By Jennifer Jahn
NKyTribune staff writer
As the Kenton County Fairgrounds wraps up the sights and sounds of its annual fair, a new footprint is preparing to make its mark and it’s one clad in leather.
From Aug. 21-23, the River Valley Viking Festival will take over the fairgrounds for three days of Viking reenactment, food, music, vendors and family-friendly activities.
The festival is the second annual River Valley Viking Festival, but organizer Tyler Crowder is already expanding on last year’s inaugural event.
The first festival was held in 2025 at A.J. Jolly Park in Alexandria as a one-day event that attracted approximately 300 people. Crowder viewed the event as a “proof of concept,” using the community’s response to determine whether the festival could grow.
This year, the festival has expanded to three days. Crowder also moved the date to avoid directly competing with the Ohio Renaissance Festival and instead fill a space in the regional event calendar between the Kentucky Renaissance Festival and Ohio’s event.
For Crowder, the event grew naturally from years spent immersed in Viking reenactment.
“I’ve been a Viking re-enactor for seven years, and over that time I’ve attended a lot of events,” Crowder said. “At some of them, I felt there were opportunities to make the organization and visitor experience even better.”
About four years ago, Crowder began selling extra pieces from his reenactment kit to help fund trips to events. What began as a way to support reenactment travel eventually developed into a passion for vending and creating handmade goods.
Other members of Crowder’s reenactment group began doing the same, and he enjoyed watching members develop their crafts and sell their creations within the reenactment community.
That experience eventually sparked an idea: Why not create a public event where the things reenactors make, the history they study, and the activities they enjoy could all become part of the visitor experience?
“In 2025, I decided to take the plunge and see if I could coordinate an entire public-facing event rather than simply attending one,” Crowder said. “That eventually became the River Valley Viking Festival.”
Bringing that vision to life, however, takes considerably more work than visitors may realize.
Behind the scenes, Crowder has coordinated with more than 20 vendors, built wooden equipment for activities such as axe and spear throwing, designed shirts and other merchandise, selected meads with the festival’s mead vendor, sourced firewood, hired performers and talent and worked with the fairgrounds’ rental coordinator.
The work also includes communicating with the various groups involved, purchasing activities such as kid-safe axe throwing and a bounce house, creating social media content and advertisements, hiring staff and coordinating the many logistical details required to bring the event together.
“There is a lot more behind the scenes than most visitors ever see,” Crowder said.
But the goal isn’t simply to recreate the look of the Viking Age. The festival is designed to give visitors a chance to experience history through participation.
“As a hands-on learner myself, it was important to me to create experiences that could be connected to actual historical facts,” Crowder said. “I want people to be able to have fun and then discover that the activity they’re enjoying has a connection to something people in the Viking Age actually did.”
For Crowder, that means learning through play.
“I’ve never really thought of it this way before, but in a lot of ways, a Renaissance faire is kind of Montessori for adult nerds,” Crowder said. “We’re trying to create that same kind of immersive, hands-on experience for the Viking Age.”
The lessons of last year’s festival have also shaped this year’s event.
During the inaugural festival, two food trucks that had verbally committed did not attend, while the drink vendor had to cancel because of a family emergency. Crowder and his family quickly pivoted, ordering and selling pizza while coolers of soft drinks were brought in.
Although stressful at the time, the experience taught Crowder the importance of having backup plans.
This year, he has maintained more frequent communication with food vendors, including regular check-ins and walkthroughs. Multiple teams will also provide drinks so that an unexpected cancellation doesn’t leave festival-goers without options.
Visitors to this year’s festival can expect Viking combat, vendors, food, the Viking Challenge, a Mead Hall, music and performances, and a kids area.
While the festival is rooted in history, Crowder hopes visitors don’t feel like they need to be history experts to enjoy it.
“Of course, I hope people learn something about the Viking Age that they didn’t know before they came,” Crowder said. “But more than anything, I hope they have fun.”
Whether someone comes for the mead, the fighting, the vendors or simply a weekend of family fun, Crowder hopes the experience sparks curiosity.
“The goal is to get people excited about the history behind what they’re experiencing,” Crowder said. “If they leave curious enough to learn more about the people and history behind those things, then I think we’ve accomplished something really special.”
The River Valley Viking Festival will be held Aug. 21-23 at the Kenton County Fairgrounds. For tickets and to view the daily schedules, please visit the River Valley Viking Festival website.