Map of the Bristol Renaissance Festival

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BRISTOL
1574
Bristol Renaissance Festival

One of the great pleasures of Faire is making/meeting new friends. It was Ryleh's greatest pleasure, therefore, to meet Sir Clisto Seversword in person (left, in photo). He was not only a most-gracious host introducing me to his many friends, companions and acquaintances at Faire, but he also offered a great host of helpful suggestions in getting the most out of my weekend at Bristol. Ryleh is much beholden to Sir Clisto for all his help and aid for truly, he was "a stranger in a strange land". The fact that Sir Clisto also is the author of one of the premier RenFaire/Medieval Resources here in the Aether is yet another plus in his favor. You can access Sir Clisto's "Tome of Knowledge" (now bigger and better than ever!) thru Ryleh's own Linkes page if--after perusing these pages-- you desire even more virtual RenFaire experiences!!!
The Bristol Faire itself covers a large rectangular area with two "islands" of shops within, making it easy to "tour" all the vendors' booths in a few short hours. Following Sir Clisto's suggestions, I turned left from the Main Gate, went past the Mud Show arena, visited the Military Guilde (the English Military Camp), turned down Guildehall Row just past Fortunes Cove (where various soothsayers offered to tell my future), picked up High Street to Shoplach Lane and the Tournament Field, moved on down to Cotswold Commons, then past The Buttery and the New Market area back to the gates. From there, I went back to visit the shops surrounding the Kids' Kingdom and the booths along Washwell Way. The entire "tour" took about five hours--but there were shows and events such as The Swordsmen: Dirk and Guido and the Queen's Royal Progress through Bristol which stretched out my shopping well into the late afternoon!
Established in 1973 as "King Richards Faire", it reopened in 1988 as the Bristol Renaissance Faire with a 16th century theme under the management of Renaissance Entertainment Corporation. According to THE SCRIBE, the Bristol Renaissance Festival boasts 16 stages, 180 vendors booths and has an attendance of over 200,000 during its annual nine-week run. To give some idea of the Faire's layout, a copy of the map of Bristol--which was included in an eight-page newspaper supplement--is offered, above.
In 1999, Bristol will reopen on the 26th of June and run through August 22nd. Hours will be 10am to 7pm. The Faire lies directly west of Interstate 94 along the Wisconsin/Illinois stateline near Kenosha, Wisconsin. From the north take exit 347, Highway 165. From the south take exit 1, Russell Road. Impressively enough, there are official highway signs for the Bristol Faire just before both Interstate exits--and there are numerous signs along the surface roads, making it easy to find the site!
PLEASE NOTE: the following pages are, as always, graphick intense. You may need to "reload" each page in order to view all the graphix. We regret the inconvenience, but trust you will enjoy your visit. If you have not yet toured the Official Bristol Renaissance Festival Website, we respectfully suggest you go here first for an overview of everything the Bristol Faire has to offer.

ON TO THE FAIRE!
Disclaimer: This--and the Webpages following--are an *Unofficial* look at the Bristol Renaissance Festival held near Kenosha, Wisconsin, every year since 1973. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Bristol Renaissance Festival (OFFICE ADDRESS: 12550 120th Ave Kenosha, WI 53142-7337), Renaissance Entertainment Corporation, and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own.
The map, above, is provided here strictly for illustration/educational purposes only. As far as is known, the map and festival brochure are Š1997 The Bristol Renaissance Festival and Renaissance Entertainment Corporation, who retain all rights pertaining thereto. No infringement of those rights is intended or implied by this author.
Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are Š1997 by George Laking.

This page created 8 August 1997.
This page revised 30 April 1999.