by Nan Keltie

Created on: February 07, 2009   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Why not take a step back in time and attend the South's popular Renaissance Faire? The setting: Florence, Alabama's lovely Wilson Park which is renamed Fountain-on-the-Green for this event. The backdrop: nature's own colorful autumn theme with blue skies and balmy weather.

Every October, on the last Saturday and Sunday of the month, the city of Florence, Alabama comes alive in the spirit of the Renaissance era. The popular two-day event draws up to 40,000 visitors and is noted as one of the top-20 sites in the Southeast.

Park your car and mingle with colorful jesters in tights and face paint. Their juggling skills will astound you. Hear period-style minstrels, who wander the lawns with their pipes and lutes. Their music sets the tone for a Renaissance experience you'll never forget.

Around the fringes of the park, vendors hawk wares from booths where you can find just about anything - including food, jewelry, arts and crafts - also in tune with the era. You'll think you've turned down a lane and discovered an open-air market of the period.

Be sure to grab your camera when various knights, wearing full coats of mail, begin jousting on the lawn. Forming a tight circle around them are ladies in regale gowns and other onlookers who wear the earthy, plainer garb of townsfolk from that era. A collective sigh goes up when their favorite knight goes down.

The main highlight, however, is the final wrap-up of the event: the popular Renaissance Feast. According to the faire's official website, the event is held in "a very-baronial hall" and is complete with food and entertainment that hark back to the Renaissance period. Guests often bring their own tablecloth, candelabra and tableware (as Renaissance guests did when attending a feast), but they are not required to do so.

Visitors to the Renaissance Faire are encouraged to dress for the occasion and are even assisted if they wish to do so. The first two Saturdays of October, the Renaissance Faire hosts a costume-making class at the Kennedy Douglass Arts Center in Florence. Anyone wishing to attend the event in period dress is welcome to bring their choice of fabric - in either royal or simple hues - and local seamstresses will sew their costume while they wait.

Other preparatory events include musical programs, public lectures, dramatic performances, art exhibits and dance programs. All of these are of the highest quality and serve to set the mood for the upcoming Renaissance Faire*.

Renaissance Month (October) has been officially designated by the local government in Florence, Alabama. Brochures which promote Florence as the "Renaissance City" have been published and are widely-circulated throughout the region.

Begun in 1987, the Renaissance Faire has developed into a major tourist event and has been named one of the top 20 sites in the Southeast. It's a step back in time you and your family won't want to miss.

* information - http://www.alarenfaire.org/

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