BILLINGS — Magic was in the air on Saturday at North Park in Billings, as the Montana Renaissance Festival Inc. held its third annual All Hallows Medieval Fantasy Faire.
True to its name, the event aims to bring a renaissance to North Park, as proceeds from the weekend will be donated to the Billings Industrial Revitalization District (BIRD).
See the highlights from Saturday's festivities in the video below:
According to Doug McIsaac, the director of marketing with the Montana Renaissance Festival, for the past three years, the organization has been working alongside BIRD for infrastructural improvements to North Park. McIsaac said in 2023, the All Hallows Medieval Fantasy Faire's debut, the organization donated $15,000 to install a new dog park.
According to McIsaac, the proceeds from last year's event, along with this year's, will be used to revitalize the pickleball and basketball courts at North Park.
"We're helping to make this park more usable by people. We're helping to make it more active, have more things going on," McIsaac said Saturday.
McIsaac said that the growing number of attendees at each of the Billings events contributes to greater infrastructural investments for North Park. MTN spoke with him around noon on Saturday, and by then already 3,000 guests had checked in. McIsaac said he expects between 7,000 to 8,000 guests in total for the weekend.
"It has been amazing. Ticket sales were trending toward being huge, and they did slow down with the weather," he said.
As a child, McIsaac said he attended North Park Elementary, which encouraged him to take the initiative to work alongside BIRD. Although the event is a fundraiser, he emphasizes the importance of spreading joy throughout the two-day event, as well.
"We do this not just for the donations," he said. "We do this because we love to see the joy everybody's having."
Each year, organizers of the faire try to make it bigger than the last. The 2025 All Hallows Medieval Fantasy Faire housed 140 vendors, and 70 performers across seven stages.
Like McIsaac, the goal of spreading joy and positivity was also shared among faire performers on Saturday, including Gina Skau and Teslin Ruge.
Skau, a belly dancer with Emberdance Belly Dance Collective, said the event is an opportunity to bring joy to the community, regardless of the rainy weather.
"(It's) an opportunity to... spend good time with good friends, see amazing sights, meeting interesting people," she said.
Ruge, who is a performer with the jousting crew, shared the same feelings as Skau. Ruge noted that she was ecstatic to see high attendance on Saturday, even though she expected a small turnout with the chilly rain.
"You know, our show, even though it's a little more challenging in the rain sometimes, it goes on rain or shine. And, I think it's fun just seeing, especially the little kids, bringing joy to people's days and seeing how many people turned out," said Ruge.
As a mother of four and leader with the Montana Renaissance Festival, Desiree Queeno told MTN that the faire gives her a chance to bring happiness and education to the community.
Queeno is one of the festival's fairies, and throughout the event, the group hosts tea time and reading circles.
"We sit down with kids of all ages and we tell stories about bravery and being kind to the Earth," she said. "(What's important to me is) education, learning how to read, getting stories about learning how to be brave, and moving forward even if we're scared."
After four years with the organization, Queeno said she supports the collaboration between the Montana Renaissance Festival and BIRD for the betterment of the Billings community.
"They're able to get Billings back to the bright and colorful place that everybody wants to be at," she said.
The faire's festivities continue into Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. To purchase tickets or learn more about the cause behind the All Hallows Medieval Fantasy Faire, visit this link.
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