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Gillian Bagwell

Gillian Bagwell is a historical novelist, nonfiction writer and editor living in Berkeley, California. She’s currently working on a book about the history of the original Renaissance Pleasure Faire with Kevin Patterson, the son of the fair’s founders. Website: GillianBagwell.com

Performers at the 1963 Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Ron Patterson, a co-founder of the event, appears in orange at the far right.

The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair

The first of these festivals debuted in the early 1960s, serving as a prime example of the United States’ burgeoning counterculture