Teaching Learning Leading K-12

Al Olson - The History of the American Renaissance Festival. This is episode 602 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Al Olson is one of a select handful of eccentric, quirky, and entertaining people who helped grow the American Renaissance Festivals into being a very popular ticket. He shares his story in his comprehensive book, A History of the American Renaissance Festival. While attending the University of Minnesota, working nights in a parking ramp and pumping iron at the Dove’s bicep gym, he also performed his original songs in the same coffee houses that Bob Dylan had a few years earlier on the west bank of the Mississippi. The artistic director of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival attended a theatrical presentation of his original works at Theatre in the Round and hired him on the spot. He began performing at Renfairs as a member of the group, “Pumpkin,” writing original Renaissance music. After less than a season, he noted the greater crowd impact of groups like Penn and Teller, Av