Fullerton College hosted its first Renaissance Faire on April 29, featuring theater performances, popular songs remixed into medieval tunes, and booths such as a theater stage exhibition and a painting stand, providing fun activities for the community.
According to Theater Art Department Professor Michael Mueller, the Horticulture Club proposed the Renaissance Fair and offered to participate. The club volunteered as actors and set up many booths, like an apothecary and art club, which offered their custom art caricatures for four dollars.
President of the Horticulture Club, Neeks Reina, said the central theme of the club was inspired by aesthetics involving central themes of nature and apothecary, which is the use of herbs and types of plants used in medicine.
Amongst the many events, a sword-fighting competition commenced between the actors and the guests attending. Mueller said that the swords used to duel were made by the Theater Art Department.
“They’re dulled weapons, but they’re meant to look real from the stage, and they’re given– they’re part of our programs,” said Mueller. “So, our program sets up four different courses that allow you to take different weapon styles and train in those.”
One of the ten actors for the event and an astronomy major, Ethan Lee, described the event as magical, exciting, and funny.
As the Theater Art Department held their duels, the speech and debate club hosted a live debate where participants were given a topic: Is violence the answer?
The ASL Club also had a booth that offered free tarot card readings as a way of promotion. Tarot card readings are a form of fortune-telling that is supposed to bring insight about the past, present, or future to the person receiving the reading.
Seven was one of the actors at the Ren Faire. Their costumes were inspired by Disney’s Pixie Hollow Fairies, and they carried an interactive box of trinkets for fairgoers to choose.
“I love bringing people in,” said Seven. “I love giving things out.”
Many students, like event organizer Emily Wu, joined actors in the fun by dressing up in costumes themed to fantasy characters like fairies and paladins. Wu said her costume was “Harry Potter” inspired. She carried a water bottle holder behind her and described the fabrics and decorations of the fair as being environmentally friendly.
“We try to do everything second-hand or without waste,” said Wu. “All the fabrics we have are thrifted, and then we cut them, hem them, and clean them.”
Wu has a hobby for cosplaying as fantasy characters like Boba Fett and, more recently, dressed as a rolly polly for KinderCaminata.
“We wanted to expand the opportunities to not make it just historical but open it to fantasy creativity,” said Wu.
