Celebration of Mind 2016— at Ye Olde Gamery

Kadon's lively and spacious gallery of playable art and recreational math puzzles, Ye Olde Gamery, once again hosted one of the many official events world-wide honoring Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914-May 22, 2010) on or around his birthday.

For the final weekend of the 2016 Maryland Renaissance Festival season, we dedicated the entire two days as a Celebration of Mind for Martin Gardner and his legacy. A special banner and Martin's picture adorned the large wall. Here's a closer look:


Martin's writings on recreational mathematics had directly inspired Kadon's founding, work and mission. Our theme for this event was once again Polyform Puzzles—A Renaissance in Puzzle Art.

Hundreds of visitors came and played and heard the story of Martin and math and puzzles. Many also received souvenir copies of the 40-page Renaissance catalog Kate had designed and written in Shakespearean verse to suit the Renaissance theme. Customers also received a special gift, a Buzzbears spinner (shown at right), a dexterity puzzle inscribed with Celebration of Mind 2016.

As we like to say as often as possible, Ye Olde Gamery represents the intellectual side of the Renaissance — an oasis of thinking, logic, math, geometric tilings, the fun of discovery and solving of beautiful conundrums.

All day long, large crowds of visitors engaged in eager play, instructed by the Gamery's well-costumed expert crew. We particularly enjoy watching our youngest players deep in thought.

Many audience members arrived in costume, as the Renaissance Festival is not only a historical theme park but a massive role-playing game in its own right. Here are some snapshots of the action inside the Gamery, captured by Art Blumberg. (Hover over images for descriptions.)

 

 

 

 



Sir Elijah has many talents. This year he carved a great pumpkin into a portrait of Martin Gardner, lit from within with a battery-run lantern:

Happy birthday, Martin Gardner!


See also:

  • Celebration of Mind 2012: "Polyform Puzzles—Combinatorics of World and Mind"
  • Celebration of Mind 2013: "Polyform Puzzles—Portals to World and Mind"
  • Celebration of Mind 2014: "Polyform Puzzles—Gateway to the Universe"
  • Celebration of Mind 2015: "Polyform Puzzles—A Renaissance in Puzzle Art"
  • Celebration of Mind 2017: "Dissection Puzzles—The Art of Combinatorics"
  • Celebration of Mind 2018: "When are you?"—humorous time travel to historical games
  • Celebration of Mind 2019: "Birthday Cakes—Pentomino/Sudoku"

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