Coolidge Park is set to become a scene of old-world merrymaking next month during Chattanooga’s first renaissance fair.
After an astounding turnout for a renaissance fair-themed night market, the owners of Joli Jardin and Verre Noir, sister stores on Market Street and Frazier Avenue, decided to organize a full-scale fair in Coolidge Park in May.
“People are very excited for themed events. They like a reason to dress up. They like a reason to have fun. And we learned that really quickly during night markets,” co-owner Becca Coleman said. “So I was like ‘Oh, there’s a community here that’s really going to show up for a ren fair,’ and that’s what we’re trying to nurture.”
Verre Noir, on the main stretch of Frazier Avenue on the North Shore, hosts night markets once a month from April to December that extend into Chalk Alley and down the Frazier Avenue sidewalk. The markets are themed, Coleman said, anything from vampire themes to a dark circus theme for Halloween.
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