Good medieval times: Anchorage's 3 Barons Renaissance Fair turns 25

Surrounded by sons, sycophants and harem girls with jingling coins on their Princess Jasmine pants, The Blue Baron addresses his audience.

"Knights, ladies, nobles of every variety, peasants, merchants, and other people who don't smell very good, welcome to the 25th anniversary of the 3 Barons Fair," he announces in a rich, aristocratic voice. "Gentlemen, if your knees quake in fear, ladies, if your hearts rush to a passion to which they've been a stranger since your wedding night, do not be afraid, for you are merely in the presence of greatness. I am no other than Ali Akbar Mohammet el Mut Amin the Magnificent, and you have my leave to adore me."

He throws gold-wrapped chocolate coins into the audience and primes them for The Circus of The Damned, or the "worst damn show at the fair," as he calls it.

Shane Mitchell has had a quarter century to hone the Blue Baron's haughtiness and sarcasm to perfection.

"All of the barons and baronesses come and go, but I have endured since the beginning," said Mitchell, who is also the director of Anchorage's TBA Theatre.

Every year, the Red, Green and Blue courts convene in the mythical village of Hillshire to compete for the sacred spear of Hillthelstan The Bold in a variety of battles and games. According to Renaissance Fair legend, Hillthelstan slayed some fierce creature — maybe a dragon, maybe a bear — with the spear and saved Hillshire.

Around 400 role players, many of whom are professional actors, volunteer to bring the story to witty, swashbuckling life for the first two weekends of June.

The Tudor English Green Court, led by bloodthirsty Baron Charles Drake, are the villains. The Venetian Red Court, commanded by benevolent Baron Dante Fortunati, are the good guys, and the Moorish Blue Court are the mediators and the most laid back and decadent court.

When the Blue Baron isn't calling the moves in Battle Chess, settling an argument, or overseeing another event, he lounges in a lavish tent filled with satiny plush pillows and fruit bowls.

You don't need to know every detail of the backstory or be a total Ren fair nerd to have good medieval times at 3 Barons. It wouldn't still be around if it just appealed to an obsessive niche audience. Anyone can have fun pelting produce at hammy Shakespearean actors at the tomato show, watching warriors wail on each other with brooms, spears and swords during battle chess, seeing the unicorns, dragons, wenches and townspeople go by and simply witnessing the wonderfully funny actors deliver the corniest of jokes and puns with aplomb.

One of the most reliable resources for classic cheesy humor is The Circus of The Damned, a feature of the fair since the beginning.

A sort of medieval "Laugh-In," the circus is stocked with jugglers, dysfunctional flying carpets, incompetent snake charmers and mutant man bears. Throughout the show, puppets and performers poke their heads through windows to comment on the comedy, and then quickly disappear. One almost expects one of the actors to break out with a "sock it to me" or "sock it to ye?"

In one of the silliest bits, the circus host giddily reads a fan love letter aloud. "I think you are very sexy," he reads with delight. When he reaches the signature, his face falls and his voice breaks. The letter is a ruse written by the nasty Green Baron.

"Warmest regards, Charles Drake the Baron," the host recites reluctantly. "Affectionately, your Chucky Ducky." 

Tomatotal chaos

Lovers Pyramus and Thisbe from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are desperately trying to embrace, but an actor dressed as a wall is blocking their lust.

"Oh wall, oh sweet lovely wall, that stands between her father's ground and mine," Pyramus emotes before the din of the yelling crowd and the collective sploosh of dozens of flying tomatoes drowns out the purposely putrid acting.

The tomato show is a 3 Barons favorite that gives fairgoers a glimpse into real renaissance history. 

For the last 20 years, the show has been written and directed by Shakespeare scholar and South Anchorage High School theater director Erin Dagon Mitchell.

Mitchell earned a master's degree in theater from Wichita State University, and her thesis focused on the inner workings of  Shakespeare's theater company.  The lady knows her tomato shows.

"It's (an) essential part of the fair because it fulfills a theatrical archetype or cliche of sorts: throwing rotten food to show displeasure at an actor or performance," Mitchell said. "The groundlings, those who stood on the ground because a seat was too expensive, were often boisterous, loud and crowded together."

Jonel Schenk, who purchased a basket of tomatoes from the Tomato Wives prior to the show, was shocked by the riotous crowd.

"Last time they got through some stunts before they started throwing tomatoes," she said.

Renaissance fair history

The Green Court is all about greed and gore. Yet it also has a rather civilized literary side. On Sunday afternoon, Court Bard Felicity Arden, aka Rebecca Mahar, entertained visitors with a pop song turned sonnet.

"This be known in the new world as 'Material Girl,' " she explained.

Some suitors do believe an earnest kiss or soft embrace will let them win my heart.

But if they'll not remit, they are remiss, for riches are the way to love impart.

Still others try with words too fast and dear, remaining yet too blind to see my bridegroom will be my financier.

Mahar, a regular on the Cyrano's Theatre Co. stage, started coming to the fair in 2004, and has been a cast member for eight years.

"It wasn't until I got to UAA and met people who were involved that I was able to become part of the fair," she said. "Back in those days you sort of had to know somebody to get involved." Nowadays, the fair holds auditions, she said.

She isn't surprised that the fair is still flourishing.

"People like to come out and lose themselves in another world, and that is what we are here to provide," she said. "Coming out to play with us is a way for people to indulge their fantasies."

The Green Baroness Cassandra Drake, aka 3 Barons board member Jennifer Wright, said fair attendance has risen from 8,000 to 11,000 over the past 10 years. As for volunteers and cast members, those numbers remain pretty steady, with about 400 role players a year and 20 additional volunteers, Wright said.

Anchorage Ren fair folks started taking trips to the world of nobles, knights and giant juicy turkey legs long before the 3 Barons Fair was born. Mitchell, aka the Blue Baron, is an expert in Anchorage Renaissance Fair history.

"Before (3 Barons) was the Alaska Renaissance Festival. It was founded in the early '70s, and in those days it was held at Campbell Creek Park," he said.

Mitchell said Anchorage Incorporated eventually took over the festival and artistic disputes followed. In 1993, 3 Barons founders John Matus, Chris Cushman, Kevin Eckman and Mike Daniels broke from the festival to launch a spinoff fair. That year, both fairs happened. Then the original festival fell away.

"It wasn't a moneymaking venture, so Greater Anchorage Incorporated shunted the festival to the side and now 3 Barons is the only Renaissance fair in Anchorage," Mitchell said.

3 Barons started at the Hilltop Ski Area, moved to University Lake in the late '90s, and landed at its current location, the Tozier Sled Dog Track, in 2002. Now, the fair is a nonprofit run by Three Barons Renaissance Fair Inc.

Mitchell was already a Ren fair regular back in the Alaska Renaissance Festival days. He started going when he was 12. By the time he was a theater major at University of Alaska Anchorage, he was hooked. One year while he was in college, he went as a Catholic  archbishop with a group of friends dressed as  knights, priests and nuns.

The folks working the entrance "didn't know we were just patrons," Mitchell recalled. "They opened the gates and let us in; they thought we were some kind of performers."

They were asked to return for future fairs. In 1987, Mitchell and his friends transitioned into Moorish characters, and Mitchell transferred his role over to the 3 Barons Fair once it was established.

"There are grown folks who are bringing their kids to 3 Barons now who came here when they were the kid. They say 'I remember you, I would kneel in front of you and you would put my blue ribbon on and give me a coin,' " Mitchell said. "It's just this unbroken tradition I think is wonderful."