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This past fall I joined with Sharon Murry of The Spinning Jenny in Greer to start The Round Table Community, a non-profit designed to help artists create profitable, sustainable businesses.
Our major project for 2021 is organizing the Upstate Renaissance Faire and Medieval Market Place, a one-day event celebrating the 800s-1600s.
Already we have sword fighters, marionettes, Shakespearean actors, vendors, turkey legs-the works!
The vision extends beyond one day (or even three months) of festivities. We have three major ways we plan to use the Renaissance Faire to impact the Upstate and beyond.
1. Involve the entire community.
We're actively recruiting every culture represented in the Upstate to be involved. From Russia to India to Western Europe to Africa and the current Americas, our goal is to present the vast spectrum of beauty alive in the past and now.
2. Bring active education into local schools.
I love teaching artist work and am connecting with Upstate artists to create lesson plans related to any aspect of Medieval to Renaissance history and culture. Over the summer I will be working with schools to schedule interactive classes next year and get the kids to the festival to experience learning through action.
3. Boost the local economy through tourism and promoting local artists.
The Renaissance Faire brand is strong. Everyone who hears that the Faire is coming to Greer is incredibly excited. That means that Greer vendors and local stores will be inundated with visitors from this and other states. The Renaissance Faire will be part of the post-shutdown Renaissance of our area.
These three hopes are completely doable and are guiding our decisions as we work to bring prosperity to everyone in the area.