cosplay.

Sponsors to be announced.

Winterfest has a wide range of artisans, merchants and stalls for you to browse. Check out the list below to see what’s available.

Artisans and Merchants

Food and beverages