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Keith Heffner
John and Emilie Sadowsky
“Time Travel to Fun” is the promotional slogan of the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which runs weekends and Labor Day from August 24th through October 20th in Crownsville. Fun not only applies for the customers but for the 1,300 participants and employees. The Festival operator employs 600 in various staff and entertainment positions and the 200 shop owners employ another 500.
A unique aspect of the festival each day is 35 positions are filled by one or two charitable fundraising groups staffing some of the soda and beer stands. Currently nine county schools, seven Boy and Girl Scout Troops, various lodges and civic organizations, churches and clubs raise money for their charitable or funding needs. The program now in its 31st year has provided these organizations the opportunity to raise over $2,600,000 for their group’s needs.
Many young people have their first job at the Festival, often made more enjoyable because they can assume a character persona while they assist, serve and accommodate customers enjoying their visit. For many of the workers it is additional income to augment existing jobs, convenient for saving money towards a personal goal or the up-coming holidays. While a large number of young people fill many positions, others are filled by people from all walks of life; military, government agencies, real estate, law enforcement and fire departments, business owners and legal and medical professionals.
The Festival is also unique among major renaissance events in that most of its performers are local actors and actresses to the Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. While some of the stage acts are national there are many fulltime local performers who often have demanding day jobs and then spend their weekends cutting lose in 16th century garb unabashedly performing their artistic character’s personality.
In both the acting corps and the traditional staffing positions many families participate. Mathematician by day and actor/director at the Festival John Sadowsky states, “My wife demonstrates and teaches knitting, my son has been a stage manager and I’m an actor. For fifteen years our family has been part of a wonderful larger family helping this village come to life.” Couples who’ve met at the Festival populate the acting troupe while many families staff food stands or work throughout the village in different positions from games, security, customer service, ticketing and entertainment support. Media Specialist Denisa Portani says, “It became something special I was able to do with my son each year for 20 plus years.” The staffs at many of the festival owned facilities and the independent craft shops get together throughout the year to celebrate life’s milestones and enjoy each other’s company. They can become extend families forming lifelong friendships.
Employees and civic groups return for many years, with young seasonal workers only leaving to go away to college while there are many others who have returned for over twenty years. The family that owns and operates the Festival and three of the craft shop owners have been part of the Festival for its entire forty-three years. While throngs of customers are enjoying their visit more than a thousand participants in costumes and character are enjoying making it possible. Everyone at the Maryland Renaissance Festival “Time Travels to Fun.”
Additional information about the Festival, dates, times, performances, ticketing, craft and food is available at the Festival website www.marylandrenaissancefestival.com .
