By Kristin Kunz
The Provo Arts Council is sponsoring Medieval Knights Family Renaissance tonight, Oct. 6, to kick off the national arts and humanities month.
“It”s more or less a Renaissance evening,” said Kathryn S. Allen, executive director of the Provo Arts Council.
Family home evening groups are invited to attend the event for their activity and the council will provide refreshments, Allen said.
Renaissance-named food will be provided, including tarts, cheeses, fruits, bread and ale, which will be replaced with “something legal,” she said.
Activities of the evening will include swordplay, entertainment by mimes and jugglers and the chance to get your picture taken with a suit of armor. A calligraphist will also be available to help participants handwrite their own names and initials.
Participants can also hear Chaucer storytelling and music provided by trumpeters, lute and recorder players, Allen said.
The highlight of the evening will be the opening of an exhibit by French artist Richard Leray, one of the remaining stencil illuminators in Europe, Allen said.
Illumination is the ancient art form of illustration used during the Renaissance to add color to hand-written books making them more picturesque.
Leray, who has illuminated many religious texts, has completed the first page of the Book of Mormon in Egyptian style, which will be part of the exhibit, said Karen Martin, a friend of Leray and volunteer for the event.
Leray will be in attendance Monday evening for the opening of the exhibit to participate in a ceremony conducted by the mayor”s office.
“We are going to have an exchange of greetings from Provo City and Fontevraud l”Abbaye [Leray”s home],” Allen said.
Leray was formerly a professor of the National French School of Illumination. He is also the recipient of the Premier Gran Prix award.
Leray will also be giving lectures this month at BYU and at the University of Utah.
The Quill and the Sword club has been invited to attend the event in costume, Allen said.
The Medieval Knights Renaissance Event will take place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Provo Arts Center, located at 425 W. Center.
