>> May
      4, 2001

      
Moscow to celebrate 28th Annual Renaissance
      Fair Saturday

      

      
By Hazel Barrowman
       Argonaut Staff

      
Colorful ribbons twirl around
      a maypole while lively music emanates through the air. Adults
      dressed in renaissance costume stroll among stands of unique
      crafts, diverse foods and even bicycle-powered blended strawberry-lemonade.
      

      


      The 28th Annual Moscow Renaissance Fair takes place this weekend
      in East City Park, boasting a barrage of live music and entertainment,
      regional artwork and crafts, and local non-profit food vendors.
      

      
From 10 a.m. till dusk on both
      Saturday and Sunday, the fair will be open and waiting for Moscow
      to get out and celebrate spring.

      


      Nancy Taylor, one of this year's coordinators, said that aside
      from featuring some of the finest musicians and artists in the
      Northwest, the Renaissance Fair gives people a chance to meet
      friends and acquaintances that they haven't seen in a while.
      She explained that it is one of the main spring events that people
      look forward to.

      


      For UI students, the fair is a chance to interact with the Moscow
      community as a whole. Taylor explained that when she was a graduate
      student at UI, she often got sucked into the isolated university
      life. One of the first Renaissance Fairs she attended opened
      her eyes to the richness of the Moscow community, she said.

      


      The king and queen of the fair this year are Malcolm and Carol
      Renfrew, two long-time Moscow residents active in both the university
      and the community. Malcolm Renfrew was the head of the UI Chemistry
      Department until 1976. 

      


      UI art student Kim Wiessner designed the poster for this year's
      fair. The design was inspired by the traditional maypole mural
      on the rear wall of a building in Friendship Square. Posters
      for the past 27 years of the Renaissance Fair are on display
      at Mikey's Gyros on Main Street in Moscow.

      


      Taylor said that the Renaissance Fair has changed quite a bit
      over the years.

      


      "It used to be a funky hometown deal," she said. The
      fair has gotten more professional and family-oriented over the
      years. She explained that coordinators have learned a lot from
      their mistakes.

      


      One mistake, which has never been repeated, was in 1980, when
      the coordinators decided to push the date back to May 17 and
      18 in hopes for better weather. That Sunday, Mt. St. Helen's
      erupted, showering Moscow with ash and shutting down the fair,
      as well as most of the region. This was the only year in its
      28-year history that the fair was not held on the first Sunday
      in May.

      


      The Renaissance Fair is small yet regionally important. Taylor
      said that many people in the community work together to pull
      it off each year - and much volunteer work is needed. Rain or
      shine, with the exception of volcanic ash, the fair must go on.

      


      Peter Basoa, a long-time music coordinator for the fair, told
      the Lewiston Tribune last year that unlike many of Moscow's other
      gatherings, the Renaissance Fair has a community heart. 

      


      "This is not about money; this is about people getting together
      to share music and art," Basoa said.

      For more information, visit www.moscowrenfair.org.

      


      
 

      
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