Nevada County's Sierra Shakespeare Festival starts Friday and runs through Sept. 21, with this reays featuring "A Midsummer Night's Dream and "Merry Wives of Windsor."

Last year the Foothill Theater Company did "Twelfth Night" and "Taming of the Shrew."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" recounts the magial events when Hermia and Lysander run away together into the woods, they are pursued by Demetrius, (who loves Hermia), and Helena, (who loves Demetrius).

As these four lovesick humans chase each other around the forest, they get caught in the middle of a tiff between Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the Fairies). This fantastical farce has enchanted audiences ever since its world premiere in 1595.

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a battle of the sexes in which the hapless men never stand a chance. Mistress Page and Mistress Ford hoodwink their husbands and make a fool of that frumpy philanderer, Sir John Falstaff.

Written to please Queen Elizabeth (who was an enthusiastic Falstaff fan) this delightful romp includes romantic roguery, a duel of dunces, and some of the funniest laundry basket business you've ever seen.

"The play's the thing" with outdoor performances at the Fred Forsman Amphitheatre located at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, McCourtney Road off Highway 20 in Grass Valley. Enter at Gate 4.

For Further information call 530-265-8587.