AuburnPub.com - A merry olde tyme

AuburnPub.com - A merry olde tyme.

No, this isn't a small village in 1585 England, but the people behind the Sterling Renaissance Festival hope to complete the illusion for their guests. The festival is preparing to start its 33rd season this year; the gates are opening to the public on the weekend of the Fourth of July and will reopen Saturdays and Sundays until Aug. 16. Last year, the festival was only open for six weekends, due to a number of factors. “There had been waning interest in previous years, and we weren't sure if we could sustain the extra weekend,” says Doug Waterbury, who took over ownership and direction of the festival last year. “It costs over $100,000 each weekend to put this show on, and we were putting a lot of money back into the show for improvements and upgrades.” However, the investment paid off, and the festival was very successful last year. “Even with the bad weather we had for almost half the season, we did very well. One day traffic was backed up all the way into downtown Fair Haven, six miles away. We had to call the state police and have them direct traffic. Throughout the season we had maybe 7,000 to 12,000 guests a day, more on some days.” That success has lead Waterbury and his staff to return the festival to its original run of seven weekends, as well as continuing to focus on enlarging and improving the festival. “I went into this expecting a five- to six-year turnaround,” says Waterbury, “and I'm keeping with that. We have a lot of new events and venues here for people this year.” Among those new attractions are several new stages. “The front gate used to just be a facade, but we made an actual stage up there. Actors can stand at the top and interact with guests from the moment they walk in. We also added a covered beer garden stage and added architecture and a second level to the festival stage,” Waterbury said. Waterbury added, “What last year proved is that there is demand for a really great show, and we're going to give people that.” “We've come in with some new blood, some new energy. We have a new point of view is maybe the best way to say it,” he explained, “and there have been veterans, people who have come to this festival for over 30 years, who have said that last year was the best show we've ever had.” One of those veterans is Douglas Kondziolka. Kondziolka is the executive vice president of performing company Don Juan and Miguel, LLC, and he helps put on the acclaimed “Don Juan and Miguel Show” at the Sterling festival and other Renaissance Fairs around the country. “The people come here and they just love it,” said Kondziolka. “They have commented to me about how this festival is so interactive, more than other similar places. The Sterling festival has always been one the highest regarded in the country, and I guess you could say everyone is working to bring it back to its former glory. More has been done in the past two years than in the previous seven.” More construction wouldn't count for much if there wasn't entertainment to fill it, and that job falls to Gary Izzo. Izzo, the creative director of the festival, has been working at the Sterling festival since 1979. “As far as interactive entertainment, this festival sets the bar,” said Izzo, who has worked with the Walt Disney Co. at its theme parks developing and consulting on live entertainment. “I developed and launched the live interactive entertainment at Animal Kingdom, and I've used things that I learned here, at this festival.” Izzo continued, “We have some guest acts for our themed weekends, and more full-time shows this year. People will see something new every year. We have people who have been coming to this festival since it started, and even they have been surprised by what we've added.” One new addition is Falstaff, the classic comedic character from Shakespeare's “Henry IV” (parts one and two) and “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” “We are flying the actor in from Florida every other weekend, and he will be there entertaining people in the beer garden,” Izzo said.