Bristol Renaissance Faire

Bristol Renaissance Faire ("Bristol") is a major Renaissance Fair in the Midwest. The Faire is located in a permanent park near Kenosha, Wisconsin, easily accessible to Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most of the buildings are permanent year-round structures. The Faire seeks to recreate the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to the port city of Bristol in the year 1574. It runs for nine weekends (19 days) from the second weekend in July to the first weekend (and Labor Day) of September.

Journalist Neil Steinberg said of the Bristol Renaissance Faire, "If theme parks, with their pasteboard main streets, reek of a bland, safe, homogenized, whitebread America, the Renaissance Faire is at the other end of the social spectrum, a whiff of the occult, a flash of danger and a hint of the erotic. Here, they let you throw axes. Here are more beer and bosoms than you'll find in all of Disney World." [Neil Steinberg, "Out of Time, Nearly: Feast of Fools", Chicago Sun-Times, Wednesday, August 15th, 2007, page 23]

History

The Bristol Renaissance Faire was founded in 1972 by Richard Shapiro and his wife Bonnie Jo as "King Richard's Faire". It started as a four-weekend fair and drew 10,000 people. Initially it was generically historic, in a popular sort of way, but through the 1970s and 1980s nonhistorical fantasy-based elements steadily increased, with trolls, satyrs, and many Tolkien-inspired features, such as a Hobbit hole, Sindarin-speaking elves, and wizard battles. In 1989 the Shapiros sold the fair to Renaissance Entertainment Corporation and the fair re-opened as the Bristol Renaissance Faire, with a much more strictly historical approach.

With the new ownership and overhaul, the fantasy elements were banished. The reigning monarch became Queen Elizabeth I rather than the fictional "King Richard", and the year was set at 1574. Costumery became more focused and authentic, and a serious attempt at historicity was made. At that time the fair lasted seven weekends and drew over 400,000 visitors. ["Renaissance Magazine", Vol. 2, #1, Issue #5, Spring 1997] In recent years, although a few fantasy elements have returned, such as Shakespearean wood sprites patrolling the grounds, the Bristol Renaissance Faire has remained committed to historical authenticity [ according to the Chicago Heights "Star" at [http://www.starnewspapers.com/chicagoheights/entertainment/519899,231fl1.article "Bristol Renaissance Faire for more than kings, queens"] on August 23, 2007] .

Interesting Bits

The "Renaissance Faire's Mud Show" is led by Rush Pearson, who while at Northwestern University was leader of the Practical Theater Company, which also included Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Gary Kroeger. [Neil Steinberg, "Out of Time, Nearly: 'Hail to Purple, Hail to White ...'", Chicago Sun-Times, Wednesday, August 15th, 2007, page 23]

After the sudden loss of ownership in 1989, Richard Shapiro founded a new "King Richard's Faire" in Massachusetts. The Shapiros prefer a less historical, more fantasy and pop-culture approach. Bonnie Jo Shapiro has said, “We were so authentic back then it was almost painful. Clearly this is an entertainment vehicle.” [("King Richard’s Faire brings a Renaissance revival" at [http://www.projo.com/lifebeat/content/wk-faire_08-30-07_AK6TPA5.19db2cf.html projo.com, the Providence Journal online, August 30, 2007] )] .

Jayne the Foole, The Bristol Renaissance Faire's own street foole, played by Ann Elizabeth Shapera, was recently honored by Milwaukee, Wisconsin as that city's official town fool. This makes Jayne the Foole the only official state sponsored fool in America. A fun fact.

References

Further reading

*
*

External links

* [http://www.renfair.com/bristol/ BRF's official web site]