Dark Ages Re-Creation Company
From the Providence Journal Sept 11, 2003:
Viking age reenactment: The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, 300 Tower St., Bristol, will host a historic reenactment of daily life in the Viking Age presented by DARC (Dark Ages Re-Creation Company) Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
This two-day educational program will feature skilled, costumed interpreters providing hands-on demonstrations and interpretations of Viking Age crafts and culture. Participants will have the opportunity to try on armor and learn the games that Vikings played, watch a working blacksmith, discover how the Vikings made iron, armor and tools and see skilled metalworkers cast Viking Age jewelry. Women will demonstrate the arts of weaving, dyeing and cooking using authentic Viking Age materials and recipes. Slide illustrated talks each day by archeologists working on Viking sites will also offer the newest clues about the Vikings' culture and their voyages to the New World.
A daily 2 p.m. lecture titled, "Who Were the Vikings?," will be presented by Kevin P. Smith, deputy director and chief curator of the Haffenrenreffer Museum. Activities for all ages and ongoing demonstrations will be held throughout the day.
The event is free with museum admission: $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and $1 for children. Admission is free to museum members and Brown/RISD with identification. Visit www.haffenreffermuseum.org or call 253-8388 for information.
From the Providence Journal Sept 11, 2003:
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 11, 2003
Long before Columbus, the Vikings came to America, and in particular to the shores of southern New England.
Viking life and lore of the period from 800 to 1000 A.D. will be celebrated in a special event this weekend at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, part of Brown University, on the shores of Mount Hope Bay in Bristol.
On Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., costumed historical interpreters of DARC (Dark Ages Re-Creation Company) will demonstrate Viking Age crafts and culture. The public will be invited to try on armor, play games the Vikings played, and watch metalworkers cast Viking Age jewelry. Women will demonstrate the domestic arts of weaving, dyeing and cooking using Viking Age materials and recipes.
DARC's founder, Darrell Markewitz, is a Canadian who designed and produced the living history presentation at the L'Anse aux Meadows National Viking Site in Newfoundland, Canada. He describes DARC's goal as "to create an environment that stresses historic re-creation of the Viking Age through the use of strict interpretation through role-playing."
Both days, a lecture at 2 p.m. will explore the question, "Who were the Vikings?" The lecture will be given by Haffenreffer Museum curator Kevin P. Smith.
The Viking event is free with museum admission, which is $3 for adults, $1 for children age 12 and under. The museum is at 300 Tower St., Bristol.
For more information, call 253-8388 or visit www.haffenreffermuseum.org.
