Pitsburgh Renaissance Faire
San Francisco Renaissance Faire
Modesto Renaissance Faire
RSA - Mary Stuart theme
Renaissance Productions produces some of the BEST themed events in California, Nevada, Washington, and beyond. The repertoire of our shows includes Renaissance Faires, Pirate Festivals, Celtic Festivals, the Renaissance Symposium, and soon we will also move into the world of fandom with the introduction of our first themed conventions.
Just a few of the Services we offer:
Valhalla Renaissance Faire June 2/3 & 9/10
San Jose Renaissance Faire August 4/5
Ardenwood Renaissance Faire September 8/9
Folsom Renaissance Faire October 20/21
San Jose, California:
San Jose Fantasy Faire April 14-15
South lake Tahoe, California:
Fremont, California:
Folsom, California:
Sonora Celtic Festival
Washington Renaissance Faire
Sutter Creek Italian Festival
Shasta Celtic Renaissance Faire
Willits Renaissance Faire
International Jousting Champtionships
Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire
Golden Gate Renaissance Faire
Livermore Scottish Games
The Annual RSA Conference - Mary Stuart theme
Marti Miernik, Managing Partner / CEO
Event Production, Public Relations, Marketing, Guild & Talent Coordination, Event Management, Costume Director
Marti's involvement in Renaissance faires and Celtic events spans 17 years. She had a hand in production and management of numerous successful events including those in San Francisco, Redding, Pittsburgh, Pleasanton, San Jose, Calaveras, Sonora, and San Diego and others. She ran a series of very successful guilds including St. Mariens and Royal While Eagle. As a talent scout she regularly casts new cast to enhance the faire experience. As a talented costumer she also manages costuming direction of the Renaissance Production events and teaches at faires through the newest guild, The Needle's Eye. She is also known for the portrayal of the roles of Her Royal Majesty Mary Stuart and Her Highness Marta Von Mier Jagiellonska at faires throughout the west coast.
Bill Watters, Managing Partner / President
Event Production, Contract Negotiation, Stage Act Management, Site Management & Layout
Bill has more than 20 years experience in Renaissance-themed events. He is especially well known for his ability to coordinate exceptional battle pageants and ability to create site layouts that optimize patron flow while encouraging the feel of a village. For the past decade, Bill has been the Guildmaster of the Guild of Santa Maria, a Bay Area-based Italian Reenactment guild. Bill is also the President of Renaissance Productions and most recently he had been appointed as President of CIRGA.
Durelle Kurlinski
Operations Management, Event Services Director
Perry Louie
Site Manager, Black Powder & Weapons Safety Coordinator
Tina Bailey
Vendor Coordinator
As a vendor herself, Tina knows the ins and outs of what is important to small business owners who want to sell at the faire circuit. She has almost a decade of experience as a vendor on the renaissance faire circuit. She is co-owner of New Stirling Arms, a rally captain for RESCU Foundation, Renaissance Entertainers, Services and Crafters United and a Dame in The Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.
Mackenzie Marshall
Guild & Talent Coordination
Merelan Jones
Volunteer Coordination, Operations Coordinator
For over 15 years, Renaissance Productions has been bringing amazing themed events throughout the Western US. Our team has had experience with both short and long run events in all aspects of event production. Whether you're looking to create your first event, or looking for help to fine tune an event that has been going on for 20 years, we can bring the right combination of people and talent to realize your vision.
We don't believe in creating cookie-cutter events, each one is tailored to suit the particular vision, neighborhood need, budget, venue, and available resources. Some are more theatrical, others more educational. Some have a fantasy base, others strive for the historical perspective. Every audience is different, and every event should reflect its own personality.
From schools looking to create a small benefit event, to organizations and cities looking to create a major multi-weekend festival, we handle both ends of the spectrum with equal ease and experience.
We bring together a seasoned production team that will strengthen your production in numbers as well as through shared experience. Negotiating for sponsorships and service contracts becomes very different when you are able to present a portfolio of a dozen events per year in a range of demographics rather than just a single community or regional event.
RenRegister
The Event Registration and Management System for the Web. Originally created to help us manage our own event registration and application workflow, it has grown to support events, groups, vendors, and acts from around the country.
Over 50 events per year utilize the site, collecting vendor payments, handling applications, attendee lists, and more. In the near future we'll be expanding to more directly support other event types as well (craft fairs, tradeshows, conventions, and more).
Host your events on RenRegister, or have us set up a hosted version of the site for you. Contact us if you have questions about RenRegister, or if we can help you with any other web/technology needs you might have.
Event Services Department
Our Event Services Department (Northwind Event Services) specializes in helping event producers focus on the big picture by efficiently and effectively handling many of the routine support, administrative, and management tasks of event production.
Handling over a dozen major events each year, we tailor our services to the needs and goals of each individual event. A sampling of our areas of expertiese and experience includes:
Before you find yourself stressing about your show, leverage our experienced team to help make your events logistics happen with a minimal of oversight,
For more information, please use the form on our contact page from the menu above.
2011
- Food Bank to benefit from Valhalla Renaissance Faire
2010
- 2010 The Annual Shasta Dragonwood Celtic Faire
2009
- Golden Gate Renaissance Faire Canceled
2006
- 3rd Annual Golden Gate Renaissance Faire Transforms Speedway Meadows to a Giant Stage
- Renaissance Productions Hosts Valhalla Renaissance Faire 2006
- Valhalla Renaissance Faire Re-creates the Magic and Adventure at the Camp Richardson Resort
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August 8, 2011, San Jose Mercury News
- San Jose Renaissance Faire thrills and enchants
August 5, 2011, Condos and Lofts
- Renaissance Faire Comes to Downtown San Jose
August 6, 2011, San Jose Metblogs
- San Jose Renaissance Faire 2011
August 6, 2011, Examiner
- Downtown San Jose experiences first ever Renaissance Faire
August 8, 2011, Historical Personality Disorder
- San Jose Renaissance Faire
July 28, 2011, San Jose Mercury News
- Renaissance Faire comes to San Jose for the first time
August 8, 2011, The Ticket Depot
- San Jose's First Renaissance Faire
September 13, 2011, Newark Patch
- From Ardenwood Farm to Elizabethan Town
September 10, 2011, Milpitas Info
- Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Faire
September 10, 2011, San Jose
- Annual Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Faire
July 7, 2009, SFWeekly
- Renaissance Faire Abruptly Nixes August Golden Gate Park Event
May 1, 2011, AllTrips
- Valhalla Renaissance Faire
May 15, 2011, El Dorado Coutny
August 7, 2007, Redding.com
- Renaissance Faire returns next month to Anderson
July 7, 2006, Sacramento Bee
- Day trip: Renaissance Faire
May 12, 2006, Tahoe Daily tribune
- Jousting on tap at Renaissance Faire
May 10, 2006, Calico Corner
Link to Press pics - zipped file - click to download
Marti Miernik
Cell: 408.506.6499
marti _ renprod.com
Renaissance Productions
209.REN.PROD
Press & adversiting
408.506.6499
Potential Vendors:
tina _ renprod.com
Vendors, Acts, and Performers
register _ www.renregister.com
Looking for Volunteers
Looking for Kid activity booths
A Renaissance Faire is where you can really let your creativity run wild and shine. It is a chance to express your love of history and passion for reenactment while amongst friends and family.
The best way to enhance your Faire experience is to put together a show-stopping outfit. You can assemble the appropriate attire with items you have in your closet mixed with thrift store finds. Or perhaps this will be the year you sew and create your own costume from scratch!
The first step to prepare for a Renaissance Faire is to plan ahead. You want to have plenty of time to get everything ready so you look your best. Note the date of the Faire and begin planning at least two weeks in advance. I would recommend starting even sooner if you plan to sew your costume yourself. Take time to enjoy compiling pieces of your outfit without having to scramble at the last minute.
The next step is to get inspired! The Internet the best place to get started in order to get some ideas. Flipping through costume books is also incredibly helpful when you are searching for some inspiration. No matter what style you want to dress as, you are sure to find plenty ideas just through some simple research. Search under keywords such as Medieval costume, Renaissance costume, Elizabethan costume and costume patterns to get started.
Now that you have an idea of the look you want to recreate, it is time to search for what you will wear. Start with your closet to search for pieces that might work in your ensemble. For ladies, peasant blouses, lace-up vests, poet shirts, and long peasant skirts are great items you probably already own. For men, poet shirts, pirate shirts, and vests may be hiding in your very own closet as well. Search for some trousers that you might have laying around too.
Next, scavenge thrift stores for items that will work for your costume. Keep an eye out for items made from natural fiber fabrics over synthetic fabrics. Linen is the perfect fabric if you are striving for authenticity. Not only does linen suite historical costumes perfectly, it helps keep you cooler on a warm day at the Renaissance Faire.
If you are a wizard at the sewing machine, then creating your own costume is great idea. Even if you are hesitant about your sewing abilities, test your skills by making a small portion of your outfit. Many Renaissance clothing patterns are fairly simple and easy to make. Try something uncomplicated to start with, like a tunic, or just altering some clothes you already own. Once you realize how easy it is, nothing will be able to limit your creativity.
Thrift stores and discount stores are great places to find shoes for your costume. Boots are usually more affordable and look worn in when purchased second-hand. For men, try to search for boots that are high enough to allow you to tuck in your pants.
A lot of online sites, and most fabric stores, offer really simple costume patterns. Select deep, rich linen colors to create you pants and skirts. For your tops, use white or off-white linen. For outerwear, such as vests, us heavier weight linens (ex. IL090 or 4C22)
Using clothes you already have or making your own costumes from scratch are great ways to avoid spending a lot of cash for a costume. Retailers online are usually quite expensive and made from cheap synthetic materials. Decent quality costumes are usually priced around $150, whereas linen for making your own costume is affordable (go to Fabrics-Store.com). You will most likely have to purchase accessories such as hats, boots and shoes, at higher costs so save some money where you can!
Care of http://www.fabrics-store.com/blog/2011/04/04/how-to-dress-for-a-renaissance-faire/
1. Family Friendly Event Renaissance Fairs welcome kids of all ages. Rides and performances are offered to entertain any and all age groups. From face painting to carnival rides to the beer garden, these festivals do their best to keep everybody happy. Compared to spending a day at an amusement park, Renaissance Festivals are often much cheaper for a family fun day. Save money and have fun!
2. Stage Theater Performances A great treat when visiting Renaissance Festivals is being able to see trained actors play medieval and Shakespearean plays for little cost. Most of the time the stage performances are a part of general admission into the faire.
3. Artisan Crafts and Demonstrations Renaissance Festivals offer a chance for attendees to see how everyday items were made in medieval times. Most Ren Fairs include a blacksmith, jewelry makers, pottery sculptors, basket weavers and other artisans of the time. Buy their goods and be assured that you have a one-of-a-kind item!
4. Food! Renaissance Faires are known for their food. Finger foods, even things that normally would not be considered finger food, are the hot commodity. Scotch Eggs and giant turkey legs are a couple popular delicacies. Wash them down with a mug of (root) beer and your day is complete!
5. Dress the Renaissance Part For a few hours, patrons can dress and act as if they were living during the Renaissance time. Throw out as many Huzzahs and Ye Oldes as you can. Check your local Festivals themes. Many have pet-themed days where they encourage pets and their owners to dress up in medieval costumes.
6. Street Performers Hit the Grounds Not only will patrons see trained actors on stages, but also performers who volunteer their efforts. Musicians and magicians entertain the masses while wondering around the fairgrounds. The performers who mingle amongst the patrons often hassle and joke with the crowds. Their insults and mockery should be taken lightly as they are only there to entertain. Throw some lighthearted insults back and you may make a friend for life.
7. Jousting Tournaments and Knight Battles Watch as knights fight for the King and Queens favor during battles of whit and might. Jousting tournaments add exceptional amounts of entertainment to the festivals. These battles of the fittest have kept crowds entertained for years.
8. Medieval Museums Add a little education into your day at the Renaissance Faire! Some festivals feature museums which display pieces of everyday life from the Renaissance period. Items are offered for sale so patrons can take a bit of the Renaissance life back home with them.
9. Rides and Games Renaissance Festivals offer the chance for people to ride elephants and test their ax-throwing abilities. Games and rides found at Renaissance Faires are not typical of most carnivals as they are usually not electric powered. Test your accuracy with a bow and arrow or a tomato. Renaissance Festivals offer a fresh change to the clanging and singing of usual fair rides and attractions.
10. Lasting Memories Whether you have attended one Renaissance Festival in your lifetime or many, chances are the memory has lasted. These faires are unique and wonderfully entertaining. The people who work them truly love what they are doing. Their main priority is to make sure all patrons are having fun.
Care of Medieval Costumes and Gifts: http://medievalcostumesandgifts.com/medieval-blog/10-reasons-attend-medieval-faire/
