Ye Merrie Greenwood Renaissance Faire set Sept. 24-25

Ye Merrie Greenwood Renaissance Faire is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

And the event will have even more merchants and acts to mark the milestone year, thanks to a move to Columbia Park in Kennewick.

The annual festival celebrating all things Elizabethan previously was held for years at Howard Amon Park in Richland.

The relocation means double the space for vendors and performers, plus more parking, said Marjorie Kunigisky, production director.

“It’s a true family event,” she told the Herald.

Ye Merrie Greenwood Renaissance Faire is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24-25 at Columbia Park, near the band shell between the Playground of Dreams and the Lampson Pits.

About three dozen acts will perform, and period food and arts and crafts will be sold. Faire-goers even will be able to rent period costumes for the day.

Plenty of kids activities will be available, and attendees will be able to try their hands at Renaissance-era weaponry.

Plus, the popular game Twillzie Wop, in which participants face off on a log, armed with pillows, will return.

Kunigisky said the Renaissance era is fun to revisit through the Faire. And it’s an important time to remember and learn from.

“There were so many things that grew in this time that (became) the basis for so much of our culture, our literature, our music,” she said. “One of the things that’s created our culture is the Elizabethan age.”

Admission is $10 for adults and teens and $8 for seniors and children ages 5 to 12. Children 4 and younger are free.

For more information, including the full schedule, go to yemerriegreenwoodfaire.org.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Ye Merrie Greenwood Renaissance Faire set Sept. 24-25."