The streets are lined with quaint little huts and more than half of the attendees are dressed in Renaissance garb. Attending in costume always makes it more fun as you truly do feel like you're in the Renaissance world, and when you're in costume the actors will often include you in their comic improvisation (as they did the year my two siblings and I attended as the Three Musketeers and one of the actors referred to us as Athos, Porthos, and Lesbos!)
There is what I will call an actual Renaissance cult, or "true rennies" as they often call themselves who do not simply attend Renaissance Festivals, they live for them. They study the era, are adamant about historical accuracy in speech, bring the festival fun home with them (even my siblings and I have turned to jousting on bicycles at home) and never attend a festival without being properly costumed. It is not necessary to be part of the Renaissance cult to enjoy the festival, however, and there are countless normal people every weekend who enjoy the fest almost as much as the cult rennies.
Perhaps the reason the festivals appeal to such a wide range of people is due to the very fact that they are not entirely historically accurate. (Let's face it, the real Renaissance Europe was not exactly fun and games.) Renaissance Festivals tend to bring out the best of the romanticized Renaissance era that we have come to know and love through novels such as The Three Musketeers or films like Everafter and Knight's Tale (which of course are favorites among the Renaissance cult). They combine all the most enjoyable elements from the medieval and renaissance times.
The Sterling Renaissance Festival has a different theme each weekend. The weekend we went was Fantasy Costume weekend, which meant that all the geeks (myself included) were out and about dressed as their favorite fantasy characters. I went as the mother confessor from Legend of the Seeker, wearing a gown I managed to make for $5 from a tablecloth I'd purchased in a secondhand store. But by far my favorite costume of the day was the guy dressed as Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia. He had the furry faun legs, the horns, and a set of hooves; it was very cool. (My camera unfortunately died, so I didn't get a picture.)
The Sterling fest has fun for the entire family. The musical entertainers of the realm are always spectacular with the Empty Hats topping the list of favorites. There are musicians around every corner at the Faire, and they are all greatly talented, but there is still only one Empty Hats. They have a large following at renaissance festivals and their lively music and clever lyrics are enjoyed by all. Their song "Black Velvet Band" always gets the crowd singing along. Sharing the stages with the musicians are a variety of talent acts from Daniel Duke of Danger and his mixture of comedy and balance to Johnny Fox an authentic sword swallower.
There are dozens of shows going on from the always amusing trial and dunk, to the washer women, to the men of mud pits (who kind of look like the Geico cavemen by the end of the show). Just beware, they ask for hugs after the show. There is even usually a Shakespeare play going on at one of the stages for the so inclined, though somehow, I still seem to miss A Midsummer Night's Dream every time. Plenty of good food (don't miss the fried dough and apple dumplings for dessert) and a host of actors wandering around the grounds gives it all that Renaissance feel, though I do have admit that I found the Medieval clown with butterfly wings just a little bit creepy.
If the shows are a bit grown up for the younger festival attendees, they will certainly enjoy the rides and games. Some of them such as the throwing stars and axes will win them prizes if they hit their mark. Others such as archery allow a person a great opportunity to poke fun at themselves. I was so bad at shooting arrows, the man in charge of the area jokingly told me I had to come back when the festival closed and gather all the ones I'd shot over the roof! There is also a grove of fortunetellers ranging from tarot carders to palm readers for those curious about what the future might hold.
Lining all the streets are numerous artisans, many of whom are performing live demonstrations of their crafts. They are dressed in period costumes and only too happy answer any questions, in a Renaissance English accent of course. It's hard to give them all a thorough visit in one day, so I usually pop in and out of most them choosing 6 or 7 to really take my time in. This year those included the herb shop, the glass maker (who was giving a demonstration of how he delicately made very neat glass dragons), all of the costume vendors (I'm a total sucker period costumes), a talented fairy artist named Renae Taylor, a swordmaker, the tapestry weavers, and the leather carver, but there were ever so many more I would have camped out in as well had there been more time!
Of course the biggest draw of the Renaissance Festival is the armored joust which occurs twice a day. It takes place on the Field of Honor and often times the royal procession, led by Queen Elizabeth herself, comes to watch the knights compete. The joust is very much a performance with comical dialogue and fighting sequences. It involves both sword fighting and jousting with lances. The large draft horses they ride, though being rather historically inaccurate, are very impressive in looks for entertainment purposes. One of my neighbors who is an avid horseman had the opportunity to joust as one of the knights many years ago. He told us an amusing story about how he wanted to actually joust with the other knights, but they did not have the courage to challenge him in unscripted joust.
Before the joust, the knights vie for the crowd's attention. The side of the field my relatives and I were on loudly cheered for Sir William while the opposite side of the field gave their support to Sir Oren. Sir Oren also made an attempt to gain our side of the field by singing lyrics to "Why can't we be friends," but his efforts were futile as our half of the field continued to root for Sir William who ended up as champion of the tournament. (It makes me wonder if they change the winner every performance or if it is the same script all season) It is highly entertaining and not a performance to be missed.
All in all the Renaissance Festival makes for a fun annual outing and is well worth the hour and half drive we have to take to get there.
The Empty Hats tearing up the Shire.
Sir Orin and Sir William charge each other with lances.
Johnny Fox swallows a sword: Don't try this at home kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment