Surrounded by kings and queens, bratwursts and beer, locals
throughout the South Valley have been able to take part in the
festivities of the Northern California Renaissance Faire and make a
few bucks in the process.
Surrounded by kings and queens, bratwursts and beer, locals throughout the South Valley have been able to take part in the festivities of the Northern California Renaissance Faire and make a few bucks in the process.
This year the Faire hired about 40 teens from area high schools and about 150 total residents from the South Valley and San Benito County, said Hollister resident Jennifer Armenta, who has worked at the Faire for the past three years as a cashier in a souvenir shop. She was ecstatic when her daughter showed an interest and got involved as well.
“It’s like a vacation,” she said. “You’re getting paid, you get to play, and for the kids it’s a real cultural eye-opener.”
Armenta’s 14-year-old daughter, Amy, is enjoying working at the Faire for the second year in a row at a bubble booth and the carousel.
After making almost $1,000 last year that helped pay for a trip to Europe over the summer, she convinced several of her friends at San Benito High School to join in the festivities, she said.
“It’s not just for the money, because it’s something different – it’s not your normal 9 to 5 job,” she said. “You get to hang out with a whole new crowd, you get to dress up and pretend – it’s like working at Disneyland.”
Before the Faire began all workers were given short classes on Elizabethan language, history of the period, costumes and folklore, Armenta said.
Many people don’t realize how working at the Faire can help local teens hone their social skills, meet new people, and make good money doing it, Armenta said.
“Some people think the Renaissance Fair is a bunch of out of town people who just want to take your $20,” she said. “There’s a lot of learning going on, a lot of fun, and the kids have a great opportunity.”
The Faire was almost canceled when the Renaissance Entertainment Corp. decided to pull the show because of lost revenue and attendance.
But vendors and participants rallied together and formed Play Faire Productions to keep the show going at the Casa de Fruta complex along Pacheco Pass Highway east of Gilroy.
While it’s been tough getting started, Play Faire CEO Lisa Stehl said she hopes the company will be able to break even this year and put enough money in the bank to get a jump start on next year’s Faire.
“We’re not shooting for the pie in the sky, we’re trying to be realistic,” she said.
Local support of the Faire has been tremendous, and Stehl said the more residents get involved the more solidified the Faire will be in the future.
“The more the merrier,” she said. “We want to be a part of the community and we want the community to be happy and proud of us.”
