Michigan Renaissance Festival
Encyclopedia
The Michigan Renaissance Festival (MIRF) is a Renaissance fair
, an interactive outdoor event that focuses on recreating the look and feel of a fictional English village called Hollygrove
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the latter half of the 16th Century. A large number of patrons also regularly attend the festival in costume further fleshing out the streets with nobles, pirates, Vikings, wizards, rogues, wenches, and an assortment of fantasy characters. The festival also includes many nationally known Renaissance festival stage acts, juggling
shows, sword fighting shows, lane acts, a two-hour feast performed twice daily, three full contact joust shows performed daily, and activities and games for children of all ages. The festival is owned by Mid-America Festivals.
The 2008 film All's Faire in Love
was filmed at the Michigan Renaissance Festival
, part in Groveland Township, Michigan
, and to honor this the fictional village's name was changed to "Hollygrove". Permanent structures and stages have been built over the years and the festival has been expanded steadily to accommodate an estimated annual attendance of 250,000 people.
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
, an interactive outdoor event that focuses on recreating the look and feel of a fictional English village called Hollygrove
Hollygrove
Hollygrove may refer to:*Hollygrove, County Galway, Ireland*Hollygrove, New Orleans*Hollygrove, the fictional English village of the Michigan Renaissance Festival...
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the latter half of the 16th Century. A large number of patrons also regularly attend the festival in costume further fleshing out the streets with nobles, pirates, Vikings, wizards, rogues, wenches, and an assortment of fantasy characters. The festival also includes many nationally known Renaissance festival stage acts, juggling
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
shows, sword fighting shows, lane acts, a two-hour feast performed twice daily, three full contact joust shows performed daily, and activities and games for children of all ages. The festival is owned by Mid-America Festivals.
The 2008 film All's Faire in Love
All's Faire in Love
All Faire in Love is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Scott Marshall and written by R. A. White and Jeffrey Ray Wine. The film stars Owen Benjamin as Will, a college student who is assigned to work at a renaissance fair by his professor after missing several classes, and Christina...
was filmed at the Michigan Renaissance Festival
History
The festival began operation in 1979 on grounds adjacent to the Colombiere Center in Clarkston, near the junction of I-75 and Dixie Highway. In 1985, organizers moved the festival to 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of property between I-75 and Dixie Highway, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Mount Holly Ski Resort. Roughly 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) have been developed so far for the actual festival site with 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of that within the "village" walls and accessible to patrons. The property is accessible to patrons only from Dixie Highway, and includes two large parking areas, two lakes (Horton Lake and Walton Lake), and wetlands. The property is part in Holly Township, MichiganHolly Township, Michigan
Holly Township is a civil township of north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,362 at the 2010 census.- Communities :* The village of Holly is located within the township....
, part in Groveland Township, Michigan
Groveland Township, Michigan
Groveland Township is a civil township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,476 at the 2010 census.- Communities :...
, and to honor this the fictional village's name was changed to "Hollygrove". Permanent structures and stages have been built over the years and the festival has been expanded steadily to accommodate an estimated annual attendance of 250,000 people.
See also
- Renaissance fairRenaissance FairA Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
- List of Renaissance fairs
- Reenactment
- JoustingJoustingJousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
- List of open air and living history museums in the United States