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<P><!--StartFragment --> <FONT size=5>Looking for love in all the REN
places</FONT></P>
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<DIV class=styleheadings><FONT face=Arial,Helv,Helvetica,Geneva
size=-1>General information</FONT></DIV>
<P></P><SPAN class=mediumtext><FONT face=Arial,Helv,Helvetica,Geneva
size=-1>Open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the
Festival grounds, Just off Interstate-70 at Exit 51A, six miles west of
New Stanton. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial,Helv,Helvetica,Geneva size=-1>Tickets at the gate cost
$14.95 for adults, $5.95 for children. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial,Helv,Helvetica,Geneva size=-1>Visit <A
href="http://www.pgh-renfest.com/" target=new>www.pgh-renfest.com</A> or
call (724) 872-1670. </FONT></P>
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class=boldgrey>By <A class=headlinelink3
href="mailto:jroberts@tribweb.com"><B>Josie
Roberts</B></A><BR>TRIBUNE-REVIEW<BR></SPAN><SPAN class=greytext><I>Friday,
August 26, 2005</I></SPAN> <BR><BR></P>
<DIV class=storytext id=storyBody>The day Jason Young met his future wife, he
was dressed like a fairy.
<P>But Regan Miller had just what he needed: a new set of wings. </P>
<P>The couple met on the road, traveling with the Renaissance festival circuit
-- Young as an actor, Miller a costume vendor -- and the two found modern love
in an old world setting. </P>
<P>Many couples meet on the job, but there's something about the enchanted
forests and fairy tales of the Renaissance era that make the fantastical
festivals hot beds of love. The Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival will
host a Romance Weekend this Saturday and Sunday, including a single's mixer in
the "Shire," and encourage courtship the knightly way. </P>
<P>Young, 28, of Ft. Lauderdale, will be selling gems and stones at the
Pittsburgh festival through September. He said the odd combination of
role-playing and improvisation that peppers "Ren Fests" makes that first
approach -- and first line -- less intimidating. "It's much easier to approach
someone when you're not you. People lose themselves when they're pretending to
be someone else," he said. </P>
<P>Elizabethan accents and capes can shield the ego; if the "comely lady" throws
a Shakespearean insult at your advance, it's all part of playing a character.
</P>
<P>Regan, 25, who grew up in Butler before choosing a life on the road with "Ren
Faires," thinks the communal living and vagabond way of life push couples closer
together. </P>
<P>"We're thrown into these situations, confined in a tent in small places and
you don't know how much money you're going to make each week. You become
dependent on each other," Miller said. "It's like really living in a village."
</P>
<P>Trish and Shannon Gallatin of Monroeville visited the West Newton festival
last weekend, dressed in velvet breeches and feather adornments. The couple
found each other online through a shared interest in fencing, and later enrolled
in a more daring sword fighting class together. By the time they were married in
a Renaissance-style wedding at Hartwood Acres, complete with a horseback
entrance and shepherd's pie meal, the festivals had become a mainstay in their
relationship. </P>
<P>"We come here to play," said Shannon, 37, of the festivals. "No matter where
you go, if you dress up like this, people will accept you. They'll come up and
talk to you." </P>
<P>"There's just something about a guy in tight velvet pants," Shannon laughed.
"They're very pet-able." </P>
<P>When couples get married at the Renaissance Festival, everyone's invited.
</P>
<P>Last Saturday, John Blankenbehler, 38, and Stephanie Holt, 23, of Crafton,
exchanged vows in front of at least 200 onlookers in the village's chapel. The
bridesmaids wore flowing maroon skirts and peasant shirts, fastened in place by
tapestry bodices. The men wore Renaissance-inspired tuxedos. </P>
<P>The priest reminded the guests, seated on wooden benches tucked into the
woods, this was a wedding, not a show. The 16th Century ceremony included
"handfasting," where the couple's wrists are tied together with cord, and plenty
of "Huzzahs!" at the pronouncement of "husband and wife." </P>
<P>"We were dead set against getting married here," said the bride as she sat in
the Shire for her wedding reception. "Then we made our guest list and about 85
percent of the people were on cast and vendors." </P>
<P>The Blankenbehlers both work on cast and projected their vows like true stage
actors. </P>
<P>"Working here is a constant reminder of the ceremony," the new Mrs.
Blankenbehler said. "Every time we walk past the chapel, we relive it." </P>
<P>Romance Weekend highlights </P>
<P></P>
<LI>Sir Richard marries Queen Rosalind at the chapel. Later in the day, he
becomes King Richard in a coronation ceremony.
<P></P></LI>
<LI>Morelandshire's first Singles Mixer gets underway in the Royal Reception
Area.
<P></P></LI>
<LI>The Special Events Area hosts a Chinese Auction of romantic prizes with a
portion of the proceeds going to Paws for the Cause.
<P></P></LI>
<LI>Visitors can woo a fair lady or knight and earn a spot on the Royal Dais
during the joust.
<P>Wedding arrangements </P>
<P>For details on your "Fairy Tale Wedding," call Renaissance wedding
coordinator Lori Hughes at (724) 872-1670. </P>
<P></P></LI></DIV>
<P></P>
<P><I>Josie Roberts can be reached at <A
href="mailto:jroberts@tribweb.com">jroberts@tribweb.com</A> or (412)
380-5609.</I> </P></BODY></HTML>
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