DAYTON, Ohio — The Ohio Renaissance Festival is in full swing.

For decades, it’s served up weekends of fun from Labor Day through October.

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio Renaissance Festival has been a staple for 35 years

  • This year, the 45-acre village is hosting more than 200 vendors

  • Tickets are capped each weekend to allow guests more room and to cut down on waiting in line

  • The festival runs every weekend until Oct. 27

Anticipation always builds outside the festival gates, and it grows and grows inside — until boom! The signature firing of the canon signals the start.

The festival is celebrating 35 years.

“Everyone is here to have a good time. No one is going to judge you, this is one of those places. This is a safe, fun space, and I think even The Flying KamiKaze said we’re all grown ups coming out to play in the woods so no one is going to be too serious. It’s great,” said attendee Crystal Irving.

“They either know me by name or say, ‘heyyy you!’,” said Cheryl Bucholtz as she drove around the grounds.

Bucholtz is the marketing director and festival “Jill-of-all-trades."

“I am one of the oldest mares in the barn on our staff. This marks my 24th season,” she said.

She’s traveled the festival’s 45-acre village probably thousands of times and has seen it grow over the years.

“To be fully staffed for the festival day, we have as many as a thousand people,” she said,

Each day, 8,000 to 18,000 people come out to enjoy the rides, games, food, drinks and a lot of shopping.

“We’ve had some issues in the past with crowds and so on. We’ve now capped the tickets so everybody can have a better time and less time waiting in line,” said festival Co-owner Chuck Biehn.

This year the festival is attracting 200 vendors and some have been coming for more than 30 years.

“It’s the magic of course! It’s what we do, and our magic is at least 80 proof this year,” said Whiskey Witch Morla Fiendish.

“I have been coming to the festival since 2004, and I do it because I love it,” said pirate Erin Ruth.

For Bucholtz, every festival season means a lot of hard work and running around, however when she sees it shared from the oldest wizards to the youngest witches and fairies, it brings a special feeling.

“You just see the light in their eyes, and it’s really a magical experience. Those kids remember that and then they’ll bring their kids and we hear that story so many times and it just really makes it worth it,” she said.

The festival runs every weekend until Oct. 27.

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and close at 7 p.m..