Alabama Renaissance Faire
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First held in 1987, the official Alabama Renaissance Faire in Florence, Lauderdale County, has developed into a major tourist event in northwest Alabama. Regularly named one of the top 20 fall events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourist Society in Atlanta, the event is held on the fourth Saturday and Sunday in October in Wilson Park (renamed Fountain-on-the-Green for the two days of the fair) and draws as many as 35,000 people.
Renaissance Faire InstrumentalistsThe Renaissance Faire is planned and executed by an all-volunteer group known as the Roundtable, which includes a board of
directors composed of 18 people who serve three-year terms and who meet quarterly to guide the overall planning and to set
policy. The Roundtable, which has no set limit for members, executes the plans and stages the Renaissance Faire each year.
The event is financed primarily through the fees that vendors pay for space. Any profits are added to the organization's treasury.
The City of Florence contributes to the event through the provision of liability coverage and overnight security for the weekend
and by waiving the fee for the use of the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum. The city of Florence also declares October Renaissance
Month each year.
The fair's yearly cycle begins in the spring, with an annual statewide poster contest. Entries from across Alabama are submitted,
with the artist of the winning entry receiving $500. The image is then used to promote the fair 
Young Fair Visitorthroughout the year on posters, tee shirts, and other products. A number of other events take place during the weeks before
the fair. Renaissance-related musical programs, public lectures, dramatic performances, art exhibits, and dance programs are
held. One of the major events is an authentic Renaissance Feast, held on Saturday evening a week before the start of the fair
in the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum. The event, which features authentic food and entertainment of the period, provides attendees
with the opportunity to follow the customs of the Renaissance period by bringing their own tablecloth, candelabra, and eating
utensils, a practice common among the nobility so that they could flaunt their wealth.
A primary goal of the fair is to educate visitors about the Renaissance period, and organizers include a number of activities to encourage the involvement of students. Among them are an annual art contest for students in grades K-6, which requires subject matter related to the period, and a yearly sonnet-writing contest for students in grades 7-12 to commemorate the invention of the sonnet by Renaissance poet Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca). Chess tournaments are held at all grade levels in area schools, with winners of these tournaments competing in playoffs at the fair.
A free costume-making workshop is held on the second Saturday in October at the local Kennedy-Douglass Art Center, which is
located directly across the street from the fair site. Attendees are invited to provide fabric that is then measured, cut,
and sewn by event volunteers. This event allows a large number of people to attend 
Trolling the Renaissance Fairethe fair in costume.
The two-day fair itself features dancers, musicians playing period instruments and singing Renaissance ballads, sword fighters, jugglers, jesters, a troll, a theater troupe, a children's play area, and the coronation of the new year's ruling "monarch," determined by who gets a coin in a cake served at the feast. Period food, including breads and pastries, and souvenirs, such as costumes, mugs, baskets, hand-crafted chainmail, and swords, can be purchased as well.
Billy R. Warren
Florence, Alabama
Published November 9, 2009
Last updated March 18, 2010
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