About the Event
Who
The Medieval Fantasy Festival is a family oriented event for all ages and has wide appeal. If you wish, you may come in costume - either Medieval, or from your favorite fantasy book. If you are interested in applying as a vendor or entertainer, click on ‘Vendors / Entertainers’. If you would like to be a volunteer, go to the ‘Contact Us”.
Where
The Festival will take place in Downtown Vacaville, CA centering on Merchant, Main, and Parker Streets.
Free programs will be inserted into The Reporter and will also be available during the Festival (while they last) at the Downtown Information Booth at Town Square. T-Shirts and other festival merchandise will be available for purchase there also.
When & What
This Fourth Annual Medieval Fantasy festival begins Friday evening, April 18 with a forum at Town Square Library. Call (707) 451-2100 for details after April 1, 2008.
Saturday and Sunday, April 19 & 20, the Festival gets into full swing. There will be Music, Food, Crafts, Dance, Games for the Kids, Eco-Friendly Green Vendors, and Demonstrations of Old Time Skills. There will be a Costume Contest. A new feature in 2008 is the Ratapult - launching toy rats from a catapult and trebuchets. More details on the Ratapult are available if you click on ‘Activities’. You may enter ahead of time and build your own trebuchet OR create a costume for your rat, and then see it launched from a trebuchet! A ‘Same Day Ratapult’ will also be available for those who are not able to enter earlier.
There is no admission fee and most activities are free. There will be charges for the theater production of “The Sword in the Stone”, for entering the Ratapult Contest, and for some kids games. A party is scheduled for Saturday night from 6 - 9:00 at Town Square. Music will be provided by Rats in the Haggis. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
Click on ‘Schedule of Activities’ for more detailed information which will be added as it is confirmed.
Why
You may ask how does the medieval period, the Middle Ages, fit with Fantasy and then with Earth Day? Aren’t they all completely different? What is the focus of such a festival? How do we connect the dots?
It will be different for each visitor. On the surface, the entertainment, the vendors we have chosen , the costumes, the décor, and the games and activities will connect the dots.
Some visitors will find insight on a deeper level. The Medieval time period was the middle time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. Fantasy is a type of literature which allows you to see yourself and your world through different eyes. Well written fantasy literature can either let you escape into a different world AND / OR can confront you with reality in a new way, and lead you into the future with a new perspective and a new insight.
The ‘Time Portal’ is another reminder of how we connect the dots. It reminds us of the Medieval Green Man, and the look ahead to a world of global warming, and challenges us to bring the best from all ages to our future. Today we are in a ‘middle age’, a time of rapidly changing technology. We are leaving behind the petroleum based world of energy. We are heading into a new era of renewable energy resources and a virtual global village where we are connected to people in far off places in ways we have just begun to explore. What can we bring from the past, from a time when life was much simpler, to help us in the transformation to a future where our children’s children have a just, meaningful, good life, where folks have learned to live, play, and work together in harmony? What can we learn about choosing leaders, about what is truly important? What can we learn from the dragons in our lives, the fantasy worlds, the heroes and characters brought to life by authors such as CS Lewis, Ursula LeGuin, Brian Jacques and others?
Enjoy the pageantry, the color, the costumes, the entertainment and music of Medieval life, and the fantastic characters and creatures of a world of might-have-been. See the road we’ve traveled, the roads of imagination, and work together on transforming the road to a better future on this small planet, Earth, that we call home.
To create this festival, downtown folks from retail stores, restaurants, salons, libraries, schools, churches and many other kinds of businesses have worked together. This festival is a work in progress - with your help and suggestions, it will get better each year. Welcome!
Vacaville, California
Vacaville is a community of nearly 100,000, located midway between San Francisco and Sacramento in Interstate 80. Downtown Vacaville, the Heart of the City, is a charming area of historic buildings, many wonderful restaurants, unique shops with friendly service, and salons and spas for pampering and relaxing. Recreation opportunities include the Brenden Theatre, the Vacaville Skating Center, the Town Square Library, and the Olde World Game Shop. A growing number of businesses downtown cater to the arts. Among them you will find the Spin a Yarn shop, Beads on Main, Bella Terra Pottery Studio, KinderMusik, Vacaville Music, Touch of Magic painting studio and the J & S Center for the Performing Arts.
Getting to Historic Downtown Vacaville
Coming from San Francisco
Take the first Vacaville exit (Alamo / Merchant) off I 80. You will want to go over the freeway and down to a stoplight. Turn right and you will be on Merchant St. Continue on for about a mile until you come to the stoplight at Mason St. You will see festival activity beginning at that light.
Coming from Sacramento
Take the Mason St Exit. As you exit, keep to the left. You will turn left at the stoplight and go up over the hill (The Hampton Inn will be on your left). Continue straight until you reach the stoplight at Davis St. Turn right. You should see several parking areas nearby.
