The 17th annual Valhalla Renaissance Faire, California’s most acclaimed Renaissance themed event where the sights, sounds, tastes and beauty of the 16th Century comes alive for two magically themed weekends.

San Francisco, CA – April 1, 2008- thousands of patrons will once again descend onto the Valhalla Renaissance Faire at South Lake Tahoe’s Camp Richardson in a celebration of the adventure, romance, merriment, and magic of 16th century life in what has turned out to be one of the most beloved events of its kind in California. This year the Faire will be celebrating its 17th year.

Festival goers are entertained all along the paths and roads that wind their way through the Renaissance Village. Jugglers, minstrels and fortunetellers and more interact and play to the passersby, who peruse through over 25 guild yards and 100-plus merchants and artisan’s shops of the Market Village. There is shopping galore: patrons will choose from high-quality handmade one of a kind crafts like pottery, jewelry, toys to swords, leather and metal works, and wood carvings. In many cases these creations will be demonstrated before your eyes. The hundreds of festival performers, adorned in 16th century attire and speaking the Queen’s English, provide color and detail to a Renaissance village that looks to have stepped from the pages of history. Four stages with live music, story telling, dancing, comedy and magic acts keep the patrons entertained with variety acts. Mead aplenty flows during the festival, so does a wide selection of beer and wine.

It all gets underway this year May 30th and 31st and June 6th and 7th, and once again each weekend of the event is highlighted with its own theme. Overall the festival theme is one of great celebration, where all of Europe has come to pay homage and to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth.

Also, a rising young star of London’s theatre scene, Will Shakespeare, faces a scourge like no other: a paralyzing bout of writer’s block. While the great Elizabethan age of entertainment unfolds around him. Will is without inspiration on material. What Will needs is a muse–and in an extraordinary town whilst on progress with Her Most Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, he finds himself surrounded by numerous quirky characters who draw him into an amazing, dramatic adventure of action and love. Their stories make their way into his plays and into our hearts. This year’s theme for the Valhalla Renaissance Faire is Shakespeare’s Muse.

Weekend themes and dates include:

Highland Shindig! – First Weekend

Don your kilt and be part of the Scottish invasion the first weekend of Tahoe. Highlight of the weekend will be a series of Celtic Rock concerts featuring pipes and drums of the nationally acclaimed band, TARTANIC (http://www.tartanic.com). TARTANIC is a band on the edge that fills a much-needed niche in Celtic music performance, taking tunes out of the session and into the sensational with their own brand of humor and theatrics. This is not just music…this is an interactive spectacle brought to you by…TARTANIC cannot be held back as they take live performance to heart and create a high-energy pulse at 120 beats per minute and beyond. Celtic music from Scotland, Brittany and original contemporary compositions is melded with rhythms from around the world and propelled into the musical world of the future. Mixing the time-honored traditions of the Great Highland Bagpipes with a bevy of drums featuring world percussion from Arabia, Africa and America, TARTANIC has produced a musical fusion which is nothing short of EXPLOSIVE.

TARTANIC will be joined on stage by another explosive act, the Nine-8ths Irish (http://www.nine8thsirish.com), a high-energy band from Sacramento, California. The band Nine-8ths Irish has received a lot of attention within the traditional Irish music community since forming at the beginning of 2007. The all-instrumental quartet describes its style of music as “Irish and a wee bit more,” the wee bit coming from the bluegrass, old-time country music and jazz the band members had played before coming together to pursue their shared love of traditional Irish music.

Completing the musical repertoire will be Electricka (http://www.electrikagypsyband.com), an exciting gypsy rock band using electric instruments.

Pirate Invasion! – Second Weekend

Set sail for a swashbuckling weekend and invade our shire with your piratical shenanigans. Participate in Scavenger Hunt, tour the deck full sized deck of a tall ship, the Dauntless, quench yer thirst and sing a song with Sea dogs, join adventures of the Irish Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley as she comes to England. Participate in the Talk Like a Pirate Contest!

Second weekend will also feature Knights of Avalon. Knights of Avalon offer the most authentic, exciting and entertaining full contact Jousting show. Combining the elements of spontaneity, action, and humor, the Knights of Avalon present a show that will keep audiences enthralled and coming back for more. Check out what the talk about towns is all about!!!

School Days – Wednesday and Thursday

Our annual “School Days,” will take place Wednesday and Thursday between the weekends. The two-day event, offered exclusively to public, private, and home-schooled students and sponsors, allows young people to experience first-hand the life, culture, and history of the Renaissance Period. Reservations are requested but not required. Inquiries about the school program should be sent to schools@valhallafaire.com.

The Renaissance Festival will be held May 30th and 31st and June 6th and 7th on 10:00an – 6:00pm Saturday and 10:00am – 5:00pm Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults, $13 for seniors, military, and ages 13-17, and $8 for children 3-12. More information can be found at http://www.valhallafaire.com

About Renaissance Productions
Renaissance Productions is an organization dedicated to theatrical development of quality of Renaissance-themed events and serves as a network for entertainers, vendors, and producers of these events. For more information please visit www.renaissance-web.net or call 1-415-354-1773