Renaissance era returns to park at annual fair

Boulder City will transform into Camelot as the town revels in its 10th annual Renaissance Faire this weekend at Veterans Memorial Park.

The weekend celebration, which runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, will feature several guilds and live entertainment that celebrate the life and times of the Renaissance era.

From the bulky gowns to the large turkey legs, festival goers will experience a 15th-century lifestyle without being forced into the time period’s most heinous forms of torture.

An addition to this year’s festival will be the Knights of Mayhem, a live jousting company based out of Salt Lake City that travels across the country to perform at different fairs.

According to company spokeswoman Jane Rooney, Knights of Mayhem will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Each performance is expected to last about an hour.

“It usually causes an enormous amount of attention. It’s definitely a crowd magnet,” Rooney said. “When those horses come thundering down at each other, you want to know what’s going on.”

Rooney said all three riders performing weigh at least 200 pounds and wear an additional 150 pounds of armor. Including the 1,800-pound horses they ride while jousting, the result is an impact of more than 4,000 pounds.

No performance is scripted, she added, and riders use an 11-foot long lance during each joust.

“It’s noisy, and it’s a spectacle,” she said.

Boulder City High School teacher Cathy Strachan said the Renaissance Faire serves as an exciting history lesson for the students. Boulder City High sophomores are studying the Renaissance in their English classes and must complete a research project on the period.

“I enjoy seeing it light up in their eyes. They can’t wait,” Strachan said.

With Strachan’s leadership, the festival is put on by Boulder City High’s Future Business Leaders of America, and helps raises funds for its competitions.

There also will be a March of Dimes jail for charity, where festival goers can put their friends in jail for $1.

About 10 guilds are expected to be on hand, with visitors able to see and interact with pirates, an Italian guild, an Elizabethan guild, and a Gypsy guild. Food and entertainment of the era will be available, including Celtic rock, belly dancers and turkey legs.

Single-day tickets cost $10 for adults, $6 for students, veterans and current military members, and free for children younger than 4.

For more information, go to www.bcrenfaire.org.

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.