The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is back with new features and old favorites that take visitors on a journey into the past.
“Last year was great,” said Susan Treadwell, the festival’s site director and craft coordinator.
The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival began in the mid-1990s at the Butler County Fairgrounds and moved to its current location in West Newton around 1997.
Since then, the festival has attracted around 90,000 people, averaging about 7,000 each day, depending on the weather and what attractions are on offer on a particular weekend.
“Some weekends are more popular than others,” said Treadwell.
She said last year’s attendance was particularly large as people returned to the festival after it was closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Everybody was tired of being confined,” she said, adding that due to COVID-19, the festival started later than usual, taking place over weekends in September and October.
This year the festival will run as usual every Saturday and Sunday from August 20th to September 25th and Labor Day.
According to Treadwell, this year’s festival will feature new and exciting entertainment, with harpist Sarah Mullen playing beautiful melodies from around the world and through the ages. A wire squire performing death-defying feats above the crowd. Rose and Sawney, a duo that sings vulgar songs and does comedy. Thunder’s Power Show by stunt and circus comedy and a cappella music group Chaste Treasure.
Coming back is a popular act with spectators coming back to watch like combat jousting. The Craic Show, a medieval world music group. Angels, a Renaissance variety act. The Washing Well Wenches, a group of quirky, wonderful and funny laundress women. Lady Amiella is a hypnotist who makes patrons run through their inner minds. Duelists unfold sword fights that combine wit and comedy. Dragonfire, the Guinness World Record holder for fire manipulation.
“And then there’s the recurring cast of characters: kings, queens, peasants, villagers,” Treadwell said, referring to about 100 locals and merchants who sell everything from cloaks and herbs to artwork and pottery. He added that there are also craftsmen from all over the country.
“This is not something you find at a flea market,” she said.
Each weekend during the festival has a different theme. Children’s Weekend, September 3rd, 4th and 5th. Wine Festival, September 10th and 11th. Pirate Invasion Weekend on September 18th and 19th and Love and Romance Weekend on September 24th and 25th.
Treadwell said another joy of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is the patrons themselves.
“We call them ‘playtrons’ because they play together,” she said, adding that many playtrons dress up and wait all year to come to the festival. . Their time has come. They are part of this festival. ”
Admission is $25 for adults, $12 for children ages 5-12, and free for children under 5.
.
Comments
Post a Comment