Curio Cabinet

Huzzah! This summer saw another season of art, feasting, and merriment in the form of Renaissance fair(e)s and festivals around the U.S. Full of costumes and performances, these fairs evoke a past and recreate a history that never was, all in the name of fun. Modern revelers might be surprised to learn that Renaissance faires got their start as a haven for displaced artists under political persecution.
 
The first Renaissance faire might never have existed if not for the Red Scare of the 1950s and 60s. With the rise of the Soviet Union and the growing fear of the spread of communism, the U.S. House of Representatives formed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which served as a watchdog group against perceived threats against American interests. Then, during the era of McCarthyism, named for virulently anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy, professionals in both the private and public sectors came under political scrutiny. Those suspected of being communists were blacklisted in their respective careers, whether there was evidence or not. Many people in the entertainment industry, some of them targeted for speaking out in favor of the LGBT community, found their careers derailed overnight. Then there were people like Phyllis Patterson, an educator with a background in theater and television who was unable to stomach signing a political loyalty oath mandated by the HUAC. In 1960, Patterson quit her job as a public school teacher in protest. Like many of her friends in Laurel Canyon, a neighborhood in Hollywood Hills, she was in search of another outlet for her artistic ambitions. As an educator, she was also driven by a desire to engage the community with her particular blend of education and theater.
 
One of Patterson’s outlets was Into the Woods, a theater program for 9 to 10-year-olds held in her and her husband’s home. The program involved improvisational theater inspired by, among other things, commedia dell'arte, a form of Italian theater originating in the 16th century. Inspired by the success of the program, the Pattersons organized the very first Renaissance faire after renting out Haskell’s Raskells Ranch, a nearby park with a local radio station as a sponsor. Called The Renaissance Pleasure Faire & Ha’Penny Market, the event took place between May 11 and 12 of 1963, and featured craft vendors, performers, and costumed attendees, all dressed in medieval attire, or at least a modern imagining of it. For the “Pleasure Faire,” the Pattersons enlisted the help of actors, writers, and other entertainment industry professionals, many of whom had been blacklisted. Like its creators, the faire itself was targeted by conservatives. Especially after they relocated to a more conservative area of Ventura County. The faire and its organizers were accused of promoting debauchery and drug use. The local government often attempted to squash the organizers by denying permits, and there were even newspaper campaigns to discredit the faire. Nevertheless, the faire continued year after year, eventually inspiring others to hold Renaissance faires and festivals of their own.
 
Today, there are around 200 Renaissance faires around the U.S. alone. What started as a countercultural movement is now a cultural summer staple, but it still remains a haven for the unconventional and the creative. While the Pattersons had a vision of more historically accurate costumes and sets (though theirs were also based on a Hollywood imagining of medieval Europe) Renaissance faires nowadays are more about creative expression than historical accuracy. In fact, most faires blend history and fantasy, with an aesthetic that borrows from popular understandings of European history and mythology. Trying to implement strict historical costume rules for people willing to dress in tights and sing medieval ballads in the modern era was always going to be a lost cause.

 
[Image description: An illustration of a smiling jester in a red-and-gold hat and collar against a beige background.] Credit & copyright: Jester's wand, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 3) issued by Kinney Bros., Issued by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick. Public Domain.

There was a time when the net wasn’t the only barrier in tennis. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently commemorated the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson breaking racial barriers in the sport. At this year’s U.S. Open, attendees and competitors alike were greeted by signs reading, “Celebrating 75 years of breaking barriers.” It was all in honor of Althea Gibson, who became the first Black player to compete in a major tennis event on August 25, 1950. Then called the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA), the organization had previously barred Black players from competing at the highest levels and had initially barred Gibson from competing at the U.S. Nationals, the predecessor to the U.S. Open. Gibson was already a dominant figure within the American Tennis Association (ATA), which was composed of Black athletes, but she aspired to compete against the best, regardless of race. Eventually, thanks to her own persistence and the help of Alice Marble, one of the most prominent white players at the time, Gibson was begrudgingly allowed to compete by the USLTA. Though Gibson went on to have a successful career both in the U.S. and internationally, she remained mostly forgotten until recent years. She passed away in 2003 at the age of 76, and since then, the USTA has made strides to right the wrongs of the past. She also broke racial barriers in golf, but that’s a story for another day!