Photo by Peryy Hopkins
The first annual Cedar Springs Area Chamber of Commerce Summer Celebration kicked off last weekend with a Renaissance Festival in Morley Park.
According to Chamber member Perry Hopkins, Friday night was damp but they still had a crowd of 20 for the outdoor movie “Sword and the Stone,” which was shown under a big tent. Riccardi’s sold pizza by the slice and Pinnacle Popcorn donated popcorn to hand out.
On Saturday, Hopkins estimated that they had around 200 people (not counting entertainers and vendors) enjoy the festivities. The mermaids, belly dancers, and pirates filled the day with entertainment, and at 6:30 p.m. they had the Royal Dinner and entertainment. Entertainment included two solo acts from Middle Eastern dancers and one drum soloist.
Photo by Peryy Hopkins
“One comment I received from an attendee at the Royal Dinner was ‘Wow! This is so great I feel like a real king eating this meal with the entertainment in front of us—outside!” said Hopkins.
On Sunday the crowd was slower but picked up a little after 2 p.m. They had pirates, sword demonstrations, and belly dancers.
“We had many people on Saturday and Sunday that dressed the part for the renaissance era,” remarked Hopkins. “We received great comments from the attendees and have new volunteers from this year’s event to make next year’s event bigger and better.”
My husband and I went on Saturday and we only heard about it on accident. We both happened to get a hair cut and saw a sign for it. Other wise we wouldn’t have went because we didn’t see any advertisement for it. I was not the only one I talked to a day or 2 later who had no idea. There may have been a better turn out if there was more advertisement.