How to go
What: Ohio Renaissance Festival.
When: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, plus Labor Day, through Oct. 16.
Where: Renaissance Park, Harveysburg, near the interchange of Interstate 71 and Ohio 73.
Cost: $19.99 for adults, $9.99 for children ages 5-12. Children 5 and younger free.
By Eric Robinette
Staff Writer
HARVEYSBURG — When the Ohio Renaissance Festival needed a new queen, it hardly needed to look to England. It only had to look in Warren County.
Playing Queen Elizabeth I is Connie Pfeiffer of Lebanon. The festival starts Saturday in Harveysburg, but Pfeiffer made her debut late last week as the queen at a preview in Dayton, at the Dublin Pub.
Speaking in character as the queen, Pfeiffer acted puzzled by the tools of the modern age, such as this strange device called a microphone. She wondered aloud, “I’m speaking to you on Mike’s phone. What’s a phone?”
But that was just for show. Pfeiffer was already familiar with the Renaissance Festival; she previously portrayed the Lord Mayor’s mother. She came to the festival not so much for herself, but for her son, Robert, who is now 18.
“I brought my son a few years ago and he really loved it, and he couldn’t drive yet, so I got into it, too,” Pfeiffer said.
So when the festival’s previous queen moved to Colorado, Pfeiffer got her chance to turn regal, and she relishes it. Some years prior, she had taken a trip to the United Kingdom and saw a number of sites where Elizabeth had been, such as Warrick Castle.
“It was thrilling. I love the Renaissance period, and I adore Queen Elizabeth. I did a lot of reading on her, and she was so focused on everything. She was one of the first people in women’s liberation,” said Pfeiffer.
At the festival, Queen Elizabeth will greet visitors at the beginning of the day. She also will attend several jousts and knight anyone who wants to be knighted, male or female. Girls can be named dames and princesses, boys can be squires or knights.
Pfeiffer said she would especially enjoy watching her son play in the combat chess matches.
“He fights with a book. Knowledge is power!” she said.
Along with the queen, some other new attractions make their debut this year. These include a Cast in Bronze Show featuring a man playing carillon bells. “They’re very, very loud, but very, very impressive,” said Cheryl Bucholtz, the marketing and general manager.
She added there also will be a new Robin Hood show and the festival’s first indoor pub, called the Thirsty Wench.
The Renaissance Festival takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 16. It also runs on the same hours on Labor Day.
The theme weekends runs as follows;
Sept. 3-5: Family and Friends — Adults are two for the price of one, and kids 12 and younger get in free with a paying adult.
Sept. 10-11: Wine and Chocolate — Wine and chocolate tasting in the reception area behind the Aleing Knight Pub. Costs $40 for the entire event, or $2 per taste.
Sept. 17-18: Pirates Weekend — Events include a Talk Like a Pirate contest for adults and kids.
Sept. 24-25: Barbarian Invasion with Test of Strength and Turkey Leg eating contests.
Oct. 8-9: Romance Weekend — Couples can renew their vows at 12:30 and 3:30 each day. There also will be a Wooing Contest.
Oct. 15-16: Final Knights; Last chance to get a unique Renaissance-themed gift.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.