Armored fighters will trade blows with steel swords, jesters will roam the grounds, and fire-breathers will perform this weekend as the sixth-annual Tooele Renaissance Faire takes over the grounds of the Benson Grist Mill in Stansbury Park. Organizers expect more than 5,000 attendees over the two-day event, after the faire started as a tiny event and reached its sixth year.
According to KSL News, the faire sold nearly 5,000 tickets last year alone, and director Katrina Flores expects this year's sales to exceed that record. Flores said people travel to the fair from across Utah and neighboring states, drawn by wandering bards, musicians, jesters, and costumed performers portraying the royal court of the House of Tudor. Vendors will sell wares throughout the grounds, and armored combat shows will anchor the entertainment lineup.
That combat is associated with Invictus Armored Combat, which is participating in this year's faire, according to a description shared by Invictus Armored Combat.
A Working Pioneer Mill as Backdrop
The setting itself carries as much weight as the performers. The Benson Grist Mill was built in 1854 on Twin Springs Creek by LDS pioneer Thomas Lee under the direction of LDS Apostle Ezra Taft Benson and Church President Brigham Young, and the structure is identified as historic by the U.S. National Park Service. Twin Springs itself once served as a crucial freshwater stop for 19th-century emigrant travelers along the Hastings Cutoff of the California National Historic Trail, the same agency notes.
Beyond the original water-powered mill, built with hand-carved wooden pegs and mortised timber beams, the historic park contains a collection of relocated pioneer cabins and outbuildings, according to Utah.gov Agritourism. Those structures form a historic pioneer village, giving the fair its old-world backdrop. The mill sits along State Route 138, roughly 30 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
The mill processed wheat and corn from 1854 to the 1940s, with the last bag of flour ground in the 1940s, and then lay silent for over 40 years until an ambitious volunteer committee acquired the mill site property in 1983, prompting a volunteer-led restoration effort, according to Intermountain Histories. Volunteers helped restore the structure.
Ticket Sales Fund Preservation, Not Just Fun
Co-organizer Sam Raff described the venue as beautiful and well kept, per KSL's reporting, and said ticket sales help fund preservation efforts at the mill. The Tooele Renaissance Faire is run as a nonprofit organization presented by the Tooele County Arts Guild, which uses proceeds from the event and other community gatherings to support local artisans and educational and artistic activities, according to Tooele County Parks and Recreation.
Historic buildings help attendees feel like they are in a real old-world setting, the fair's organizers say, and the faire promotes arts, crafts, history and creativity as part of its mission. Flores noted the event began as a tiny gathering and has since grown into something the community expects every year. Ticket sales alone are an incomplete measure of total attendance, since children under 7 receive free admission.
The mill site stays busy well beyond fair weekend, hosting a farmers market, a Pioneer Fun event, a Fall Festival, and Christmas lighting. The Renaissance Faire is expected to draw 5,000 attendees.
Where the Fair Fits in Utah's Renaissance Circuit
Tooele's fair is part of a wider Renaissance festival scene across the state. Utah's largest such event, the Utah Renaissance Faire, is held annually at Mt. Nebo Botanical Farm in Mona, according to KSL News. Tooele's version has grown from a tiny event into a regional draw expecting more than 5,000 attendees for its sixth staging.
Hours, Prices and Parking
This year's fair runs from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Adult admission costs $13 per day or $20 for a two-day pass, with children under 7 admitted free. Attendees can park in the lot in front of the venue, with additional parking available nearby on the other side of Pole Canyon Road.
