(Ben Welter — Minneapolis Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Sept. 11, 1971: Ye Olde Renaissance Festival
Minnesota's first Renaissance Festival, which opened 40 years ago this week in Chaska, was promoted as a "Celebration of Nature, Art and Life." It as much a celebration of tie-dyed costumes and black-velvet paintings as it was of life in 16th-century Europe.
By Ben Welter
October 15, 2015 at 4:00PM
Sept. 11, 1971: Actress Tovah Feldshuh and George Coulam, one of the festival's founders, greeted visitors on the festival's first day. (Minneapolis Tribune photo by Mike Zerby)
Sept. 18, 1977: Viktor Korchnoi, a contender for the world chess title at the time, played 50 games simultaneously at the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee. Opponents paid $15 each to take on the grandmaster, who played a series of simuls across the United States that year. Here one of the youngest challengers, 12-year-old Andre Wakefield, awaited Korchnoi's next move. The kid eventually lost, as did 42 other challengers. Three challengers fought to a draw, and four – Alan Kemp and Ken Kaufman of Minneapolis, James Hirsch of St. Paul and Ron Elmquist of Mounds View – managed to beat the world's second-ranked player. (Minneapolis Star Photo by Jim McTaggart)
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Ben Welter
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