The Renaissance Faire

The Renaissance Faire started in 1963 in Los Angeles when school teacher Phyllis Patterson held a very small version of the faire as a class activity in the backyard of her Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. Now, it has become an eagerly awaited-for and extremely successful yearly Los Angeles tradition. After that first manifestation in the backyard, later that same year, Phyllis and her husband presented the first Renaissance Pleasure Faire as a one-weekend fundraiser for radio station KPFK, drawing some 8,000 people. The Patterson family’s company, Theme Events Limited, and its non-profit affiliate, The Living History Center, are generally credited with developing the Renaissance Faire concept as it exists today, with “Maying” customs and partaking of rich lore and age-old English springtime markets. There are now over 100 independently owned and operated Renaissance Faires throughout the United States and Canada.