Hello all. During the first two weekends of July, I visited the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Bristol is a lovely faire that has proven many times to be a wonderful experience for me! This year was particularly exciting, with premieres of new acts and the return of some very special ones. For me, one of the best parts of Bristol is the fight cast who partake in a good part of the story arc. The stories are usually straightforward affairs with the Seadogs (Photo, upper left) coming into conflict with the guards of Sir Edward Coke (Photo, upper right).

This year's yarn is a tale of love, family conflict and saltpeter (oooohhhh!) for gunpowder. Captain Nicholas Cutter, head of the Seadogs, has fallen passionately in love with Anne Paston (Photo, upper left). However, she's the niece of his nemesis, Sir Edward Coke, who is naturally enraged by the situation (Photo, upper right). Of course, such a scenario lends itself to nothing but trouble!

Bristol also has various guilds, including the Guild of St. Michael, the military guild. They have a militia encampment located near the front of the site by a lake (Photo, upper left). I caught them giving one of their many demos during the fair. This one was in working muskets (Photo, upper right).

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This page created 14 July 2000
This page updated 02 September 2007