New Mexico Renaissance Celtic Festival: A Vision of Heritage and Fantasy

EDGEWOOD — Eric Vigil remembers a time when his only footwear was a pair of cowboy boots. Growing up in the small town of Pecos, the city life of Albuquerque felt worlds away, and the idea of a medieval kingdom in the high desert was even more remote.

Today, Vigil is the CEO of Tilted 11 Corporation and the driving force behind the New Mexico Renaissance Celtic Festival, an event that has quickly transformed from a “baby company” into a regional powerhouse.

Held at the Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood, the festival is the culmination of Vigil’s lifelong obsession with storytelling and his firm belief that history should be lived, not just read. The immersive historical fantasy event will span March 28-29 and April 4-5, operating from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at the park, located at 87 N. Frontage Road.

“I grew up in Pecos… really didn’t like the city life,” Vigil said. “When I moved to California, my brother took me to my first Renaissance fair in Corona. There was this big tent city, jousting, vendors, mead, and turkey legs. I was hooked.”

After years of working in photography and building social media followings for other organizations, Vigil decided to strike out on his own. The road was not easy. Originally slated for March 2020, the festival was shut down by state mandates just two weeks before opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vigil lost roughly $50,000.

“I kept the flame torch going,” Vigil recalled. “I borrowed money and paid everyone back. When 2022 finally came around, the vendors who stayed with me were tickled pink. We expected 4,000 people; we got 8,000.”

By its second year, attendance jumped to 10,000, despite New Mexico’s unpredictable spring weather.

One of the festival’s most distinct features is its pricing model: children 17 and under are always free. It is a strategic move Vigil says is necessary for the survival of the “Ren Fair” culture.

“You don’t build something by just having older people come to your show,” Vigil said. “The older crowd fades away. We want kids to want to come to the festival, and eventually become the entertainers, vendors, or festivalgoers of the future.”

This philosophy helped Vigil land international acts like the Harp Twins. The duo, known for their electric harp performances, agreed to perform in part because of the festival’s commitment to youth accessibility.

Vigil also uses the platform to educate New Mexicans on a surprising bit of genealogy. While many locals identify with Spanish heritage, Vigil points out the deep Celtic roots within the Iberian Peninsula.

“New Mexico isn’t a real ‘Ren Fair’ state, but people know what Celtic is,” Vigil said. “What a lot of New Mexicans don’t know is that their ancestry comes from the largest Celtic nation in the world, which is Spain. When they hear that, they’re like, ‘What?’”

The experience is designed to be fully immersive. Unlike many New Mexico festivals that confine alcohol to “beer pens” or offer only basic shopping, Vigil’s event allows patrons to roam the entire 20-acre fenced grounds with their refreshments. The festival features five stages, a “Festival Quest” that turns attendees into characters in a storyline, and an eight-foot-tall, 20-foot-long dragon named Zephyr.

“If you go to an event in Albuquerque, I guarantee there’s food, drink, shopping, and a stage. People walk out in an hour saying they’ve seen it all,” Vigil said. “I have folks that come in here and they get lost. They find that immersive experience.”

While the Renaissance and Celtic themes are the main draw, Vigil’s Tilted 11 Corporation is expanding. A Western-themed “Jamestown” event is scheduled for early June, followed by a Pirate and Viking festival in August.

As the festival grows, tourists from as far as New York and California—Vigil remains focused on the “glory stories”: the kids who leave the gates as newly knighted heroes.

“I want them to tell their classmates, ‘Dude, I saw a live dragon. I got to play swords with knights. The Queen knighted me,'” Vigil said. “That’s what we want.”

Tickets are currently on sale. For more information or to purchase passes, attendees can visit www.nmrenfest.net.