STERLING - The Sterling Renaissance Festival began its 32nd year on Saturday, but it was also a kind of rebirth.
This weekend marks the debut of the festival under new ownership.
“This is the best festival we've put up in a long time,” said creative director Gary Izzo, who has been with the festival almost since its inception. “It's been a long road, but it's a brand new page. It's our renaissance. It really has come full circle.”
Last year the festival hit a relatively low point, with only about 73,000 fairgoers compared to a peak of 120,000 in 2000 and 2001.
Ownership changed hands in February 2008, so festival preparations, usually begun in September, got off to a late start.
“We had gotten down to 60 shows, but this year there are 144 shows,” he said, adding that more than 200 professional actors perform.
“All the entertainers stepped up and it was a roll of the dice,” he said. “Doug Waterbury, our current owner, had the fortitude to stand up during a grueling process. Doug and I see eye-to-eye and he has an enthusiasm about the place. He's like a kid in a candy shop.”
Many of those who attend the festival come dressed for the period, so it's an impressionistic blur and hard to tell who the actors really are.
Bob Armstrong and Brent Pikey, both Toronto police officers, came dressed as rogue knights.
They have been attending Renaissance festivals for the past five years: Michigan, Maryland, Ohio and Ontario.
“This one always starts our season,” Armstrong said.
Mary Beth Catalano, of Rochester, and her grandson, Cole Koons, 5, found shade under a tree to eat cheese and watch a pirate show. Catalano said she and her six brothers and sister all meet at least one weekend at the festival and they always dress up. She even worked at the pillow fight booth one summer.
“For a summer job, there's nothing better than playing dress up and insulting people.”
If you go
What: Sterling Renaissance
Festival
When: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Aug. 17
Where: 15385 Farden Road, Sterling
Cost: $22 adults, $9.95 children 6 to 12, free for children 5 and younger
“This is the best festival we've put up in a long time,” said creative director Gary Izzo, who has been with the festival almost since its inception. “It's been a long road, but it's a brand new page. It's our renaissance. It really has come full circle.”
Last year the festival hit a relatively low point, with only about 73,000 fairgoers compared to a peak of 120,000 in 2000 and 2001.
Ownership changed hands in February 2008, so festival preparations, usually begun in September, got off to a late start.
“We had gotten down to 60 shows, but this year there are 144 shows,” he said, adding that more than 200 professional actors perform.
“All the entertainers stepped up and it was a roll of the dice,” he said. “Doug Waterbury, our current owner, had the fortitude to stand up during a grueling process. Doug and I see eye-to-eye and he has an enthusiasm about the place. He's like a kid in a candy shop.”
Many of those who attend the festival come dressed for the period, so it's an impressionistic blur and hard to tell who the actors really are.
Bob Armstrong and Brent Pikey, both Toronto police officers, came dressed as rogue knights.
They have been attending Renaissance festivals for the past five years: Michigan, Maryland, Ohio and Ontario.
“This one always starts our season,” Armstrong said.
Mary Beth Catalano, of Rochester, and her grandson, Cole Koons, 5, found shade under a tree to eat cheese and watch a pirate show. Catalano said she and her six brothers and sister all meet at least one weekend at the festival and they always dress up. She even worked at the pillow fight booth one summer.
“For a summer job, there's nothing better than playing dress up and insulting people.”
If you go
What: Sterling Renaissance
Festival
When: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Aug. 17
Where: 15385 Farden Road, Sterling
Cost: $22 adults, $9.95 children 6 to 12, free for children 5 and younger
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