The History of the King Richard's Faire and the Bristol Renaissance Fair in Bristol, Wisconsin.

Founded as the "King Richard's Faire" in 1973 by rock concert promoter Richard Shapiro and his wife, Bonnie (Harris) Shapiro, first produced a small event in a cornfield near Chicago, Illinois. This early Faire (1973-1975) included a "slave market" concept where volunteer participants were "sold" to patron bidders to lug their packages or fetch their food. 

1975 and 1976, the Faire was located next to the Midlane Country Club on Delany Road in Gurnee, Illinois. 

In 1977, Greathall, Dick Shapiro's Faire production company, leased the property north of State Line Road, at the same site of the future Bristol Renaissance Faires are held.

In 1977 and 1978, the early equestrian Jousts were performed by a southside Chicago group named "Knights of the Silver Sword." The Hanlon-Lees Action Theatre was hired to joust after 1979 and continued, except for the Bristol Renaissance Faire take-over.

In 1986, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (at the suggestion of his delighted daughter Amy) paid a visit to the King Richard's Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with his wife, former First Lady Roslyn Carter. What amused the former President the most were the antics of one of King Richard's Faire's leading attractions, the Muddy Beggars, who would really eat anything!

In 1988 the name was changed when the Shapiros sold the fair to Renaissance Entertainment Corporation, having already created a second incarnation of the King Richard's Faire in Carver, Massachusetts. 

Shapiro's original King Richard's Faire was re-opened that year as the "Bristol Renaissance Faire." The Bristol Renaissance Faire is held in the village of Bristol, Wisconsin. Its 30-acre site runs along the Wisconsin-Illinois state line west of Interstate 94.

The reigning monarch became Queen Elizabeth I rather than the fictional "King Richard," set in the English port city of Bristol in the year 1574.

Her Highness Queen Elizabeth I, actress Mary Kababik.
Kababik has played Queen Elizabeth for 16 years at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. "I love history, and I'm fascinated by it," she said during a rare and brief moment out of character. "This doesn't teach it; it shows it. It's as close as you can get to a time machine to allow us to travel back. It might not be perfect, but I hope this brings it alive better than a book or a movie because I can actually touch you."
On a personal note, I saw Queen Elizabeth later in the day. She was on foot. As I passed, I bowed, and the Queen held out her hand for a kiss. I did not disappoint the Queen.

 

Renaissance Faire staples include jousting tournaments, historical reenactments, stage shows, time-period, non-mechanical kiddie rides, and entertainment. The Annual Renaissance Festival Awarded the Mud Show and Dirk & Guido; The Swordsmen and Moonie the Magnificent.

Dirk & Guido; The Swordsmen and Moonie the Magnificent.

Journalist Neil Steinberg said of the Bristol Renaissance Faire: "If theme parks, with their pasteboard main streets, reek of a bland, safe, homogenized, whitebread America, the Renaissance Faire is at the other end of the social spectrum. A whiff of the occult, a flash of danger, and a hint of the erotic. Here, they let you throw axes. Here are more beers and bosoms than you'll find in all of Disney World."

A Renaissance Faire Serving Wench.

In 2004 at the Faire was scalding hot, sunny, and felt like 110% humidity. I know you won't believe me, but I was not the only one to see this. Two Klingons—in full dress and amazing face/head makeup, which slid down their faces in the heat. From then on, I always brought my camera.

My first stop at the Faire, no matter the time of day, was to get a large order of the Garlic Butter Mushrooms.

On the way out, I would always take home two ½ gallon containers of the most delicious Garlic Butter Mushrooms I've ever eaten.

The Real Bristol Renaissance Faire Garlic Butter Mushrooms recipe; portioned for at-home cooks.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.