The end is near for the Renaissance — barely a week away in fact.
We’re not talking about the historic heyday of the Medicis and Michaelangelo. We’re talking about the Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, Mich., which has been drawing crowds every weekend since Aug. 20 who come to rub elbows with lords, ladies, knights, knaves, and other faux vestiges of the middle ages.
It all ends for the year on Oct. 2, when the last minstrel has strolled, the last joust has been staged, and the last turkey leg consumed with a tankard of beer.
These are the waning days for the 38th running of the festival, which averages 22,000 people each weekend day and will tally more than a quarter-million people by festival’s end, said marketing manager Kim Heidger.
PHOTO GALLERY: Michigan Renaissance Festival
She said an entertainment director schedules the 17 stages spread across 17 acres but “the stage acts are pretty self-sufficient.”
Ms. Heidger said the event is constantly “beefing up” existing events and adding new ones to fuel interest in the fair. It’s “getting a lot more into the fantasy realm,” she said, even adding steampunk events a few years ago and a Dr. Who costume contest this year. And it goes without saying there’s a throne of swords from Game of Thrones.
The weekend warriors who work at the festival and tourist hordes stepping back into the 17th-century span all ages.
“It gives people the chance to come out and feel ... like they’re somewhere else; it’s an escape for a lot of people,” said Ms. Heidger.
Consider Matthew Coffer of Dayton, who has been coming to the fair for all 38 seasons. As a youth, he would play a small peasant boy and beg fairgoers to buy items from his mother’s shop so they could eat. He added, “It almost beats playing [World of Warcraft].”
Admission to the Michigan Renaissance Fair is $10 for dogs (they must be older than six months, on leashes, and have proof of vaccination), $11.50 for children ages 5 to 12, and $19.95 for adults. For more information, visit michrenfest.com.
If you miss this year’s time warp, don’t fret. They’ll be doing it all again come August.