American Fool takes over at Lake District Castle

The Lake District’s Muncaster Castle is preparing to make its first American Jester the star attraction on April Fool’s Day, to help celebrate the most foolish day of the year. Paul Garbanzo from Virginia, is flying in to become king of Muncaster Castle for the day on April 1st, and prove that he really does have the ‘fool factor’.

Families will have the chance to see him show off his dazzling array of juggling, tomfoolery and fire-eating in two special performances, as well as to take part in some foolish antics themselves.

Paul Garbanzo won the International Jester Tournament at Muncaster last year to become the latest successor to Tom Fool, who was the Castle’s jester more than 400 years ago. One of the highlights of Paul’s act included juggling a flaming torch and a large knife, while standing on a two foot ‘ball of death’ and eating an onion.

Muncaster’s Peter Frost-Pennington says:

“Paul Garbanzo has been a real hit with Muncaster’s visitors since becoming our honorary fool and lots of people wanted to know when he’d be back, so we’re really excited that he’s flying in especially for April Fool’s Day.

“We’re the only Castle that appoints an annual jester, which gives our visitors a totally foolish reason to have fun on the most foolish day of the year.”

On a day when the natural order of things will be turned upside down, a member of the family who own the Castle will be thrown into the stocks. Visitors will get the chance to throw a wet sponge at one of the Pennington’s for 50p, which will be donated to charity.

The Castle’s modern day mascot, Max Meadowvole, will also be putting in a special appearance and challenging visitors to play Foolish Football. Anyone who can beat Max and put the ball in the back of the net will win a prize.

And there will be a madcap Tom Fool’s Treasure Trail for children. The ghost of the famous jester has been taking everyday objects like saucepans from the Castle and hiding them in some most unusual places around the gardens. Find all the objects and you’ll win a prize.

Tom Fool, aka Thomas Skelton, was Muncaster’s Fool in the 16th century and was the inspiration for the Fool in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Tom Fool is at the centre of many of the stories about ghosts at Muncaster. He is rarely seen, but it is said that his spirit continues to play tricks on people who visit the Castle.

Visitors will also be able to see Muncaster’s award winning attractions including the glorious gardens, the World Owl Centre, a Meadowvole Maze and a children’s play area.

The action packed schedule of events start at 12 noon and runs until 4.30pm.

The Pennington family are also celebrating their 800th anniversary at Muncaster this year. Not many historic homes in the north of England have stayed in the same family for this long. Today three generations of the Penningtons still live at Muncaster.

For full details of opening times and prices, as well as information on attractions and events, visit Muncaster.co.uk. The site also includes a film of Paul Garbanzo’s winning performance at last year’s International Jester Tournament.