The Sonora Celtic Faire is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, March 11-13, 2016, at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, California, located in Tuolumne County. The Sonora Celtic Faire celebrates cultures from Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and Wales and is proudly showcasing a Historic Medieval Battle tournament as one of its main attractions. During the tournament, fans will have the opportunity to witness fighters from across the United States competing for medals, honor, and a chance to represent America's best when Team USA competes again at Battle of the Nations in the Czech Republic May 5-9, 2016. Battle of the Nations - Team USA 2016 will be on site for all three days of the Sonora Celtic Faire for photos, autographs, team merchandise and memorabilia.
During the competition, fighters use a variety of medieval bucklers, shields, polearms, axes, swords, maces, and other knightly weapons of the time periods. The tournaments are modeled closely after manuscripts documenting tournaments held in Western Europe. Fighters wear protective armor, averaging about 60 pounds, and based on historical medieval armor ranging from the 14th century to the 16th century, with strict rules regulating armor authenticity and references to a specific geographical region. The USA Team boasts men and women from all walks of life including active duty and reserve military personnel, agriculturalists, attorneys, business owners, contractors, firefighters, law enforcement, medical and mental health professionals, salesmen, scientists, students, teachers, and many more. Most have experience in other martial arts, such as judo or wrestling, but many of them never put away the play swords from when they were young children.
Tuolumne (rhymes with “follow me”) County, located 133 miles east of San Francisco, is a pristine, scenic expanse reaching into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Gold was discovered in Tuolumne County in 1848, setting off the major gold rush of 1849. The main highways leading to the picturesque drive from the San Francisco and East Bay Area are Highways 108 and 120 from the west and Highway 49 from the north. The State Highway 120 entrance to Yosemite National Park is considered the “front door” of the park for the San Francisco Greater Bay Area. The Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park, and other surrounding areas provide natural vistas and settings for hiking, water skiing, horseback riding, rafting, camping, snowmobiling, boating, snow skiing, fishing and other outdoor activities. Seven restored historic hotels, four golf courses, numerous and varied dining establishments, historic saloons, five wineries and hard cider distillery, train rides, casino, seven museums, two state historic parks, five live theaters and many bed-and-breakfast inns are among the many other attributes that make the county a year round vacation destination. www.YosemiteGoldCountry.com
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Contact:
Susan Wilson, Publicist, susan.wilson@susanwilsonmarketing.com, 480-824-3015
Lisa Mayo, Executive Director, Yosemite Gold Country lisa@gotuolumne.com
Toll Free 800-446-1333, Direct 209-533-4420 www.YosemiteGoldCountry.com
Mark Jackson, Team America World Class Fighter, Battle of Nations, (559) 477-3900 www.sonoracelticfaire.com