Each year in America there are Renaissance Faire's held in various states and they often are held over several weekends.  The one in North Carolina is held over 3 weekends in April and each weekend has a different theme such as Scottish tartan theme, Edwardian theme, etc. It gives people from various ethnic backgrounds a chance to dress up and celebrate their heritage. It's also a great place to have fun and educate the children. Michael Craig and his wife go each year and he shares some of his pictures with us.

At The North Carolina Renaissance Faire, you can step back 400 years into time and history! This full scale, interactive theater experience is like no other. The Faire offers you a chance to visit the days of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I!

At this 16th Century Faire, you'll find over 110 artisans hawking their wares, you'll enjoy musicians, jugglers, and the ribaldry of actors in many distinct staging areas. You'll see brave and bold knights competing for the favor of the Her Majesty's Court (and for their lady's affection) during any one of three full-contact jousts held in the Queen's Tiltyard

The North Carolina Renaissance Faire, Inc. actively seeks out local period themed entertainments and merchants to include in our festivals. Learn more at http://www.ncrenfaire.com/

And to illustrate how Scots fit in you'll find a Tartan Day link which brings you to page which tells us...

Tartan Day - April 10 & 11

Tartan Day in the Official celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. Celebrated April 6 of each year, it has been recognized as an official day by the US Congress.

Tartan Day at NCRF

Brought to you by: The St Andrews Society of NC, SCOT, Judith Lloyd and The Historical Enrichment Society

Join with us April 10th & 11th as we celebrate Tartan Day at The North Carolina Renaissance Faire. We are the Official Tartan Day Celebration for the Triangle!

So, don your kilt, wear your tartan, and come out to celebrate your Scottish Heritage. Everyone's a Scot on Tartan Day!

Our Celebration will Include:

Mary, Queen of Scots & Her Royal Court
Visit our Gallery to see an authenticated piece of the shroud of Mary, Queen of Scots
A Bonnie Knees Contest for the Men (with prizes)
NC State Pipes and Drums
The Tartan Day Committee Booth will be there to check your Scottish Heritage
Scottish Highland Dancers
Parade of Scots
Scottish Dance
And Much More!

Detailed Information:

Six years after the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce, commissioned the abbot of the Abbey of Arbroath to write a petition to the Pope to intercede with England and recognize Scotland as a sovereign country. The Declaration was signed by 100 nobles on April 6th, 1320. Eight years after it was sent the treaty of Northampton was signed by Edward III finally acknowledging Scotland as an independent country and Robert the Bruce as its king.

The Declaration, which was the first of its kind, was used by Thomas Jefferson in his creation of the U.S. Declaration of Independence centuries later.

One of the more famous quotes from the Declaration is the ending line, "for so long as a hundred of us are left alive, we will yield in no way to foreign dominion. We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honours; but only and alone we fight for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his life."

Canada was one of the first nations to choose April 6th as Tartan Day, to give people of Scottish Heritage a special day to celebrate that heritage. The U.S. Senate set up April 6th as Tartan Day in 1998 with Resolution 155 sponsored by Trent Lott. On March 10th 2005, Resolution 41, co-sponsored by NC Representative Mike McIntyre, reiterated the date of April 6th as Tartan Day, in the House of Representatives. President Bush signed a proclamation in 2008 declaring April 6th as Tartan Day.

The Raleigh area celebration has been traditionally sponsored by the NC Renaissance Faire and includes the NC State Pipes and Drums, Highland Dancing, and Scottish Country Dancing as well as a Bonnie Knees Contest. Mary, Queen of Scots is the Faire's reigning monarch for the celebration. The date for 2010 is the weekend of April 10th in Wake Forest at 13239 Capital Blvd.