Liz Welter

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

CARLSVILLE - A shake-up in management almost brought the annual Door County Renaissance Faire to a close in 2016 when the event's director and some of the board members resigned.

Through the work of Gerald Kuehn and other Door County Renaissance Faire board of directors members, the event will go on as planned.

"I am happy that it will keep going; it would have been a shame to stop," Kuehn said.

About 20 acres of hay fields and woods belonging to Kuehn, a dairy farmer, are transformed for two weekends every summer into a 16th century European village for the annual Renaissance Faire.

"I enjoy the entertainment and it's a nice thing to do for the community because this event attracts a lot of people," Kuehn said.

Kuehn described the fair as a magical event that entertains and educates folks about life during the 16th century.

"With the fields and wooded hills and stone fences, it's an enchanting area and when the fair is here, it becomes something you don't see very often," Kuehn said.

Many of the favorite events — jousting, royal hounds, reptile exhibit and children's activities — will be back with some new additions including a reduction in the cost of admission, said Laura Sunila, a board member who lives near Germantown.

The cost will be $10 per person regardless of age and children 12 years old and under, and military veterans will get a wrist band for a free meal at the fair, Sunila said.

The headlining musical act is #3 Pints Gone, she said.

The fair is a nonprofit organization started seven years ago with the intent that any profits remaining after paying expenses would be donated to local charities and organizations, Sunila said. She became a board member after working at the fair as vendor.

The fair's management is seeking more community activity in the fair and will hold auditions for local folks to act in the roles of the king, queen, and other members of the royal court, Sunila said. The cast members will receive training from professional actors, she said.

"It's an opportunity for people to get involved and have some fun," she said.

The fair also is seeking high school students to volunteer during the event and will hold a drawing from the volunteer names to award four scholarships to students planning to go to college, Sunila said. A donation also will go to the high school that has the largest group of volunteers, she said.

"We want to be giving something back to the community and this is a way we can do that," Sunila said.

For more information about the auditions or to volunteer, call Sunila at 262-255-3458, or send a message through the Door County Renaissance Faire Facebook page or website at doorfaire.com.

The Door County Renaissance Faire is planned for the last weekend in June and the first weekend in July at 5526 Monument Point Road.

Liz Welter: 920-743-3321, ext. 4114, or lwelter@doorcountyadvocate.com; on Twitter @welter_liz.