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Dextre Tripp

Carolina Renaissance Festival press release

The Carolina Renaissance Festival will return next month for a 15th year at its home off N.C. 73 and Poplar Tent Road in Huntersville. The entertainment, feasting and games will run Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 4 to Nov. 16.

At the Carolina Renaissance Festival, the entire 22-acre kingdom forms the set for comic adventures, in which you can be both audience and part of the fun. With a cast of over 500 costumed characters, the festival is like a Monty Python movie come to life.

Festival fans can leave their cares behind and enjoy the pleasures of a simpler time in a storybook town where you can choose from continuous music, dance and comedy shows, shop for wonderful arts and crafts; plus games, rides and a feast of exotic food and drink.

You can throw tomatoes at the insulting fools locked in the stocks at Vegetable Justice. Cheer for your favorite mounted knights (or pirate) at three jousting tournaments each day. Or test your skill at games like the Dragon Climbing Tower, the Archery Range and the Maze.

In the festival’s vast 16th century European village, an expected 160,000 revelers will find shows on 10 stages of continuous entertainment, including fan favorites back for the anniversary celebration: The sharp wit of the Ded Bob Show, all three Tortuga Twins, Zilch the Torysteller, the dangerous balancing theatrics of Dextre Tripp, the dashing swordsman Don Juan and his zany servant Miguel, birds of prey demonstrations, and hundreds of minstrels, dancers, jugglers and jesters.

NEW THIS YEAR

New entertainment this year includes:

• Cast in Bronze – America’s rare traveling carillon. Weighing over 13 tons, this unique musical instrument features 48 bronze bells. It is the only musical act of its kind in the world.
• Hither, Dither, & Yon – This musical trio of maidens will tickle your fancy and your funny bone. You’ll laugh then you’ll laugh harder; a lot of naughty, a little nice, the perfect mix of sugar and spice!

Families will enjoy the Queen and Her Court (where kids can be knighted by royalty), Mother and Father Goose brought to life with their costumed flock, rides on the people-powered Da Vinci’s Flying Machine, Christopher Columbus’ Voyage to the New World, the Slider Joust, and the Piccolo Pony (a rocking horse bigger than an elephant).

The food is as spectacular as the entertainment. Festival kitchens cook up an endless feast of Scotch eggs, potato pancakes, bread bowl stews, steak-on-a-stake, gourmet sausages, and the festival’s famous giant roasted turkey legs.

For dessert, try the fresh crepes, the cakes and cookies from the Monks Bakery, candy
delights from the Chocolate Shoppe, and a favorite of all renaissance wanderers: a bag of cinnamon-roasted almonds.

Festival pubs offer soft drinks, beer, wine, champagne, ale, and Medieval Margaritas. You can also book the Village Haven for group parties and wedding ceremonies.

GROWTH SINCE 1994

When the Carolina Renaissance Festival was introduced to the Charlotte area in 1994, the shows took place on three stages amid six acres of village attractions. Now 15 years later, the event has grown to become one of the largest renaissance festivals in the country.

The Village of Fairhaven is now spread over 22 acres with its 10 stages of non-stop
entertainment, a tournament arena for jousting, an open-air market with 100 artisan
shops, kitchens and pubs, games of skill and the people-powered rides.

Have more fun than you thought possible in a single day at the Carolina Renaissance
Festival.

For visitor convenience, the Festival has embraced modern times. In addition to
purchasing advanced discount tickets at Harris Teeter stores region-wide, Festival goers
can now print their own discount tickets in advance online at RenFestInfo.com.

WANT TO GO?

What: The 15th annual Carolina Renaissance Festival.
Where: North of Charlotte between Concord and Huntersville. The Festival is located on N.C. 73 at Poplar Tent Road (between I-77 and I-85).
When: Seven consecutive weekends (Saturday and Sunday) from Oct. 4-Nov. 16. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., rain or shine.
Advance Discount Tickets: $17 for adults, $6 for kids ages 5-12; print your own discount tickets on-line at RenFestInfo.com or available at Harris Teeter Stores region wide. Children under 5 are always free. Tickets purchased at the gate are $1 more. Senior discount tickets (60 and over) are $16 at the gate. Parking is free courtesy of Harris Teeter.
Information: On line at RenFestInfo.com, or call 704-896-5544.

Filed under: Davidson Events, Davidson arts scene, Huntersville, kids