Renaissance Festival keeping smallest participants in mind

The 15th century Renaissance will be moving into Columbia County's amphitheater and Memorial Garden on Saturday with the 2006 Renaissance Festival.

This year's festival will be a single-day event instead of a weekend because the juried art show that normally accompanies the festival has been rescheduled.

Stacie Adkins, Columbia County's community events manager, said the art show was moved to the May 2007 Art in the Park event.

"We're trying to theme it more around the Renaissance," Adkins said.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission is free. The festival will feature demonstrations including sword-fighting, Middle Eastern dancing, ironworks and a special medical display.

"Something really neat this year, the Center for Primary Care will have a booth talking about the history of medicine," Adkins said.

The booth will include a skeleton and antique surgical implements.

Children will be treated to hands-on activities such as making tambourines and a shield of armor in addition to activities such as horseshoes and a climbing wall. A Canterbury Tales storyteller will be spinning tales of princesses, knights and kingdoms every half- hour.

"I would say we are doing more children's stuff than we have ever done," Adkins said.

For those who prefer the theater, the Children's Musical Theater Ensemble will be presenting songs and scenes from The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree, Greenbrier High School drama students will perform scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Columbia County Ballet will present The Selfish Giant.

The Harlem High School Drama Department will be performing Shakespeare Made Easy, a montage of several of Shakespeare's plays, at 6 p.m. on the amphitheater stage.

Tickets cost $5 and children younger than 12 get in free.

Arts and food vendors will be selling their wares.

Winners of a children's Renaissance-theme art contest will be announced. An open-mike poetry and Shakespeare reading will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Anyone interested in entering the children's Renaissance costume contest needs to register by 12:30. Judging begins at 1 p.m.

"I think it'll be good," Adkins said of the festival.

For more information, contact the Community Events Department at (706) 312-7194.