A Renaissance Faire is a unique phenomenon, one that one truly has to experience to understand.
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First, understand that most Faires are English Renaissance Faires.
The English Renaissance is usually associated with the rule of Queen Elizabeth, second daughter of King Henry VIII, though faires may play around with that date a little.
So with that in mind, imagine after walking through the main entrance of a Renaissance Faire, that you have been magically transported back to the 1500’s. Kings and Queens ruled the known world, Dukes and Duchesses held power over vast swaths of land, and the lives of the common people were, well, common.
The New Jersey Renaissance Faire was conceived in 2009 by T.J. Miller, John Williams and Phil Leipf.
Crossford is a village like any other in the English countryside in the 1500’s. Situated in the Duchy of Northumberland, Crossford is a shire that is a jewel in the cap of the noble Duke of Northumberland. Her fields are rich and her citizens filled with merriment and love of crown and country.
Most of the year, Crossford is truly like any good English town, but at those magical times of the year, the solstices and the equinox, the magic of the ancient woods that loom over Crossford come to life.
Those fey woodlands are a link, a portal to different times and Crossford sits on ley lines that make her a destination for visitors out of time who come to Crossford to solve some dilemma in their lives.
This year’s storyline: Return to 1570 AD in Crossford, as King Arthur’s nephew Gawain is en route to the Green Chapel. He has played a very dangerous game with the infamous Green Knight, a game destined to conclude at the sharp end of an axe.
However, when Gawain inadvertently ends up in Crossford alongside new foes and old friends, he faces an unexpected choice.
Will he remain safe outside of time and avoid a grisly fate? Will he discover what knightly honors and continue to uphold his promise to the Green Knight?
In the Faire village you will find all types of inhabitants, including merchants (lots of them!), entertainers, shopkeepers, sheriffs, idiots, gravediggers, etc.,young, elderly, and everything in between. They are dressed, of course, in handmade period clothing and don’t be alarmed if they are carrying a sword or miscellaneous weapon on their side.
Meet us in Crossford on May 27 to 29 and find out.
The place: Burlington County Fairgrounds, 1990 Jacksonville Jobstown Rd, Columbus, NJ 08022 ■