Faire planners go for authenticity

FLORENCE - Walking through Wilson Park in downtown Florence this weekend is like stepping back in time - 500 years to the Middle Ages - an era of wenches and wizards, knights and ladies, magic and minstrels.

For Taylor Rikard, 16, who goes by the name "Grim Reaper" during the festival thanks to his black cloak and purple skull-topped walking stick, it's one of his favorite times of the year.

"I like to dress up and bring my dog, Bain," he said. "Last year, I was Sir Lancelot, so this year I wanted to be something different. Bain is here as a king."

Getting into costume is half the fun of the Alabama Renaissance Faire, which is in its 21st year at the park which is renamed every fourth Saturday and Sunday in October to Fountain-on-the-Green.

At the event, it's not uncommon, for instance, to see blue-faced trolls standing guard at their tent, sword fights break out among knights guarding the honor of their maids or minstrel musicians plucking away at their hand-carved instruments.

In planning the event, festival organizers try to keep it as authentic as possible, from the belly dancers shimmying during a show to the jester clowning around and getting some laughs for loose change and spare bills.

As a result, the Alabama Renaissance Faire has been named one of the Top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourist Society in Atlanta since 2003.

Ethan and Christine Rose found out about the event online and decided to book a spot this year to promote their new book, "Rowan of the Wood," the first in a series of young adult books about an ancient wizard who possesses a young boy after 1,000 years of imprisonment in a magic wand.

While the couple collaborated on writing the book, Ethan carves wizards from the story as well as magic wands, and Christine makes handmade woodcuts of the dragons from the story.

"We figured people might not come in just to hear about a book, so we decided to make and sell these other things, too," Ethan Rose said.

Other vendors were also new to the event this year.

Morning Glory, who goes by Brenda Jarvis when she's at home in Nashville, Tenn., brought her hand-crafted fairy wings to sell at this year's event. She drew a crowd of young children to her tent to try on the glittery creations.

"The trick is to use bendable wire that's also strong," she said. "I love to make things and talk to people, so I think I found the right place."

The Renaissance Faire continues from noon to 6 p.m. today in Wilson Park.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@TimesDaily.com.