A trumpet fanfare echoes in the candlelit, cavernous hall as a boar’s head is paraded around by a king and his court.

The ISU Madrigal Dinners will combine a vocal concert, family-style meal, merriment and pageantry at 5:30 p.m Friday and Saturday in the Durham Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

This year’s dinner will mark the 43rd year the event has been held, continuing its stint as “one of the longest running madrigal dinners,” said James Rodde, co-director of the event and professor of music.

“We want to transport [guests] back to the Renaissance and have a night of food, singing and merriment,” Rodde said.

In the past, guests have included ISU students and faculty members, Ames community members, Midwesterners looking to start their own madrigal dinners and Renaissance enthusiasts who return every year.

“Some of them come fully dressed in Renaissance outfits,” Rodde said. “We seat 342 people maximum per night. [We’re] almost always sold out.”

The pageantry begins at 6:30 p.m. with a trumpet fanfare and procession of court dancers, honorary court members and a parade of the boar’s head and wassail bowl.

The menu for the night is inspired by 14th through 17th century dishes and features pork loin chop – donated to the event by the Story County Pork Producers Association, wassail punch and guillotine pull-apart bread, Rodde said.

Madrigal performances by the Iowa State Singers, the Music Men, Musica Antiqua and the ISU Orchesis II Dancers are scheduled to “royally” entertain Renaissance guests, according to the program’s invitation.

Some music students have volunteered to be strolling minstrels – wandering from table to table, serenading guests. The night also features an impromptu theater performance that will involve the guests.

“We grab people from the audience and they get on stage,” Rodde said. “We have big placards with their lines.”

Rodde said the event has always received good feedback.

“Each year, it’s a joy to be transported back to Merry Ol’ England through the music, the pageantry, the dances and the antics of the performers,” Rodde said. “We get a lot of responses [from guests] who are very pleased.”