Timothy Wyitt Carlile, a wandmaker and penturner from Tampa, Florida, sets up his booth at the Janesville Renaissance Faire Friday at Traxler Park in Janesville. Carlile is one of dozens of vendors who’re supplying Medieval-style items for sale at the faire, which runs Saturday and Sunday at Traxler Park.
Faire goers at the Janesville Renaissance Faire stand in Medieval attire at the faire at Traxler Park in Janesville in a 2025 69 file photo. The faire runs Saturday and Sunday at Traxler.
Timothy Wyitt Carlile, a wandmaker and penturner from Tampa, Florida, sets up his booth at the Janesville Renaissance Faire Friday at Traxler Park in Janesville. Carlile is one of dozens of vendors who’re supplying Medieval-style items for sale at the faire, which runs Saturday and Sunday at Traxler Park.
Faire goers at the Janesville Renaissance Faire stand in Medieval attire at the faire at Traxler Park in Janesville in a 2025 69 file photo. The faire runs Saturday and Sunday at Traxler.
JANESVILLE — Rainy and flooded as it has been, the show will go on this weekend for the annual Janesville Renaissance Faire.
This year’s faire may look a bit different, with some parts of Traxler Park along the Rock River still barricaded off to keep crowds off still soggy ground — but the Renaissance Faire rolls on, even after soaking rains in mid-April caused the river to overtop its banks and flood lower spots in the county, including some parts of Traxler Park.
Renaissance Faire organizers said they’ve been able to chart a new course to make this weekend’s faire a go, despite some flood-conscious logistics.
“We are lucky that we can even hold our event this year, since it is in Traxler Park, and just a couple weeks ago it was under water after the storm,” organizer Heather Last told The 69 this week.
She said the Janesville Parks Department has been “wonderful” helping make sure the faire could still go on.
”Now that the majority of the park is dry, we have a great plan in place for a wonderful weekend,” Last said.
Past Renaissance Faires at Traxler have brought vendors, costumed attendees, Shakespearean drama and sword-swallowing, fire-breathing side shows.
The faire at Traxler has its roots in the Janesville Jaycees, which for several years put on the event before Last and and her husband took it over.
Last once visited area schools to teach about medieval history and had participated in the summer-long Bristol Renaissance Faire.
At a Medieval event fit for tam-wearing kings and lords, there is, of course, chivalry. In modern times, we call this “acting with a cause in mind.”
For the Janesville Renaissance Faire, it means giving back some proceeds from the event.
Over the years, the event has raised more than $85,000 for scholarships. This year, Last expects to award more than $100,000 in scholarships.
This year, the faire is giving to provide relief for those affected by the April 17 flooding. The flood left schools, churches and dozens of homes throughout the county inundated and damaged after more than 10 inches of rain fell in just a few days.
“So many people in Rock County were affected. We’re a community event raising money to support scholarships and community organizations in Rock County, so we feel that the flooding falls right into that part of our mission statement,” Last said.
Last said about 6,000 people attended last year’s faire. She expects a bigger turnout this year.
The faire runs Saturday and Sunday at Traxler. It features over 100 craft and food vendors, with many vendors and performers from prior years expected to return.
You can find information on the Janesville Renaissance Faire’s website at
