Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle in Surry Hosts Its First Renaissance Faire and Buhurt Battles

The invitation to a sneak-peek into battle.

November 15 & 16, 2025, from 10am to 5pm, marks a first at Preservation Virginia's Bacon's Castle. And I'm humbled I was invited to get a sneak peek. The "first:" a Renaissance Faire inspired by two employees of Preservation Virginia. Official event title: The Tournament of the Castle Renaissance Faire.

Will Glasco, who has been with Preservation Virginia for years but stepped into the role of CEO in 2024, summarized it well. When he stood before me and the media sitting in a room on the ground floor of North America's oldest still-standing brick building, I couldn't agree more with his observation.

Will's point: what better place to host a Renaissance Fair than a castle. A unique opportunity, right there in Surry, Virginia.

Media set up for battle demonstration

Let's start with a little primer on Renaissance Faires in the United States.

The phenomenon Phyllis Patterson started.

Back in the 1960s, it's safe to say that our United States was experiencing a cultural shift; something often tied to communities in the state of California.

A woman named Phyllis Patterson loved to foster art, music, history in children. From the mid-west but settled in California, she started teaching drama and theater as an art form to kids. Community involvement, during a time and in a place experiencing (and leading) "counterculture" movements.

Crossover? Maybe. There seems to have been a connection to artists and musicians living near her Lauren Canyon home.

At any rate, in 1963 she offered up a fair inspired by period of Shakespeare and Comedia Del Arte she was utilizing. It's popularity started an annual event. By 1971, the first Renaissance Faire opened outside the state. Thus began the evolution of what we see around the country (and the world) today.

RELATED: Dive deeper into the history of Phyllis' legacy in Jess of the Shire's fantastic YouTube video by clicking here.

Spencer and Nick: bringing the legacy to a castle.

If you're familiar with the competition sport of Buhurt, especially in Virginia, you may have heard of the Tidewater Dogs of War. Spencer Siebeck and Nick Johnson are the President and Vice-President as well as working on the restoration and maintenance of Preservation Virginia sites, including Bacon's Castle.

With a spread of over 40 acres and a dominant brick structure which has been referenced as Bacon's Castle for hundreds of years, this historic site offers up a backdrop to the sport they're so passionate about.

They asked, they received.

A few tidbits we learned at the media sneak peek event:

• competitors:
• wear approximately 80 lbs of armor
• use real steel weapons
• wear a foam-lined helmet to protect against concussions
• learn how to make repairs on their armor
• a growing number of women are getting into Buhurt (the Tidewater Dogs of War are even hosting a "femmes recruitment day" on October 25, 2025)

RELATED: Click here to learn more about Buhurt.

Spencer and Nick performing the demonstration

The Tournament at Bacon's Castle.

Here's what you need to know.

The dates: November 15 and 16, 2025, 10am-5pm; rain or shine!

Tickets required: rates, availability, and all details here. Yes, re-entry is allowed and you'll get a deal purchasing your tickets in advance. (note: kids under 12: FREE)

What will you experience?

• A family-friendly vibe.
• Celtic music.
• Artisan crafts.
• Food trucks.
• Mead!

And of course, the tournament. Battles!

• Saturday: teams competing in a melee level battles.
• Sunday: one-on-one duels like the one we witnessed a short demonstration of at last week's media event.

What if you catch this post after the 2025 event? It goes without saying, watch for updates in 2026.

Entrance to Bacon's Castle

Closing it out.

Calls to action.

• Get tickets to the event.
• Follow up with a visit to Bacon's Castle- the architecture, the history, the people. You can learn more on my post about Preservation Virginia's unique historic site by clicking here.
• Share medieval history (and life) with kids. Whether you're able to attend or not, get in the spirit, and get them excited to learn more! Click here to get to History Unboxed and look around.

Recognizing all the benefits.

An obvious benefit is offering a unique event to visitors.

But what I love about The Tournament at the Castle: creating awareness. Awareness of a sport I knew nothing about and can share with you. Awareness of this history of Renaissance Faires, which has roots in our United States. Those roots specifically being in southern California, where my parents and sister reside.

But also: awareness of Bacon's Castle. It's my hope, coinciding with the goal of Preservation Virginia outlined by Will, that a whole new set of visitors will be enamored with the property and want to come back to learn its riveting and diverse history.

From the Allens, who built the home in 1665, to the stories of the 19th century enslaved such as Martha Jones and her daughter Cordelia, as well as why the building is called Bacon's Castle... it's worth a visit.

Special thanks to Preservation Virginia's Director of Interpretation and Collections Elyse Werling and Communications Manager Lydia Dodd for bringing this incredible event to my attention!

Panoramic view of the grounds to the rear of Bacon's Castle.

Closing words from history.

I'm not digging too far back for these words, but as I often hear, history is what happened one minute ago.

I thought it fitting to share Phyllis Patterson's obituary, published by the San Francisco Chronicle from June 4-June 8, 2014. Click here to open my source in a new tab and see it in full.

"Renaissance Pleasure Faire creator Phyllis (Stimbert) Patterson, of Novato, California, died on May 18th, 2014, at the age of 82. Over the past 53 years, Phyllis Patterson touched the lives of millions of guests at her events and became mentor and symbolic mother to generations of participants.

She was born on January 25th, 1932, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Mildred Irene and Elden Carl Stimbert; her father became Superintendent of City Schools in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1960, Phyllis and her artist husband Ron created a backyard drama-and-arts program at the Patterson's Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. In response to students' enthusiasm for Commedia dell'arte, Phyllis enlisted Pacifica radio station KPFK to sponsor the very first Renaissance Faire in America on May 11th-12th, 1963 in N. Hollywood. The world was never the same.

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Nancy Sinatra, after their visit to the Faire in the late '60s, informed David Frost and his nation-wide audience that they'd just come across "the master plan for the alternate lifestyle"...."

(obituary continues)