03/12/2026
🔥 THE FIRES ARE BEING LIT… THE DRUMS ARE CALLING… THE VILLAGE IS AWAKENING. 🔥
On May 1st, as the sun begins to sink and the evening air carries the promise of summer, the Village Viking Festival : Halls of Valhalla will officially begin with a powerful Opening Ceremony unlike anything else in the region. This will not simply be an announcement that the festival has begun… it will be a calling of the tribe.
The night will open with a thunderous Drum Circle led by two incredible forces of rhythm and spirit.
First, Brad Troutman of The Eastern Tribes of the Hoarde will guide the heartbeat of the circle. Many in the Ren Faire world already know Brad through the beloved vendor The Dead Peddler, but beyond the marketplace he is a true performer of sound. Brad is a multi-instrumentalist and singer who brings deep energy to every drum he touches. When Brad begins to play, the rhythm doesn’t just stay in your ears — it moves into your bones.
Joining him is a man whose life story reads like a saga: Frank Cavanagh. Many know Frank as the former bassist for the Cleveland-born industrial rock band Filter, where he helped drive the powerful low end behind some of the band’s most iconic music. But Frank is far more than just a musician. He is a historian, a farmer, and a lifelong student of the past — a man who carries the spirit of old worlds into modern times. From rock stages to fields and farms, Frank brings a larger-than-life presence wherever he goes — and when he sits behind a drum, the ground itself seems to listen.
Together, Brad and Frank will lead a drum circle meant to ignite the spirit of the festival — a rhythm that echoes the ancient gatherings of tribes and warriors around firelight.
And speaking of fire…
If the weather favors us, a great bonfire will be lit as the drums rise into the evening sky. It is no coincidence that this ceremony takes place on May 1st — a date long associated with powerful seasonal fires across many cultures. For our Viking gathering, the flame becomes a symbol of the season ahead: the fire of community, storytelling, laughter, and the adventures waiting throughout the festival weekend.
In the Viking world, fire meant life — warmth in the long nights, light in the darkness, and a place where warriors gathered to share stories of the day’s battles and victories. Our fire will serve the same purpose: a place for the village to gather as one.
And because no gathering should begin on an empty stomach, several food trucks will be on site so you can grab dinner or a snack while you enjoy the evening.
You’ll also have a chance to meet and spend time with the Vikings themselves, talk with them one-on-one, hear stories, and see the Hoarde up close before the full festival weekend begins.
So bring a chair, bring a drum if you have one, bring your friends, and come be part of the moment the Village Viking Festival awakens for 2026.
The drums will sound.
The fire will rise.
And the village will gather.
⚔️ May 1, 2026 — 6:00 PM
The Great Geauga County Fairgrounds
đź“Ť 14373 N Cheshire St, Burton, OH 44021
đź’° $5 Suggested Donation
Come help us light the fire that begins the saga.
VVF Entertainment
Destination Geauga
🔥⚔️
