Photo: Dan Maher and Annie Hubble decked out as Renaissance Fair royalty. (Photo by Robert Hubner, WSU Photo Services).
Dan Maher will reign as king of the Moscow Renaissance Fair.
The title is temporary, since he will rule only May 5-6 during Moscow’s 34th annual celebration of spring. However, the honor is real because Maher, WSU’s coordinator of organizational and student development, was chosen by fair directors for his decades of service to the community.
“I was really floored; I really was,” Maher said. “I had no words. It was a wonderful honor.”
Complete with queen
By his side at the fair will be his queen, Annie Hubble of Moscow. Maher explains that Hubble, who works as a manager at the Moscow Food Co-op, is his partner.
“Annie and I met in the mid-1990s and, over the last year, developed a relationship,” Maher said. “She is the best happening in my life for many, many years.”
They met, appropriately enough, through music. Maher, referred to in the Palouse as Mr. Folk Music, is a guitarist and folksinger known for his lively concerts. Since 1982, he has hosted the “Inland Folk” show on Northwest Public Radio.
He also is a lifetime member of the Palouse Folklore Society and, for more than a decade, has been the society’s vice-president or president. Hubble is now president.
Performing 40 years
Maher arrived in Pullman in 1971 as a student. He graduated in 1978 and soon began working at the office of campus activities. In 1983, he started working full time and has worked his way up to “the middle of the ladder.”
His first album came out in 1990. He released his fourth in 1997. He continues to play at concerts and festivals throughout the region.
“I’m cutting back on performing now,” Maher said. “I started playing in bars in the 1970s, so have been doing that for nearly 40 years. Now there are other things I would like to do: more traveling, more gardening. Well, maybe I have one more album in me.”
Bows, curtsies welcome
As king and queen dressed in their royal regalia, Maher and Hubble will wander throughout the fair all weekend to greet their happy subjects, who may bow and curtsy in their presence. They also will open the fair by proclamation from the main stage at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 5.
Maher’s service animal, a yellow Labrador retriever named Orient, will accompany the king but will not appear in costume.
Celebrate spring at Renaissance Fair
The Renaissance Fair will hold court under the trees at Moscow’s East City Park 10 a.m. until dusk Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6.
Admission, and the continuous entertainment on the main stage, is free. Wearing colorful or whimsical clothing is encouraged. Please do not bring dogs.
Twenty community groups will offer tasty and unusual food and beverages. More than 130 artisans from around the region will display and sell juried hand-crafted work. A children’s area will provide activities for kids of all ages.
More information is available ONLINE @ www.moscowrenfair.org.
