When visitors to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival entered the gates for opening day September 5, they were transported to a familiar world of royalty, peasants, jousting and massive turkey legs.
It’s a recreation of 1500s Canterbury, England that has brought whimsy to Kansas City for 50 years.
It began in 1977 as a fundraiser for the Kansas City Art Institute. Since then, it’s grown and changed massively, says marketing coordinator Cammy Whalen.
“When you look at the maps, you'll see how much the physical grounds have grown, and how many more stages there are, and how much more artisans,” Whalen told KCUR’s Up To Date.
This year’s festival features 25 stages of entertainment and more than 175 artisans selling art, clothing, accessories and other wares.
The cast of Renaissance characters has grown over the years, too. Some members from the very first festival are back for their fiftieth run this year, Whalen says.
Cast member Kevin Hodson has been a part of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival since 2011. He plays Sir Philip Graves, Guildmaster of Gravediggers in Canterbury, but he’s better known around the festival as “Digby” — “a childish nickname from his apprenticeship days.”
Digby wanders the lanes of the festival offering free burial estimates and recruiting children to be apprentice gravediggers themselves.
“It's been a wonderful thing to see” the growth of the festival over the years, Hodson said. “The culture has only continued to grow in its openness and acceptance… we’re all like a family.”
The festival’s Royal Exhibition Hall will feature photos and artifacts from past years to honor the anniversary.
The Kansas City Renaissance Festival runs every weekend rain or shine until October 12. The festival grounds are open from 10a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Cammy Whalen, marketing coordinator, Kansas City Renaissance Festival
- Kevin Hodson, “Digby”
