The Annual Fort Frederick 18th Century Market Fair - Big Pool, MD

The Friends of Fort Frederick State Park and the staff of Fort Frederick State Park are pleased to host the 29th annual 18th Century Market Fair.

 

The public are welcome Thursday, April 24 through Sunday, April 27. Public hours are:

• Thursday through Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Sunday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

 
Participant registration will begin on Wednesday morning, April 24th.  See the Event Information 2024 document on this website for gate hours.

 

VOLUNTEERS:
Market Fair volunteers please read the 2024 notice to Volunteers

AUCTION to be held on Saturday!

Come to historic Fort Frederick, an original stone fort built in 1756 during the French and Indian War and travel back in time to an authentic 18th century market fair.  A whiff of campfires fills the air. Colorful entertainers are found strolling about the fair. There are over 100 sutlers (period vendors) selling 18th century wares: pottery, tin and copper ware, clothing, material and patterns, books, fireplace and cooking hardware, flintlock muskets and accoutrements, horn wares, paintings and prints, lanterns and other camp gear, etc.  Blanket trading is conducted in the camper area.  See hundreds of fair-goers of all ages dressed in colonial clothing: artisans, soldiers, ladies & gentlemen, Native Americans, longhunters, traders, servants, etc.  Free entertainment for all.  The Fair is open to sutlers, traders, street vendors and entertainers as well as individuals, groups, military units and American Indians portraying the appropriate time period and geographic area, representing eastern North America from 1730 through 1790.

The Fair is a Juried Event for camper and sutlers, but open daily to all visitors.

Attending Market Fair is a wonderful way to increase ones knowledge of the period, particularly the French and Indian War period, and the role that historic Fort Frederick played in that conflict and in protecting the Maryland frontier in general