Renaissance Festival

It has now become a family tradition to attend a fall Renaissance Festival. Unlike the one-weekend affair in Las Vegas, Ohio has two months' worth of festival weekends. Yesterday worked out best for our family's schedule, so we attended Pirate's Day, which delighted the boys to no end. Even Kenna got in on the theme with a little borrowed sword from our neighbor, which she waved and jabbed at any opportunity.

On the one hand, the more permanent structures of the fair were a fun change from the tents we were used to seeing in Las Vegas, but on the other hand, the whole experience seemed much more commercial. In Las Vegas various guilds would set up tents filled with renaissance-era items. We could watch women weaving or listen to men explain the fine details of period armor and weapons. There was an air of authenticity and an opportunity to truly learn about life in renaissance times. This year, however, the closest we got to a learning experience was watching a glass blower make a hummingbird--a fine art, indeed, and one I was glad to see in person, but instead of explaining his job to would-be students, he simply did his job and spread out his wares for sale.

Still, it was a fun day, and we did get to see a gaming joust that was fun for everyone except Lucan, who screamed with every "Huzzah!" Ted and I enjoyed the pirate stunt show (the kids did, too, but they failed to appreciate the Midsummer Night's Dream parody that accompanied it). The large maze was a hit (Kenna tried to get in again after exiting on the slide), and the mud pit show (a rather dirty rendition of Beowulf) was somewhat amusing after they finally stopped talking about the show and actually presented it. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday, although we all paid for the lack of naps on the way home...