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October Issue 2006
Carolina Renaissance Festival Opens Its 13th Season in Huntersville, NC, on Oct. 7, 2006
When you escape to the Carolina Renaissance Festival, in Huntersville, NC, a big dose of cheer is to be expected. The annual festival, opening its 13th season on Oct. 7, 2006, has always been about leaving your modern-day cares behind and having fun roaming the 20-acre playground populated with pirates and nobles, artisans and knights; just a few of the hundreds of costumed revelers who immerse you into this annual extravaganza of comedy, music, crafts and food.
Merchant shops, food vendors, countryside fair games and rides, all line the open-air pathways of the festival's market village of Fairhaven. The 10 stages of non-stop entertainment and three times daily spectacle of armored, mounted knights bashing into each other with lances (in good fun - mind you), are part and parcel of the festival day.
In addition to the shows, music, crafts, and the wonder of getting lost in another time, people visit the Carolina Renaissance Festival for the food - you could eat your way around the festival. There is Steak-on-a-Stake, Bread Bowl Stews, honey roasted almonds, cakes and pastries. Since the very beginning there have been standout favorites and chief among them is chomping on a giant roasted turkey "legge". New items on the King's Kitchen menu this year include fresh scooped Italian Ice, and dessert and entree Crepes. Ale, wine, and soft drinks compliment the feast.
And along with the many returning favorites there are always new entertainments on the festival stages and lanes. Look for Monty Python meets The Flying Nun with the reverently irreverent musical comedy of "Hey Nunnie Nunnie!". Mother Redempta and Sister Philomenia have come to the festival village to provide seriously silly counsel to amuse your heart and soul. And catch the medieval roll and rock of "The Lost Boys" as they join the merry making cast of characters for a full season of 15th century boy band fun.
In addition to the numerous performers on stage and roaming the grounds, the Faire also features an extensive array of vendors, selling everything from children's fairy costumes to hand-thrown pottery and hand-blown glass.
There are plenty of activities for children; from people powered amusement rides to countryside fair games. And there's face painting, climbing the castle wall, ax-throwing, knife-throwing, archery, Vegetable Justice - tomato tossing at a fool, and more!
For visitor convenience, the Festival has embraced modern times. In addition to purchasing advanced discount tickets at Harris Teeter stores region-wide, Festival goers can now print their own discount tickets in advance online at (www.RenFestInfo.com).
The Carolina Renaissance Festival is held on weekends, Sat. and Sun., from Oct. 7 through Nov. 19, 2006.
For more event information, call, toll free;
877/896-5544, or on the web at (www.RenFestInfo.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
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Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
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