From Ardenwood Farm to Elizabethan Town

Better than any supersized touring Renaissance Faire, the land-that-time-forgot feel of Ardenwood Farm lent the perfect amount of escapism at the Third Annual Ardenwood Shakespeare Festival & Renaissance Faire on Sept. 10 and 11.

The farm’s towering Eucalyptus trees drowned out the sound of the adjacent bustling highway, making modern civilization a distant memory and setting the stage for a perfect weekend.

“The shop keepers, the entertainers, and the jousting, of course — it’s all meant to make you feel like you’re walking through an Elizabethan town, the same kind Shakespeare would have lived in,” said Ira Bletz, Ardenwood’s supervising naturalist.

Now in its third year, the celebration of the Bard and his era is an opportunity for the farm to draw upon a demographic that otherwise would not visit, said Bletz.

This translates into about 3,000 visitors for the weekend, many of whom arrived dressed in Renaissance garb.

Ladies, knights, craftsmen, musicians and even dragons roamed the grounds of the farm, creating a communal, centuries-old daydream that even those wearing jeans and sneakers could become a part of.

Hosted by the farm, the weekend was actually the work of Renaissance Productions, bringing the Renaissance in various forms to cities all around the United States.

Highlights of the event included Queen Elizabeth touring the faire and greeting her royal subjects and the main draw — jousting.

The Imperial Knights Production Company provided the day’s horse-centric highlight, featuring the Black Knight versus the Green Knight in various tests of strength, including the exciting jousting match.

“Jousting is what everyone comes to see — the horses, the excitement — it’s really something,” Bletz said

Check out photos of the jousting match, the Queen and her court, Shakespeare performing a scene from his latest play (“This is something I’ve been working on called Romeo and Juliet”), shopkeepers, musicians, a dragon or two, and much more in the photo gallery above.

For more information on future Ardenwood Farm events, click here to visit the farm's website or phone 510-544-2797.