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A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, while others are short-term events in a fairground, winery, or other large public or private spaces. Renaissance fairs generally include an abundance of costumed entertainers or fair-goers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts for sale, and festival food. Some offer campgrounds for those who wish to stay more than one day. Many Renaissance fairs are set during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
. Some are set earlier, during the reign of Henry VIII, or in other countries, such as France, and some are set outside the era of the Renaissance; these may include earlier
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
periods (including
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
), or later periods, such as 17th- or 18th-century pirates. Some engage in deliberate "time travel" by encouraging participants to wear costumes representing several eras in a broad time period. Renaissance fairs encourage visitors to enter into the spirit of things with costumes and audience participation. Many welcome fantasy elements such as wizards and elves.


Characteristics

Most Renaissance fairs are arranged to represent an imagined village in England during the reign of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
, as this period has been generally considered to correspond to the flowering of the English Renaissance. In a modern Renaissance festival, there are stages or performance areas set up for scheduled shows, such as plays in Shakespearean or commedia dell'arte tradition, as well as anachronistic audience participation comedy routines. Other performances include dancers, magicians, musicians, jugglers, and singers. Between the stages, the streets ("lanes") are lined with stores ("shoppes") and stalls where independent vendors sell medieval and Renaissance-themed handcrafts, clothing, books, and artworks. There are food and beverage vendors, as well as game and ride areas. Renaissance fairs typically feature a wide variety of foods inspired by both Medieval cuisine and typical American fair foods like corn dogs. Some foods, like turkey legs, steak on a stick and bread bowls have become iconic of renaissance festivals. Beer,
mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...
and wine are also sometimes present. Games include basic skills events, such as archery or axe-throwing, as well as Drench-a-Wench and Soak-a-Bloke, which allow a player with a good aim to hit a target and get a fair employee wet. Rides are typically not machine-powered; various animal rides and human-powered swings are common. Live animal displays and falconry exhibitions are also commonplace. Larger Renaissance fairs will often include a joust as a main attraction. PETA and Born Free USA have protested the use of elephants and camels at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and
Arizona Renaissance Festival The Arizona Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance-themed amusement park and Renaissance fair located in Gold Canyon, Arizona, east of the Phoenix metro area in Pinal County. First run in 1989, the Arizona Renaissance Festival runs from mid-wint ...
. In addition to the staged performances, a major attraction of Renaissance fairs is the crowds of actors—both professional and amateur—who play historical figures and roam the fair, interacting with visitors. Visitors are encouraged to wear costumes, contributing to the illusion of an actual Renaissance environment. Some allow weapons that are suitably peace-bonded, while others only allow fair employees to wear them. Many of the fair vendors sell or rent costumes for all ages and types. The Renaissance fair subculture's word for these costumed guests is "playtrons", a portmanteau of the words "player" and "patron", and they add a second level of enjoyment to their experience by "getting into the act" as Renaissance Lords and Ladies, peasants, pirates, belly dancers, or fantasy characters. However, many Renaissance fairs discourage interaction between the official cast and so-called "playtrons". Most fairs have an end-of-the-day ritual, a parade, dance or concert where all employees gather and bid farewell to the patrons. Renaissance fairs are staged around the world at different times of the year. Fair vendors, participants, and crew often work the "fair circuit", going from event to event as one fair ends and another begins.


History in the United States

In post–World War II America, there was a resurgence of interest in
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and Renaissance culture. In the 1950s, there was a very strong early music revival, and out of that came folk musician and traditionalist
John Langstaff John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone, and early music revivalist was the founder of the tradition of the Christmas Revels, as well as a respected musician and educator. He attended the Curtis ...
. In 1957, Langstaff held "A Christmas Masque of Traditional Revels" in New York City, and the following year another in Washington, D.C. A televised version was broadcast on the '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' in 1966 which included Dustin Hoffman playing the part of the dragon slain by Saint George, and, in 1971, Langstaff established a permanent Christmas Revels in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. In 1963, Los Angeles schoolteacher Phyllis Patterson held a very small Renaissance fair as a class activity, in the backyard of her Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. On May 11 and 12 of that year, Patterson and her husband,
Ron Patterson The Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) is a Renaissance faire that takes place in Irwindale, California. It opened in the spring of 1963 and has been an annual event since then. Presently owned by Renaissance Entertainment P ...
, presented the first " Renaissance Pleasure Faire" as a one-weekend fundraiser for radio station
KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...
which drew some 8,000 people. The fair was designed by the Living History Center to resemble an actual Spring market fair of the period.. Many of the original booths were no-charge reenactments of historical activities, including printing presses and blacksmiths. The first commercial vendors were mostly artisans and food merchants and were required to demonstrate historical accuracy or plausibility for their wares. Groups of volunteers were organized into "guilds" to focus on specific reenactment duties (musicians, military, Celtic clans, peasants, etc.). Both actors and vendors were required to successfully complete workshops in period language and accents, costuming, and culture, and to stay "in character" while working. The original Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) was held in the Spring 1966 at the Paramount Ranch located in Agoura, California, focusing on the practices of old English springtime markets and "Maying" customs. In 1967, the Pattersons created a Fall Renaissance fair, with a harvest festival theme, first at what is now China Camp State Park in San Rafael, California, and, in 1971, at the Black Point Forest in Novato, California. Both fairs developed into local traditions and began a movement that spread across the country. Although historical reenactments are by no means exclusive to the United States (for example, the Earl of Eglinton in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
sponsored a large tournament in 1839), the Renaissance fair is largely an American variation on the theme. European historical fairs, such as those held at Kentwell Hall in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, England, operate more on the living history museum model, in which an actual historic site is peopled by re-enactors whose job it is to explain historical life to modern visitors. In recent years, American-style Renaissance fairs have made inroads in other countries. Germany has seen a very similar phenomenon since the 1980s (see :de:Mittelaltermarkt), and, beginning in the mid-1990s, Renaissance fairs have spread into Canada and Australia. Spinoffs of Renaissance fairs also include fairs set in other time periods, such as Christmas fairs set in Charles Dickens' London.


Names

Renaissance fairs have several variant names, many of which use old-fashioned spellings such as ''faire'' or ''fayre''. These spellings originate from the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
''feire'' (variant spellings include ''feyre'', ''faire'', and ''fayre''), which comes from the Anglo-French word ''feire''. They can also be referred to as " Elizabethan", "
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
", or " Tudor" fairs or festivals. "Ren Fair" and "Ren Fest" are popular colloquialisms. A German ''Mittelaltermarkt'' (literally "medieval market") is very similar to a Renaissance fair. Many Catalan towns hold ''Mercats Medievals'' (literally "medieval markets") as part of their annual festivities.


Internal debates

Within the Renaissance fair community, there is a difference of opinion as to how authentic a fair ought to be. Some believe fairs should be as authentic an experience as possible, with educational aspects like European
living history museums An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere ...
. Others believe that entertainment is the primary goal. Phyllis Patterson steered the original California Renaissance Pleasure Faires along a middle path, and had used the phrase " We trick into learning with a laugh" to describe that philosophy of merging history and entertainment. Richard Shapiro, who founded what later became the
Bristol Renaissance Faire The Bristol Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance fair held in a Renaissance-themed park in the village of Bristol in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Its 30 acre site runs along the Wisconsin-Illinois state line west of Interstate 94. It recreates a visit ...
outside
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, said he favored entertainment. He was quoted as having said, "We were so authentic back then it was almost painful.".


See also

* List of Renaissance and Medieval fairs * Medieval reenactment *
Renaissance Magazine ''Renaissance Magazine'' was a glossy American magazine published bimonthly. Each issue comprised approximately 90 pages, and included articles about the contemporary renaissance faire experience, medieval and renaissance history, castles, herald ...
* Society for Creative Anachronism * Texas Renaissance Festival


Notes


External links


List of upcoming Renaissance Fairs (US)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaissance Fair Festivals in the United States Historical reenactment events History festivals by period