RIVERDALE KIWANIS MEDIEVAL FAIRE
Entertaining and fun, proceeds to benefit charitable causes
Entertaining and fun, proceeds to benefit charitable causes
It’s nice to help others―but it’s better having a bit of fun in the process. That’s the thinking behind the Riverdale Kiwanis Medieval Faire, held at Lakes Regional Park in Fort Myers in January. The event, known in some realms as a Renaissance Fair, places rose-lipped maidens and light-footed lads in a historical setting of fun, food and entertainment such as magic and jousting. It benefits Riverdale Kiwanis Club projects mostly aimed at kids, says Terry Short, chair of the Riverdale Kiwanis committee hosting the Medieval Faire over the last 25 years. The club’s goal has been to create a historically accurate event that entertains and instructs visitors, he says. And the idea has worked: Expect some 15,000 of us to visit over the festival’s four-day run starting on Jan. 7. “If [you] walked in at 9 a.m.,” he says, “don’t expect to see all the entertainment in one day, it’s that big now. And ours is a family show, how it would have been in Europe.”
Those living in the Middle Ages, or the medieval period of about 1,000 years, had the same needs to amuse themselves as those of us in modern times, Short says. The Riverdale Kiwanis Club’s initial idea was recreating that rural marketplace and town-square setting in Southwest Florida, bringing tournaments, performances, artisans and food vendors that best reflected that time in Europe, he says. A quick social media search lists the Fort Myers event in top tiers, meaning it has an immense following.
The best part is dressing in period costumes for the event, that Short says “takes a year to put together. There are 18 acts on six stages, so it’s a huge undertaking that begins each February” when the January show ends.
Details are at medieval-faire.com.
Those living in the Middle Ages, or the medieval period of about 1,000 years, had the same needs to amuse themselves as those of us in modern times.