First Annual Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival
Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Faire Returns To Ardenwood Historic Farms
San Francisco, CA, June, 2010 – A visit to Ardenwood is a journey back to the time of the Patterson Ranch – a prosperous, 19th-century country estate including a beautiful mansion and its elaborate Victorian Gardens. But on September 11th and 12th the Historic Farm will take you back further yet, to the time and place after which it was named. Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Faire will open for a full weekend of fun and frolic and transport visitors to a country fair in late-1500s England where the rising young star of London’s theatre scene, William Shakespeare, faces a scourge like no other: a paralyzing bout of writer’s block.
This year’s theme for the Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival will be Shakespeare’s Muse. Ardenwood Historic Farms will be transformed to a delightful Elizabethan town filled with the myriad characters and vignettes resembling those of Shakespeare’s plays we so dearly love. Their stories will make their way into his plays and into our hearts. And you will be there to witness it all. George Washington Patterson, inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, in 1857 called his estate, “Ardenwood”, after the Forest of Arden mentioned in Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It.
“If you love Shakespeare and Ren Faire, you will love this show.” said Marti Miernik, Producer of the Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Faire. “Parents wishing to introduce their children and teens to both history and to Shakespeare can’t go wrong by bringing them to this very special event. We are known for making the Bard’s works accessible and understandable to modern-day audiences, whether they are Shakespeare aficionados or experiencing his works and influence for the first time.”
Over 900 costumed entertainers and over 100 shopkeepers and artisans will add to the ambience of the Faire. This year we have a special treat for the patrons, a Joust to add the magic, splendor and showmanship. The Knights will offer the most authentic, exciting and entertaining Joust show. The faire will feature three stages of continuous entertainment, Queen Elizabeth’s court, Shakespearian plays and vignettes, expertly staged battle scenes and theatrical performances, lively crafts marketplace, storytelling for children and adults, dancing, archery tournaments and much more. There will be merchants selling a wide array of arts and craft including one of a kind jewelry items, woodcrafts, artwork, ceramics, clothing, hats, accessories and historic weapons.
The Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival will be held September 11-12, 2010. Grounds will be open 10-6 on Saturday s and 10-5 Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults, $13 for seniors, military, and ages 13-17, and $8 for children 3-12. More information can be found at http://www.ardenwoodfaire.com/
