June 30, 2016
 

Children's Renaissance Faire Celebrates Shakespeare July 9 at ND Heritage Center & State Museum

BISMARCK—The “Shaking Up Shakespeare” festival presents an afternoon of medieval family fun with a Children’s Renaissance Faire on Saturday, July 9, from 2 to 6 p.m. The faire will be held outdoors on the Badlands Plaza near the west entrance of the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum. This event is in conjunction with the "First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare" exhibit on view in the ND Heritage Center’s James E. Sperry Gallery July 6-31.
 
Now in its seventh year, the Capitol Shakespeare Children’s Renaissance Faire continues to delight people of all ages with activities that inform young people about the time in which William Shakespeare lived. Children can develop physical and gaming skills in the Knight’s Realm Training Ground with jousting, fencing, archery, and bocce ball. The Hall of Wits Arcade contains medieval board games along with a life-size chess set and the Royal Armory, a heraldry display.
 
The Royal Camp holds King Havrawk and Queen Sryche and features a princess boot camp, jester tales, a pillory, and the Da Vinci Academy with activities related to art of the Renaissance.
 
The Gypsy Camp contains a fortuneteller, the popular gypsy merchant, Little Bard’s Theater puppet show, face painting, and a craft area.
 
Stage performances are scheduled throughout the afternoon with the “Story Time Ballet” by Northern Plains Dance at 2:30 p.m., Prairie Flower Dancers at 3:30 p.m., and Wandering Bagpipes by John Young performed throughout the day. At 5 p.m., the Capitol Shakespeare Children’s Traveling Troupe performs a preview of “Love’s the Thing,” highlighting the many types of love portrayed by Shakespeare. The faire closes with the children’s Knighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on the stage.
 
Admission to the faire is free, and food will be available for purchase.
 
The “Shaking Up Shakespeare” festival is presented by the State Historical Society of North Dakota in collaboration with Capitol Shakespeare. The festival also includes free Bard-related movies, a "History of Shakespeare in North Dakota" presentation, a teacher workshop, and theater performances by Capitol Shakespeare. For a full event schedule, visit history.nd.gov/shakespeare.

The Capitol Shakespeare Children’s Renaissance Faire is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which received funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. The faire is also funded in part by Dakota West Arts Council.
 
The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit history.nd.gov or contact Erik Holland, curator of education, at 701.328.2792. Find a calendar of upcoming State Historical Society events at history.nd.gov/events.

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CONTACT
Erik Holland, 701.328.2792

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