My thoughts on the first Front Range Fantasy Festival

Early in September, I learned about the Front Range Fantasy Festival, a new event hosted in Loveland, Colorado (my home town.) I found out about it 2 weeks before the event date, and wasn’t sure if they’d still take vendor applications, but I figured I’d give it a try. There aren’t many events like this held in Loveland, and with it being so close, it would be fantastic if I could get in.

I looked up a bit of research beforehand, since it was a new event. Sometimes those first-time events go well, and others… Not so much. But this one had a Kickstarter campaign backing it and seemed very well organized from the start, so I went ahead and applied for a vendor space.

Lucky for me, they were still accepting vendors and I got in. That meant a bit of last-minute organizing on my end to get all my stuff together (the last in-person vendor event I did was in April 2024.) I had most of what I needed on hand and ready to go pretty quickly, but the one snag was my latest order of paperbacks (which I placed in mid-August) still hadn’t arrived yet. My orders don’t usually take that long to be fulfilled and it made me nervous, but thankfully, they came a week before I needed them.

When it came to the festival itself, it was a great time! The organizers had a scavenger hunt going on, hidden keys that might unlock prizes, and special tokens I could give out (as a vendor) that people could redeem for bonus items from the event staff. The vendor hall also had live music, which was so much fun (I especially liked the pirate-themed sea shanty group that kicked everything off.) Different groups and soloists performed throughout the day, but all of them had some sort of fantasy-esque element. Costumes were also highly encouraged, so I dug one of mine out of the closet (partially… I only used the dress I made and not the rest of it.)

I honestly wish that more events would do things like this. Not only did the scavenger hunt and keys games bring people to tables they may have typically overlooked, but they were having fun searching for clues and chatting with us. And the music was so nice to have in the background. Most of the other events I’ve done previously didn’t have that, and the background drone of conversation gets tiring after a while. If any event organizers are reading this, please consider adding music to your agenda!

In addition to everything I’ve already mentioned, the festival included jousting and sparring competitions—and lessons for those who wanted to learn. There was a themed food and drink menu, courtesy of Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, which co-hosted the event, everything was decorated, and they even had dance lessons outside at one point. After the festival portion was over, there was a fantasy ball (which I didn’t attend this year; I learned about the event a little too late to prepare for it, and introvert that I am, spending the day socializing was more than enough stimulation. I was ready for some downtime by the end of the festival.)

Overall, this was a great event, and I really hope it returns next year.