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28-823: In the early 1970s, Minnesota lawyer Jules Smith Sr. (1930–2018) invested in George Coulam's Minnesota Renaissance Festival . A few years later, Coulam left the Minnesota festival and started the Texas Renaissance Festival , and Smith sold his shares in the Minnesota festival and organized a similar festival in Maryland, near Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. The fair was first held for four weekends in 1977 and drew 17,000 people to see performances by Penn and Teller and The Flying Karamazov Brothers among others. In 1985,

56-466: A 200-ton lifting crane, an F7A Freight engine (under long term restoration to operating status), a Brill Car (one of the last of its kind), and Rock Island Business Car "Gritty Palace" - donated by the late Art Pew's family in 2022. The roundhouse is also home to the famous Northern Pacific Railway steam engine No. 2156, known to many Twin Cities Gen X children as Casey Jones 's steam engine, from

84-593: Is actively involved in preserving local railroad, bus, and streetcar history. MTM was formed in 1962 to save a streetcar that had been built and operated by Twin City Rapid Transit (TCRT) in Minneapolis–St. Paul . Many of the museum's early members were formerly part of the Minnesota Railfans Association , which had organized railfan trips from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 2004–2005,

112-609: The Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway . Excursion trains are operated on trackage formerly owned by Wisconsin Central Ltd. , now part of Canadian National Railway . Excursion trains operate from the historic Osceola Depot, north to Dresser, Wisconsin, and southbound to and through the scenic St. Croix River Valley. Regular schedules begin on the first weekend in May, continuing through the last week of October. Special Event trains operate through

140-616: The 2021 season, though no new updates regarding the proposed new permanent site have been made since it was announced in March 2019 that a site in or near Jordan, Minnesota was probable, and that land near the Scott County Fairgrounds had been purchased for that purpose. On December 31, 2020, it was stated on the Minnesota Renaissance Festival Facebook page that the lease for the current site was extended through

168-416: The 2022 season. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival had provided free parking at its site near Shakopee, but due to increasing traffic problems in 2023 they began limiting the number of vehicles using on-site parking by selling a limited number of date-specific parking vouchers. Directions are available from its website. Parking is available in parking lots accessible by two dirt roads, one from highway 41 and

196-600: The B-24 final assembly point at what is now St Paul's Holman Field, and a block of 1953/54 GMC transit units, two of which are painted in original Twin Cities Lines colors. The buses were used in regular charter service, and once formed a very visible part of the museum's collection, often used in wedding and corporate charters, and on the museum's city tours. This part of the collection was sponsored by Richfield Bus Company, who had provided maintenance and licensing to operate them. As

224-544: The Maryland Renaissance Festival announced that it would not operate in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The English Tudor village is 27 acres (110,000 m) of woods and fields. There are more than 130 craft shops and 42 food outlets. More than 1,300 participants populate the village, 400 work directly for the company, 700 for the other vendors and 200 as performers on stages or as characters throughout

252-618: The Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Jason Mraz also worked as a pickle boy (a boy or man who sells pickles) early in his performance career. The festival features over 700 entertainers, 275 crafters, and 120 food booths. Another popular feature is the Feast of Fantasy. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of several such events in the United States owned and operated by Mid-America Festivals, and it has grown to be one of

280-622: The Minnesota Transportation Museum. In 1967, the depot became the first building to be restored by the museum and it was outfitted with exhibits. In 2004, the METRO Blue Line 's Minnehaha Park station opened across the road from the old depot. Up until 2019, Several buses from the 1940s and 1950s were also operated by the museum. Most equipment in the bus collection were built by the GMC division of General Motors , and represented

308-786: The Renaissance Festival using Northern Pacific 328. These trains used Chicago & North Western Railway tracks between Minneapolis and Merriam Junction, which is located next to the Renaissance Festival grounds. The rail line was severed between Hopkins and Chaska in 1991. Minnesota Transportation Museum The Minnesota Transportation Museum ( MTM , reporting mark MNTX ) is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota , United States. MTM operates several heritage transportation sites in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin . The museum

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336-560: The classic steam engine, Northern Pacific No. 328 (4-6-0) was used to pull the trains, but has been placed in restoration status due to its age (107 yrs). The regular service train route runs approximately 50 minutes to/from Dresser, Wisconsin , and 100 minutes to/from Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota . The Museum also operates the Dresser Depot at the northeast terminus of the line in Dresser, WI. The Depot has been preserved exactly as if

364-478: The fair was moved to its current location in Crownsville and in 1986 Smith turned over the management of the fair to his son Jules Smith Jr., who still runs the festival with three siblings. The festival was originally an Elizabethan fair, but in 1989 switched to being focused on Henry VIII of England . King Henry is played by actor Fred Nelson, replacing Bill Huttel , after Huttel's death in 2001. On July 22, 2020,

392-643: The largest Renaissance Festivals in the United States, with an annual attendance of 300,000. Because the land on which the festival was built is leased, in 2014 Mid-America Festivals announced that 2016 would likely be the last season in its current location. The lease contains a clause in which the owners can terminate the lease at any time. In 2016 Mid-America Festivals announced the lease term would expire in 2019. Currently, several sites are under consideration, including properties in other parts of Scott County and near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. In December 2018 it

420-824: The look and feel of a fictional 16th Century "England-like" fantasy kingdom. It operates during seven consecutive weekends, from mid-August until the final week in September (or sometimes the first weekend in October) on a site near the Minnesota River in Shakopee , a suburb of the Twin Cities . The Minnesota Renaissance Festival began on September 11, 1971, with Tovah Feldshuh as the Queen, in Jonathan, Minnesota . More than 25,000 people visited

448-485: The museum acquired much of its bus collection from Metro Transit , the bus company sometimes requested the use of the old buses for special events. In 2019, the entire bus collection was donated to a private party. The museum currently has no plans on acquiring new buses to replace their former collection. MTM, in conjunction with the Historical Society of Osceola, Wisconsin , operates a heritage railroad called

476-481: The oldest and largest Renaissance festivals in the United States. It has played host to the early careers of such national acts as the magicians Penn & Teller and The Flying Karamazov Brothers juggling troupe, and it currently hosts acts such as Zilch the Torysteller, Puke and Snot, Johnny Phoenix, The Tortuga Twins, and The Danger Committee. On August 19, 1975, Penn & Teller did their first show together at

504-560: The organization's streetcar operations became the Minnesota Streetcar Museum , with the steamboat Minnehaha , originally built by TCRT in a style similar to its streetcars, becoming a major attraction of the Museum of Lake Minnetonka . After the first streetcar, TCRT No.  1300, was successfully restored, other projects were examined in the time before the streetcar could be put on its own set of rails. The Minnehaha Depot

532-522: The other from highway 169, onto its 400-acre campus. Limited access to and from the festival site has led to significant transportation issues including delays as long as two hours either entering or leaving the fairgrounds. Traffic problems have created significant backups and delays along Minnesota Highway 169 with traffic being identified as the number one issue. In the 1980s, the Minnesota Transportation Museum provided train trips to

560-655: The season, including Wine Tasting, the Pumpkin Train (Halloween) and Fall Leaf Viewing trains through the River Valley. At the Osceola service area, several locomotives and pieces of rolling stock are on display. All equipment has been reconditioned to standard operating condition, including classic 1920s open-window coaches, Great Northern express coaches and a refreshment car (Baggage car 265). Locomotives currently in running condition are classic diesel-electric . In past years

588-600: The staff stepped out for a break, down to calendars and railroad notices. It is also the site of Pumpkin Train Park, hosting several thousand visitors during the pre-Halloween weekend. The Jackson Street Roundhouse is MTM headquarters in St. Paul , as well as a fully functional railroad roundhouse , one of the last of its kind in the country. During winter months, the Roundhouse is a functioning work area for Museum rolling stock, often with

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616-711: The two-weekend grand opening of the festival, at which time it was called Minnesota Renaissance Fair (changed to Minnesota Renaissance Festival later on) and promoted as “A Celebration of Nature, Art and Life!” It was at the Jonathan site in 1971 and 1972. In 1973, it moved to a farm on highway 41 up the hill [north] from Chaska, according to info on page 17 of the book "The History of the American Renaissance Festival" by Al Olson, published in 2021. In 1974, it moved to its current site in Shakopee, where it continues as one of

644-581: The vehicles that replaced the streetcars in the Twin Cities in the 1950s. The conversion from a streetcar to bus system required two years. The last trolley run was on Hennepin Avenue on June 18, 1954. The collection consisted of buses that once operated in and across Minnesota. The Earliest is a 1942 Mack (occasionally used in conjunction with the Commemorative Air Force) which transported war workers to

672-452: The village. The Maryland Renaissance Festival utilizes eight major theaters, four smaller stages in taverns, a children's area, and a jousting tiltyard with seating for 3,000. 39°00′06″N 76°35′01″W  /  39.00167°N 76.58361°W  / 39.00167; -76.58361 Minnesota Renaissance Festival The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair , an interactive outdoor event which focuses on recreating

700-425: The volunteer workforce welding, grinding and sending sparks flying. Open Wednesday & Saturday, year-round, and on Friday during the summer months it is a maintenance & restorations base for the museum's locomotives and rolling stock . It is highly interactive, offering train rides (Saturdays) as well as hands-on exhibits about surface transportation history of Minnesota and the upper Midwest. The building

728-584: Was a former Milwaukee Road depot at Minnehaha Falls . The station, built in 1875, was nicknamed "The Princess" because of its delicate architecture . The depot is a contributing property to the Minnehaha Historic District . Trains running on special routes have sometimes stopped at the station, and it was eventually integrated into the area streetcar system. The depot is owned by the Minnesota Historical Society and operated by

756-407: Was announced that the lease for the current site was extended through the 2020 season. On August 19, 2020, it was stated on the Minnesota Renaissance Festival Facebook page that the 2020 season, which would have been the 50th season, was cancelled due to covid, and that the 2021 season will now be considered the 50th season. It was also stated that the lease for the current site was extended through

784-561: Was erected by the Great Northern Railway in 1907, replacing another, older roundhouse. The site has been used for rail transportation since the first railroad came to Minnesota (1860s). The Roundhouse and surrounding grounds are a near complete display of American industrial history from the 19th century through the mid-20th century. The Roundhouse is base for equipment as varied as Pullman coaches, Northern Pacific RR mail & baggage cars, an operating 115-foot (35 m) turntable,

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