CEDAR CITY, Utah -- One of the nation’s longest running renaissance fairs is currently underway at Main Street Park.
The Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire brings vendors and performers to southern Utah, and they say there’s just something about taking a step back in time.
People from all over the country come to perform at the annual event. Everything from juggling, street performing, and even fire eating can be seen amid the canvas tents that line the park. Directors said it takes about a year to plan, and attendees said it’s an event they look forward to all year.
“You can see what it was like back then,” Cedar City resident Jerry Lewis said. “The music, the diversity of stuff. I love it, all the old school stuff.”
The week-long fair is designed to take attendees back to a time of awakening, when mutton was the main dish and breathing fire was magic. Some take it more seriously than others, staying in character with elaborate costumes, but attendees say it’s always a good time.
“I love just coming and seeing all the different things,” Cedar City resident Connie Seegmiller said. “It’s different than the normal stuff you see.”
At the end of the day, the renaissance fair is a place to come and have fun, but organizers said in between that fun, there’s a lesson to be learned. It was a much simpler time. And some of the basic lessons learned during that era laid the groundwork for what we still learn today.
“I think in a lot of ways we’re still in a renaissance where we’re trying new things,” Renaissance Faire board member Rick Bryant said. “We try and bring a little bit of that here to the renaissance fair.”
The Renaissance Faire board has been putting on the event since the 1980s, now in its 32nd year the event has grown and has become a tradition. Stephen Govedich is part of the Empire of Chivalry and Steel, a renaissance group that travels to different fairs. He said the goal is to try and preserve some of the pioneering spirit that came from that era.
“We don’t realize that some very intricate and beautiful things were produced during that period,” Govedich said.
The Utah MidSummer Renaissance Faire runs through Saturday. More information can be found on their website.
