Free Fun in October: Enjoy a Weekend at the Alabama State Renaissance Faire

Can I get a 'Huzzah', my lords and ladies? The Alabama Renaissance Faire takes place every fourth weekend in October, and, for the north Alabama area, it is THE event of the Fall for most fans of history, fantasy, and fun. The Renaissance Faire takes place in Florence, Alabama, named after Florence, Italy, where the European Renaissance found its roots. The Faire is always located at Wilson Park, commonly referred to as Fountain on the Green. Surrounding Wilson Park is the city library, The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, and the beginnings of downtown Florence.

The Faire developed in Florence in 1987 and has since then grown into a tourist attraction that draws in between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors to the city every year. The fourth Saturday and Sunday in October, you can expect to see cars lined down the downtown area and packed into the parking lots of shops and Churches. Music will be in the air, most definitely, as well as the sound of a "Hear ye, Hear ye!" You'll pass a tall tent where a troop of bellydancers, dripping ornamentation, dance to exotic music and sell their wares to the crowd. You'll see flute players and a burly executioner, a happily married troll (his skin a new color every year) and his darkly garbed, hat-making lady. Jewelry and chainmail will be abundant, as well figurines and swords and any garb worth wearing to a Renaissance Fair. Buy art and homemade soaps and scents. Purchase wooden toys, and you might even go home with adoption papers for one of the retired greyhounds present at the Faire.

Guests will be darned with garb representative of the 12^th through 16^th centuries. Knights will pass pirates and Elizabethan queens will march beside wenches. Fantasy creatures, which come straight from the myths and fairy tales of the times, will walk amongst the visitors: fairies, elves, woodland creatures, and dark, frightening gothic beasts. Even a few four-legged friends will find themselves dressed as dragons and unicorns during the Faire.

The entertainers are many, from a local theater group from the city school performing Shakespearean scenes to fire breathers, from dancers to jesters. Stay to watch the chess tournament and see the winners of the student art contest for the public schools of the area. Be blessed by an enchanted statue or have your dreams interpreted by kind Christians. Visit a heckling soothsayer or pose with a silent knight. March with the garbed King or Queen's party as they greet the Faire. Watch the fun performance given when the King or Queen of the past year is kicked off of their throne and a new leader is crowned.

Don't forget to get a bite to eat at the Faire! What's a trip around the grounds without a giant turkey leg in hand? And if the carnival-like eats and drinks aren't your style, walk downtown to one of Florence's restaurants, like the steakhouse Legends, where you can see pictures of Florence's historic timeline, or the treasured little diner Trowbridges, where you can taste their famous orange pineapple ice cream.

Before the Faire begins, there's Renaissance fun to be had throughout the month of October. Visit this site for a schedule of pre-Faire events: http://www.alarenfaire.org/Schedule%20of%20events.htm .

The city offers free costume workshops during the first two weekends of the month for those who might need a little help with their garb. Contests take over the public school system and movies about the Renaissance air at the local library. Also, during the middle of the month, the Renaissance Banquet is held for Lords and Ladies in need of both dinner and a show. However, this is one event that's not free.

For more information on the Renaissance Faire visit these sites: http://www.alarenfaire.org/ or http://www.renaissancefairepictorial.com/bama/al08/al08.html

For more information on Faires closer to your location, visit these sites:

http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/state_faire_info/USMap.htm

http://www.renfaire.com/