{"id":289,"date":"2026-07-30T01:23:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/?p=289"},"modified":"2026-08-30T17:26:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T22:26:36","slug":"1981-king-richards-faire-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/07\/30\/1981-king-richards-faire-program\/","title":{"rendered":"1981 King Richard\u2019s Faire Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"506\" height=\"450\" src=\"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/King-Richards-Faire-Logo-01.jpg\" alt=\"King Richard's Faire Logo\" class=\"wp-image-264\" srcset=\"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/King-Richards-Faire-Logo-01.jpg 506w, http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/King-Richards-Faire-Logo-01-300x267.jpg 300w, http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/King-Richards-Faire-Logo-01-150x133.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">From a post in the Facebook group&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">King Richards Faire\/ BRF Past and Present<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.deancalin.com\/pdf\/KRF%20Programs\/1981%20KRF%20Program.pdf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"160\" src=\"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1981-King-Richards-Faire-Thumb-01.jpg\" alt=\"1981 King Richard's Faire\" class=\"wp-image-244\" srcset=\"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1981-King-Richards-Faire-Thumb-01.jpg 120w, http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1981-King-Richards-Faire-Thumb-01-113x150.jpg 113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 120px) 100vw, 120px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click to open program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Oyez, Ahoy and Hallo friends from Long Ago &#8211; here is the program from&nbsp;<strong>Chicago&#8217;s 1981 King Richard&#8217;s Faire<\/strong>. As we explore these not so olden times we can see some evolutions from the &#8220;early&#8221; KRF seasons as the event started becoming a more sophisticated show in its own right. Know that the KRF scenario was trend-setting among renaissance festivals across the United States and was much imitated but never bested!<br><br>Some items of note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Ring of Steel<\/strong>&nbsp;once again is the backbone of the ensemble &#8220;fight&#8221; cast. This is the very first year of an official &#8220;scenario&#8221; that weaved its way through the season. It was titled, &#8220;<strong>Katharine the First<\/strong>.&#8221; It was a daunting task in that it changed each of the seven weekends of the season, giving an extraordinary challenge to the artistic members of the show to, essentially, learn a new show every weekend!<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The daily show continued to include a parade: the Artistic Director,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1367321781\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">John Mills<\/a>&nbsp;is quoted as saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m just queer for parades!&#8221;<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/100000364577724\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Vaughn Filwett<\/a>&nbsp;continued to portray King Richard and Barbara Burinski (&#8220;Bodge&#8221;) makes her first appearance as Queen Katherine after several years of performing with the acapella vocal group&nbsp;<strong>Les Jongleurs<\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1224744836\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Douglas Kondziolka<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1121842990\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Lee Ramey<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/100002170173569\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Donna Goforth<\/a>&nbsp;n\u00e9e Lusch.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1638612563\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Ron Scot Fry<\/a>&nbsp;appears this year as the Royal Cup Bearer. Conrad Warren (&#8220;Weather Bunny&#8221;) plays the&nbsp;<strong>Archbishop of Bristol<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/694054109\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Richard Weber<\/a>&nbsp;was the&nbsp;<strong>Lord High Sheriff<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1363714939\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">David HB Drake<\/a>&nbsp;returns with the Ring of Steel as&nbsp;<strong>William Jinks<\/strong><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/777543999\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Jose Granados<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1224744836\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Douglas Kondziolka<\/a>&nbsp;appear as Don Juan Gaspar and Miguel Rodrigo Jusus Alfredo Esteban de Zaragoza in the scenario, presaging the formation of the infamous &#8220;Don Juan and Miguel Show&#8221;<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Dave&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1389469269\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">David Krajec<\/a>&nbsp;and Brian J. Conrad return as Nicholas Blunt and Byron Cutter, respectively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Jousting Knights of the Renaissance<\/strong>&nbsp;continue as the official jousting troupe of King Richard&#8217;s Faire<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The College of Wizards<\/strong>&nbsp;has a substantial presence in the show this year, solidifying the fantasy element of the festival. Jeff Grygny (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/100035893637047\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">J Philip Grygny<\/a>) heads the group as Aurelius Megistus with Phyllis Blanchard as Artemidora, and Jim Kuehl (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/100001131704244\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">James Mullen-Kuehl<\/a>) as Merlin, among other players in that troupe. This may have been the year that the College of Wizards was excavated in the far northeast section of the site &#8211; truly an amazing structure now lost to further development of the grounds<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Frank Harnish continued to portray William Shakespeare<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Michael &amp; Marilyn Marzella made an appearance at the show, presaging their return when the Bristol management assumed ownership of the theme park in 1988, playing King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Rose &amp; Thorn Puppet Theater<\/strong>&nbsp;performed under Ray St. Louis (Nelson)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/738995714\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Denise Harnish<\/a>&nbsp;played The Mistress of the Cottage.&nbsp;<strong>The Cottage<\/strong>&nbsp;was, apocryphally, assembled out of the wreckage of director John Mills garage in Chicago<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TomMorello\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=kK-R\">Tom Morello<\/a>&nbsp;(of&nbsp;<em>Rage Against the Machine<\/em>&nbsp;fame) appeared for the first time at KRF as a member of the&nbsp;<strong>Queen&#8217;s Dance Company<\/strong><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Amazingly talented Catherine Martineau appears this year as a member of the Rainbow Guild.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The (exhausting) theme weekends this year were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The King&#8217;s Coronation &#8211; July 3-5<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Folk and Faryltale Festival &#8211; July 11-12<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Int&#8217;l Festival of Dance &#8211; July 18-19<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Renaissance Music Festival &#8211; July 25 -26<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Tournament of Games &#8211; August 1-2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Royal Sight Hound Races &#8211; August 8-9<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Harvest Carnival &#8211; August 15-16<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1367321781\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">John Mills<\/a>&nbsp;was the entertainment director once again.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1657266652\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Mike Dvorak<\/a>&nbsp;was the Theme Weekend Coordinator, Bob Dawson was the Ring of Steel Director, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/53784542837\/user\/1179101242\/?__cft__[0]=AZYjmTOFyxKdaeVTIiNB1NiE_DYbHhhDemo9G4kpNPX1hCv8fRue_UHUSLzQU8a_y3CQkGOCgo0JkevmsXsLTUreMzuDiJaBrg1T9deDXtb8puoL8byts5B3vLoDHR5SkP9qbswDcVIYIFJPxbwdHHEG&amp;__tn__=-]K-R\">Jim Ellis<\/a>&nbsp;was the assistant to John Mills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From a post in the Facebook group&nbsp;King Richards Faire\/ BRF Past and Present. Oyez, Ahoy and Hallo friends from Long Ago &#8211; here is the program from&nbsp;Chicago&#8217;s 1981 King Richard&#8217;s Faire. As we explore these not so olden times we can see some evolutions from the &#8220;early&#8221; KRF seasons as the event started becoming a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-festivals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":360,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289\/revisions\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deancalin.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}