Archive for January, 2012

I have received a few emails regarding our San Jose events and a bit of a confusion that has arisen. Renaissance Productions will be producing two separate events this year in San Jose (at the same location as we were for the Faire last August).

Starting in April, we will hold our first ever fantasy themed event. Then in August will be the second San Jose event which is the 2nd annual San Jose Renaissance Faire. The City of San Jose and its downtown parks present an amazing opportunity for us to create high caliber events and as interests in fantasy themes and renaissance history both still run high (and the audience while having a large amount of overlap, also reaches towards differing crowds as well), we’re using this opportunity to explore the Fantasy genre and to create the first of a series of annual events that we can all be proud of.

We decided that developing separate fantasy and renaissance themes was the right approach, giving our audience shows with the right advertising messages and appropriate entertainment, vendors, and time periods. We also wanted to maintain the atmosphere that we’ve created for our Renaissance Faires, but there’s also been the challenge of there being fewer theme-appropriate entertainment available for the younger audience that would keep the kids enthusiastic and engaged for long periods of time. In part that’s why you’ve seen a few fantasy characters running a muck at our shows, entertaining the youngsters while their parents partake of our other shows. But as much as I love these characters, and they will remain welcome at our Ren Faires, we didn’t want to go further down the path of co-mingling Fantasy and Ren. So we wanted to create an environment where Fantasy could have an outlet to really shine and expand.

We all love fantasy and with its myriad worlds of stories, settings, eras, and mythos. Having a venue where you can bring out your inner fairy, witch, ogre, gremlin, prince or princes, medieval to Victorian, ancient peasants to airship steampunk captains. The April San Jose Fantasy Festival will cater to those who want to wear their tails and horns, play more mischievously, or more sweetly depending on their audience and tastes.

We’re very excited to help draw on our cumulative imagination to bring to the Bay Area, and to the City of San Jose these two wonderful shows. First a spectacular magical show where spirits and dreams mingle together with humans in a spectacular fantasy environment, followed by a larger Renaissance Faire filled with the 16th century pomp and circumstance of the era.

Looking forward to having you there….

Marti & Bill

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