Good news for those who, like Miniver Cheevy in the Edwin
Arlington Robinson poem, were
”
born too late.
”
Good news for those who, like Miniver Cheevy in the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem, were “born too late.”
The Northern California Renaissance Faire, in which a massive team of actors and artisans recreate an English Renaissance village, will return this autumn to the Casa de Fruta travel park, where it has been for the past two years.
The spectacle was endangered after the Renaissance Entertainment Corporation – which produces similar shows in San Bernardino, Chicago and New York – decided to pull the Northern California show.
“The Northern Faire has lost $900,061 in revenues during the years 1999 to 2003,” the company said in a written statement in October. “Our attendance has declined 62 percent since 1991. The losses incurred by the Northern Faire have placed a continual drain on our Southern (California), Chicago and New York faire, which are healthy shows and consistently create profit.”
The company gave the participants notice Oct. 18. By the end of that weekend, vendors and entertainers got together and decided they didn’t want to see the show leave the South Valley. They figured they could run the Faire themselves, and so they into a new company, Play Faire Productions.
In May, Play Faire finalized a contract with Casa de Fruta to present the 2004 faire on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 18 to Oct. 24. Casa de Fruta partner Gene Zanger called Play Faire Productions “a dynamic group of experienced Faire enthusiasts which is committed to making this a successful event. We are fortunate to be able to work with this group of dedicated individuals.”
Renaissance Faire guests are invited to join entertainers in donning “period dress,” which is loosely defined as anything that resembles clothing from a 150-year span of British history.
“The time will be set in the Renaissance with some liberties taken to expand from as early as the 1490s to 1630s,” the Faire’s web site says. “This opens us up to a wider array of characters and still gets the point of the era across.”
Highlights of the Renaissance Faire include cheering for your favorite knight in a jousting tournament, bowing to Queen Elizabeth I, sipping mead and munching turkey legs off the bone.
The price of an adult admission to the Faire is $20 at the gate, $17.50 in advance via the Faire’s Web site or $15 in a group of 12 or more. For children 5 to 11, the fee is $10. Children younger than 5 get in free. Play Faire Productions is comprised of 2,000 entertainers, 145 craftsmen and 18 advisory board members.
The Northern California Renaissance Faire joined the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce in May and the San Benito County Chamber in late April.
For more information, log onto www.norcalrenfaire.org.
