NEW AGE RENAISSANCE FAIR

Past speakers at the New Age Renaissance Fair included Marilyn Ferguson, Robert Anton Wilson, Stan Dale, Stephen Gaskin, Marcel Vogel, Emmett Miller, Stanley Krippner, Terrie Brill, John Vasconcellos, George Leonard, John Robbins, Nick Herbert, Jeremy Taylor, Paul Williams, Willis Harman, Swami Beyondananda, Ralph Metzner, Paul Krassner, Anodea Judith, Edith Fiore, Gypsy Boots, E. Alan Meece, and many others.

The New Age Music Concert was another highlight of the Fair, featuring well-known performers of visionary world music. Among those who performed with us included: Iasos, Ancient Future, Constance Demby, Steve Roach, Country Joe McDonald, Emerald Web, Georgia Kelly, Geist, Paul Greaver, Kevin Keller, Soulstice, Tom Aragon, David Hayden, Tajalli and the Rainforest Band, Scott Huckabay, Stephen Longfellow Fiske, Raphael, Sophia, Astarius, David Michael and Randy Mead, John Doan, Ashwin Batish, Buddy Comfort, Barry Cleveland, Karma Moffett, Worlds Collide, and many more.

The Visionary Art Show was an exhibition of metaphysical and fantasy paintings and graphics by some of the finest artists in California.

People said the New Age Renaissance Fair was a magical place, much more enjoyable than the "marketplace" atmosphere of many other similar Fairs. It was a place for the New Age community to gather and refresh the spirit. It was successful for 15 years.

But in 1997 attendance declined due to El Nino weather problems, the cost of parking at San Jose Convention Center, the poor visibility of our old Parkside Hall location, and the construction of the Tech Museum in front of it that destroyed its ambience.

The Holistic Arts Fair in November 1998 was an attempt to remedy this. We hoped the smaller size, free admission and accessible location at San Jose City College would encourage more people to attend, and that our new non-profit status would attract community support and reduce our costs. It was only modestly successful, and we were not sure how much support there was in Silicon Valley for future spiritual and holistic events. Newspapers would not sponsor us, but only "mainstream events;" so a major publicity drive for a planned Fair in 1999 at a bigger hall was not possible. So we moved again in 2000 to a more compatible location at Divine Science Center, and though the new Fair at this location must remain small, it seems to be viable. We hope people will come to our event in September 2002 and show there is still interest in an event like this in Santa Clara Valley.

If you are interested in our plans for future events such as the Holistic Arts Fair or the Heart's Delight Arts Festival, check out our Holistic Arts Fair Association web page.