‘A Magical Christmas Feast’: Event kicks off holiday season with fresh approach
Submitted Photo Brittany Armstrong, left, soprano, and Zebulon Wallace, baritone, will perform in “A Magical Christmas Feast.”
Submitted Photo Eric Furuseth, left, is Lord of the Manor and Pamela Hopkins, is the Lady of the Manor, in “A Magical Christmas Feast.”
Submitted Photo Brittany Armstrong, left, soprano, and Zebulon Wallace, baritone, will perform in “A Magical Christmas Feast.”
Submitted Photo Eric Furuseth, left, is Lord of the Manor and Pamela Hopkins, is the Lady of the Manor, in “A Magical Christmas Feast.”
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This year's annual Renaissance Feast, titled "A Magical Christmas Feast," presented by the Minot Chamber Chorale and director Emerson Eads, has a new and fresh approach.
"A Magical Christmas Feast" will be held at The Depot in Minot on Friday and Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the festivities begin at 7 p.m.
"Eric Furuseth has crafted a captivating script whose twists and humor will illuminate a new and fresh Renaissance Feast where, in this storied tradition, the traditional Lord and Lady have begun the process of finding inheritors in the younger generation," said Eads.
Furuseth is the Feast's Lord of the Manor and Pamela Hopkins is the Lady of the Manor. Both of Minot, they have been the Lord and Lady of the Feast for a number of years.
Eads said the English court will be in "a flurry of excitement for an Italian delegation," so those attending should have "appetites for an Italian Christmas menu."
Guests will hear choral works from the Roman and English traditions and a piece that has never been heard: "Winter's Light: A Christmas Cantata," by Eads, featuring Minot's brass quintet and court percussionist and singer Ken Starr, as well as the composer's wife, Abbie Eads, playing solo cello, headed up by court musician Pat Schwan, soloist from the court's singers.
Eads' cantata is dedicated to Rolly Ackerman of Minot for his contributions to the Minot Chamber Chorale and the Minot community.
Chorale founder Hardy Lieberg began the Elizabethan Madrigal Dinner in Minot in 1973.
For the last 30-plus years, the event has been known as the Renaissance Feast, according to Furuseth.
In a brochure promoting chorale membership, according to the Nov. 6, 1982, edition of the Minot Daily News, Lieberg described the Madrigal: "The dinner ushers Minot and northwest North Dakota into the Christmas season... We will transport you back in time to merry old England of the 16th century, where we will celebrate Christmas with singing, dancing, theater and feasting."
The Dec. 1, 1985, edition of The Minot Daily News reported the first madrigal dinner was held at the Ramada Inn, with "rag-tag outfits" and sets borrowed from every drama department and club in town. There were a few banners for decorations but otherwise, decorations were rather sparse. The dinner sold out every night. The event has been held at other locations, including at the All Seasons Arena (in what is now the State Fair Center), Sheraton-Riverside Center (now Clarion Hotel) and Regency Event Center.
This is the first time the event has been held at The Depot. It was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chorale continues to make the feast a kick-off event for the Christmas season.