Lords and ladies will soon return to Casa de Fruta to revel in
days of yore at the Northern California Renaissance Faire
The adult playground of the Northern California Renaissance Faire returns Sept. 10, transforming the grounds of Casa de Fruta into a bustling British village overrun with nobles, merchants, minstrels and pirates, not to mention plenty of bawdy women. Organizers are just hoping the average age of that colorful cast of characters will get a little younger.
When the northern festival started nearly 40 years ago, it was a gathering aimed at people who led alternative lifestyles – hippies and artists mostly, said Michael Gardner, director of marketing for Play Faire Productions, a group of entertainers and artisans who took control of the event last year. Today, the group is attempting to preserve the spirit of the original faires while it works to introduce new generations to the festivities.
“It’s not hard to appeal to those 40- and 50-year-olds who started coming years ago,” said Gardner. “They have fond memories of the faire, but we’re trying to find a way to appeal to a younger generation, where quite often their concept of playing is going out to a nightclub. This is different. It’s more of an adult-oriented Disneyland.”
In a bid to reconcile the older, more alternative version of the faire with its newer, more family-friendly image, the group has decided to reconcile its two images through new theme weekends, adopting motifs such as “romance and revelry” and “Oktoberfest, English style,” for each weekend of the six-week festivities. The faire will also devote time to its more lovable characters. Pirates, Celts and the royal court presided over by Queen Elizabeth are all featured at their own special times.
Hundreds of period-themed characters, 135 craftsmen and five stages of live period entertainment help visitors travel back in time, celebrating European history during the Renaissance period, from the 1490s to the 1630s.
“It’s a great celebration of the season and the harvest, and also a great celebration of the rural,” said Will Wood, a faire actor who plays Sir Frances Drake. “There are always new craftsmen, and this is a chance to really watch them at their work, to meet the people who have fashioned these goods.”
The Napa, Calif., resident, like many of the faire’s long-time supporters, camps out at Casa de Fruta to take part in the festivities. He’s been at the faire, put on by a variety of different owners and organizations, for the last 38 years, donning high leather boots, dark blue britches with a luxurious matching doublet to play the role.
“Why everyone from kings and queens to the very peasants should come and join us, for it is harvest time – time to eat, drink and make merry,” said Wood. Er, make that Sir Frances Drake, globetrotting privateer.
The Northern California Renaissance Faire will take place on weekends from Sept. 10 to Oct. 16 from 10am to 6pm at Casa de Fruta, 10031 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister. Tickets are available at the gate, or online at www.NorCalRenFaire.org.
The Northern California Renaissance Faire
When: Weekends from Sept. 10 to Oct. 16, from 10am to 6pm
Where: Casa de Fruta, 10031 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister
Tickets: Admission for teens and adults is $20 at the gate or online at www.NorCalRenFaire.org. Tickets for children ages 5 to 11 are $10, and kids under 5 are free. For diehards, there’s also a $90, 12-day “Fairever” pass available, which provides the holder with unlimited access for all six weekends.
Themed weekends
Sept. 10-11: Romance & Revelry
Take a couples stroll through a Renaissance village or meet someone special during Her Majesty’s Romantic Scavenger Hunt or the Wenches’ Matchmaking Game.
Sept. 17-18: Weekend of the Pirate Invasion
Guard your purses and tankards as shiploads of scurvy sea dogs and sassy pirate wenches flood the faire.
Sept. 24-25: Lord/Lady Mayors’ Day at Court
Lord and lady mayors bend at the knee to pay their respects and swear fealty to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth during the feast of Michaelmas.
Oct. 1-2: Weekend of the Celtic Invasion
Mystic, mythical Celts from the green shores of Ireland, the heather-strewn highlands of Scotland and the fertile farmlands of Wales descend upon the faire for a weekend of Celtic dance and music.
Oct. 8-9: Bacchanal & Masquerade Weekend
Bacchus, the ancient god of wine and intoxication, descends upon the faire to lead the “Parade to end all Parades,” a celebration of fall’s grape harvest complete with wine tasting and flamboyant masks.
Oct. 15-16: Oktoberfest, English Style
Bring your tankard and ring out the 2005 Faire season with a Germanic tradition of ale and fun.
