WAYNESVILLE, Ohio — Thousands of costumed visitors gathered at the Ohio Renaissance Festival over the final weekend of September, when the annual event turned its focus to Highland and Celtic traditions. The weekend featured participant Highland games, bagpipes, Celtic foods and performances on the joust field. Performer Jacques Ze Whipper also appeared, marking his first Ohio show. “Everybody” coming together in tartans is part of what makes the weekend special, said Cheryl Bales, marketing director for Renaissance Park, the festival’s operator. The festival added “heroes and villains” and “myths and monsters” as themed weekends this year. Bales said organizers shaped the additions using attendee feedback and costume trends, while keeping familiar themes because visitors often plan their outfits and trips around them. Jacques Ze Whipper, whose given name is Jack Lepiarz, combines whip-cracking stunts, comedy and audience participation. In one part of his show, he cracks rhythms while singing songs requested by the crowd and changing lyrics on the spot. Lepiarz said he began performing in the circus with his father at age 6, later took up Renaissance fair performances during college, and built a large online audience after videos of his acts went viral. He and his wife now have more than 4 million TikTok followers, he said. The festival’s largest attendance so far was in 2025, when more than 285,000 people visited. Bales credited social media with helping bring in crowds. The Ohio Renaissance Festival runs on weekends in Waynesville through Nov. 1. Organizers recommend buying tickets early because some weekends sell out.