A Renaissance or Medieval fair is an outdoor gathering that aims to recreate a historical setting—most often the English Renaissance—for the amusement of its guests. Renaissance fairs generally include costumed entertainers or fair-goers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts for sale, and festival food. These fairs are open to the public and typically commercial. Some are permanent theme parks, while others are short-term events in a fairground, winery, or other large public or private spaces. Some offer campgrounds for those who wish to stay more than one day.
As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric knight-errant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. It developed further from the epics as time went on; in particular, "the emphasis on love and courtly manners distinguishes it from the chanson de geste and other kinds of epic, in which masculine military heroism predominates."
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale feature films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle rides themed after those Disney animated feature films.
The Michigan Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair, an interactive outdoor event that focuses on recreating the look and feel of a fictional English village called Hollygrove during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the latter half of the 16th century. A large number of patrons also regularly attend the festival in costume further fleshing out the streets with nobles, pirates, Vikings, wizards, rogues, wenches, and an assortment of fantasy characters. The festival also includes many nationally known Renaissance festival stage acts, juggling shows, sword fighting shows, lane acts, a two-hour feast performed twice daily, three full contact joust shows performed daily, and activities and games for children of all ages. The festival is owned by Mid-America Festivals.
The Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival is an event held annually in Richardson, Texas, and typically has a turn out of about 70,000 people. It began in 1993 as a small community event held in a local park in Northeast Richardson, Texas, and got its name from the March through May celebration season when wildflowers blossom throughout the city. Having just celebrated its 23rd anniversary in 2015, Wildflower! is now a three-day event that has grown to become one of North Texas’ most recognized and anticipated music festivals. The name Wildflower!, when referring to the festival, is always spelled with an exclamation point.
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 the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to the English port city of Bristol in 1574. The faire runs for nine weekends from early July through Labor Day.
Owain Phyfe was a vocalist, instrumentalist, composer, and the founder of Nightwatch Recording, which concentrates on Renaissance and Medieval music. He lived in Berkley, Michigan, United States, often playing at O'Mara's Restaurant when he wasn't traveling the Renaissance circuit. He died from pancreatic cancer on September 5, 2012. The following day performers and fans held an all night wake in his honor.
The Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, which ran for 3 days every February from 2006 to 2016, was a yearly adult-themed fair with programming geared towards ages 16 and up. It was founded by Jeff Mach.
The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance fair occurring over 13 weekends from early-August through late-October on the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate and Winery in Manheim, Pennsylvania. In 1980, the Estate was sold and converted to a winery.
The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a 25 acre renaissance themed amusement park. The festival is set in a fictional storybook village of "Fairhaven". The open air village and artisan marketplace contain permanent cottages and bungalows based on 16th century European architecture. Sixteen outdoor stages are used for comedy theater, dance, and circus-like entertainments. Featured, live-action shows include knights on horseback ; presentations of the art of falconry; and live swimming mermaids. The festival is held annually on Saturdays and Sundays in October and November. An average of 195,000 visitors a year attend the festival during its Fall season.
The Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) is a Renaissance faire that takes place at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in Irwindale, California. 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 England. The Faire is generally open from the first weekend of April through the weekend before Memorial Day.
All's Faire in Love is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Scott Marshall and written by R. A. White and Jeffrey Ray Wine. The film stars Owen Benjamin as Will, a college student who is assigned to work at a renaissance fair by his professor after missing several classes, and Christina Ricci as Kate, an investment banker who leaves her job to work at the fair.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is an annual Renaissance fair located in Todd Mission, Texas, about 55 miles northwest of Houston.
Scarborough Renaissance Festival, more commonly known as Scarborough Faire, is a renaissance fair in Waxahachie, Texas.
Sterling Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance Festival that operates in Sterling, New York. Since 1976, it runs for seven consecutive weekends through July and August and features music, comedy, and interactive theatre performances as well as the work of artisans and craftspeople.
Originally themed around the Middle Ages, Medieval Faire is a section of Canada's Wonderland, a theme park in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. As such, early attractions created under Kings Entertainment Company were named after knights, Don Quixote, Vikings, dragons, bats, and beasts. Throughout the Paramount Parks era, the section's new attractions lacked appropriate theming. The introduction of the Leviathan roller coaster to Medieval Faire in 2012 was the first major investment in the section since 2000; the park is now under ownership of Cedar Fair. The section includes four roller coasters and six other rides.
The Northern California Renaissance Faire, owned by Play Faire Productions is a Renaissance faire in California located in Hollister about 90 miles southeast of San Francisco. The Renaissance Festival typically runs on weekends from mid-September to mid-October. It consists of five or six weekends depending on the year. It is set in the fictional village of "Willingtown" in Derbyshire, England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the mid-late 16th Century.
The Colorado Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair in Colorado located in Larkspur, Colorado 39 miles south of Denver and 32 miles north of Colorado Springs. The Renaissance Festival typically runs between the months of June and August. It is based on a 16th-century Tudor village.
