Looking for a fun-filled weekend of history reminiscent of the Renaissance? The St. Paul Newman Center hosts the 34th annual Fresno Renaissance Festival on Oct. 25-26.

Festival highlights include the culture of medieval and Renaissance Europe. During the hours of 8 A.M.-5 P.M. on Oct. 25 and 8 A.M.-4 P.M. on Oct. 26, many men and women act out their roles as lords and ladies, princes and paupers.

On the campus across from Bulldog Stadium on Barstow, actors and actresses make an atmosphere of a medieval market come alive to visitors. Greg Page, campus world history teacher, requires his students to attend the event as an assignment.

“I think the Renaissance Festival is important because they get to see how people dressed, how they lived, and what the culture of the time was like then,” Page said.

Many students are excited to attend the festival in hopes that they will learn more about the times and the customs.

“I like learning about the Renaissance,” Megan Witters, ’07, said. “I have visited the festival before and I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to it this year.”

Others in Page’s class feel it is unnecessary to be present at the event.

“I think the assignment is pointless,” Spenser Koleen, ’06, said. “We are not studying the Renaissance now; it is irrelevant.”

Page feels it is important for others to attend, not just his students.

“By visiting the festival, people will get a flavor of what life was like then and how blessed we are now,” Page said.

For more information, the St. Paul Newman Center can be contacted by phone at 436-3434.