Renaissance festivals are theme parks that recreate the culture of Europe in the 14th-17th centuries, featuring archaic costumes, architecture, and speech patterns, as well as handmade arts and crafts and live entertainment. The first festival was held in California in 1962 and has since spawned many commercial imitators. Attendees are encouraged to adopt archaic ways of dressing and speaking, and many fairs are based on Elizabethan England or have broader historical and geographical themes. Renaissance festivals are often weekend-only events and have become a subculture in the United States, often related to science fiction and fantasy. Similar historical recreation parks exist around the world.
A Renaissance festival is a theme park based on the culture of Europe in the 14th-17th centuries, the historical era known as the Renaissance. Participants in these festivals attempt to recreate the atmosphere of this earlier period with archaic costumes, architecture and speech patterns. These festivals, sometimes called Renaissance Fairs or Fairs, also showcase handmade arts and crafts and live entertainment. They are part of a larger trend of reenactment events and parks around the world. A Renaissance Festival is a seasonal outdoor event; fairs are often located on the outskirts of large cities.
The Renaissance was a period of high cultural and scientific progress on the European continent. The era has been the subject of intense fascination in subsequent centuries, especially for those with interests in history, art or the social sciences. The first Renaissance festival was held in California in 1962. Initially an educational endeavor similar to “living history” exhibits, the successful festival has spawned many commercial imitators in the intervening years. In the late 1980s, there were nearly 200 large and small Renaissance festivals in the United States, Canada and other countries.
Each Renaissance festival is an independent entity and procedures vary according to the event. In general, however, attendees are strongly encouraged to adopt archaic ways of dressing and speaking and pretending to be ignorant of modern conveniences. This explains the Middle English spelling of the word “faire,” which has become a common shorthand for Renaissance festivals among attendees and fans. Many fairs are based on Elizabethan England, the era of writer William Shakespeare. Others have broader historical and geographical themes, ranging from the Roman Empire to the Victorian era of Charles Dickens.
In the United States, Renaissance fairs are often weekend-only events, like many theme parks; they can last from two days to nine weeks. Many artisans, artists and support staff travel from one Renaissance festival to another; these workers extravagantly refer to themselves as “Rennies”. Several fairs have built up an avid fan following, with visitors returning year after year, often dressed in period clothing. In the United States, the Renaissance festival has become a subculture, often related to science fiction and fantasy. This subculture has been spoofed in movies and TV series like The Simpsons, Family Guy and The Big Bang Theory.
Historical recreation parks are popular attractions around the world. Many of them follow the model of ‘living history’ exhibitions, in which a historic site or era is recreated to offer modern visitors a unique insight into the past. Similar activities include reenactments of the American Civil War and other famous conflicts. Some European festivals have imitated the American version of the Renaissance festival. Like those in the United States, these events combine a theme park with an arts and crafts fair and don’t always prioritize historical veracity.
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