How's this for a plot? A guy grows up resenting the dominance of a religion opposed to his own, and vows to turn the tables. He hatches a conspiracy to blow up the buildings that house the government (timing the blast to kill a maximum number of people) to bring down his perceived enemies and pave the way for the triumph of his own faith.

What, sounds familiar?

Actually, it's an old story -- nearly 400 years old, to be precise. It was on November 5, 1605, that Guy Fawkes and his collaborators in The Gunpowder Plot attempted to blow up Parliament and James I in order to end the Protestant oppression of English Catholics after the Reformation. These zealots were caught, tried, and executed before they could light the fuse, so the explosion never happened.

Perhaps this explains why a random survey of my acquaintances revealed a sorry lack of name recognition for Guy Fawkes. While a very few met my query by intoning spookily, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason, and plot," most respondents remembered none of the above.

But a chance to brush up on your history (and drink hot cider on the beach) comes this Saturday, November 3 at 8:30 p.m., at the Misquamicut Business Association's Fourth Annual Guy Fawkes Bonfire at the Andrea Hotel, 89 Atlantic Ave. in Misquamicut. The Misquamicut Players and King Crimson's Jesters will reenact Guy's trial, culminating in his spitting at the king, and execution, which is accomplished by the traditional tossing of his effigy on a bonfire. Merriment will include magicians, bagpipes, flutes, and a rare performance of the 1969 King Crimson classic "In the Court of the Crimson King." The activities are free.

Director Caswell Cooke Jr. explains that the event began four years ago as a way to change Misquamicut's "1970s honky-tonk reputation" to a more family-friendly one. "It's a way to extend the beach season, kind of a Fourth of July in November," he says. Asked whether he's reconsidered the event in the wake of September 11, Cooke responds, "You know, in England people participate either to celebrate Guy's execution or to honor his striking a blow against the government -- whichever you choose to celebrate is up to you. After all, the effigy's face is blank -- you can fill in whatever features you'd like."

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: November 2 - 8, 2001