The Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) is a

Renaissance fair 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 the ...

e that takes place in

Irwindale, California Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, w ...

. It opened in the spring of 1963 and has been an annual event since then. Presently owned by Renaissance Entertainment Productions (REP), it is a commercial reenactment of a 1580s market faire at Port Deptford, a waterfront town in

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Faire is generally open from the first weekend of April through the weekend before Memorial Day.

History

Created by Ron Patterson and Phyllis Patterson and the radio station KPFK, the first Renaissance Pleasure Faire of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

(RPFS) was first staged at

Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...

in the spring of 1963. The first Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Northern California (RPFN) occurred in the fall of 1967. The nonprofit organization Living History Centre (LHC) was established in 1968 as a way to establish the location of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire and as a way to reify the educational potentials of the public event. In 1989, RPFS was moved to the Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore, California; and finally in 2005 to its present location, the

Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area The Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area is a county park located in Irwindale, California, USA, in the San Gabriel Valley, inside the Santa Fe Dam. The park and dam are nestled among gravel quarries in the area, many of which are currently inactive. The ...

. In 1999, RPFN was moved to the Nut Tree in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it t ...

and later was relocated again to

Casa de Fruta Casa de Fruta (Spanish: literally "House of Fruit") is a large roadside attraction located in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, just west of the Merced County line, in the Pacheco Valley of Northern California, along State Route ...

in the Hollister/Gilroy area south of San Jose. In 1993, RPFS was purchased by Renaissance Entertainment Corp (REC), a for-profit corporation; and later by its current owners, Renaissance Entertainment Productions (REP) (also a for-profit corporation), under whom the Faire has claimed to be more family-oriented. In 2005, the RPFS relocated from Devore, California to Irwindale, California. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

caused the faire to go on hiatus from 2020 to 2021. It resumed in April 2022.

Attire

The costumes worn by official RPFS's actors are styled after those of the period of

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 ...

(15581603) and must pass a rigorous approval process ensuring their authenticity. There are five general classes of attire:

Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

, Merchant, Gentry,

Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

and Military. Other cultures represented include Scottish/Irish Highlanders, Germanic Landsknechts, Italians, Spaniards, and various Arabian cultures. There are also performance groups such as mongers,

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...

s and inventors, which are organized into

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s. Patrons are encouraged to wear Renaissance-inspired costumes, but are not required to adhere to the Elizabethan period. They are also welcomed to participate by dressing up to join the fun on various themed weekends. (i.e. RenCon, Pirates, Heroes & Villains, etc...) Recent themed weekends include categories such as "time traveler weekend" which suggest patrons attend in costume from any time period and any location in the world. While this broadens the scope of potential patron interest, it may detract from the Elizabethan tone of the setting.

References

External links

* {{coord, 34.113594, -117.955171, type:event_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Fairs in California Festivals in California Renaissance fairs Annual events in Los Angeles County, California Annual fairs Irwindale, California

History

Attire

See also

Further reading

References

External links