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I had mentioned I may be going to a medieval fair over the
weekend, unfortunately this did not occur. I however, was able to go to a
Living History event and a Fair. This is my comments on both.
The Time Line of World HISTORY Weekend located at Schuler
Flatts Park in MENANDS, NY. Over the
last several years I have tried to attend a Civil War Days here, this has now
changed to include other periods of History.
I was able to visit a tent by the Civil War Medical
Coalition. They displayed numerous artifacts used in medicine during the
battles in that time. Although, medicine had advanced during that century, it
was still unsanitary compared to today’s standards.
Also I visited the tents for the Watervliet Historical
Society and the Historical Society of the Town of Colonie; this is the location
of the event. Both groups are dedicated to appreciate and promote the history
of the area.
This event featured different sections of history, I saw
Civil War reenactors, and also one person dressed in Ancient Roman gear. While
I was there I saw a skirmish conducted by several World War II reenactors.
One of the vendors was the Knowlton Sutlers. A sutler is a
peddler who follows an army and sells his product out of a wagon or tent.
Knowlton Sutlers had a wide selection of unique and historical items.
After visiting this event, I drove to the Altamont Fair.
This is located just outside of Albany, NY.
This was a wonderful fair, which I enjoyed attending, it
hosted many wonderful events and rides that you would associate with such a
fair.
I was able to meet Daniel Crowler of Oak and Acorn Ancient Metalcrafts a
blacksmith who also does historical reproductions with re-enactment equipment
of the era. It was a pleasure to meet someone so informed and knowledgeable
about medieval blacksmithing and hopefully I will be able to use his knowledge
in upcoming books.
One of the best events I saw was the Coronas Circus Hollywood.
The Coronas family is a multi-generation of circus
performers. The show they put on there was spectular, every single performer
was outstanding. These acts included a chair balancer, horse trainer and a
performer on the Wheel of Death (also known as the Space Wheel). Before the
circus began, Bibi the clown entertained the audience and got them motivated
and performed between acts when they adjusted or changed the equipment.
The following are acts which I thought was particularly
exciting and entertaining.
Aerial silk- This is a type of performance in which an
artist performs area acrobatic while hanging from a fabric. This act was
elegant and mesmerizing and was a joy to watch.
Hooping- The performer, Crystal Coronas, was very
entertaining using hula hoops, some of her act was set to Afro Circus/ I live
to move it, from the film Madagascar 3. The conclusion of her act she performed
with more hula hoops than I could count.
Since I brought this up I wanted to mention about Hula
Hoops. Many people think it was an invention of the 1950’s; this is mostly
because of an episode of M.A.S.H. when one of the characters sees a Korean
child using a piece of pipe made into a hope, and he tries to sell the idea
back to a toy company in America. Actually the hula hoop, called simply a hoop
could date back to around 1,000 B.C. in Egypt. These hoops were made of dried
reeds. In the 14th century a fad of using a hoop spread around
England, it was used as a form of exercise. The name Hula was added in the 19th
century by sailors returning from Hawaii, who said the Hula dance resembled
someone using a hoop.
The final performance was on a high wire act. The two
performers were the best I have ever seen. The woman showed considerable
strength holding her partner on her shoulders while on the wire. Not to be outdone, he carried her from the
high wire to the ground on a wire set at a 45 degree angle. This act concluded
a wonderful circus and I hope I get the opportunity to see them again.
For those of you that are interested, my novel; Legend of the Mystic Knights
is still on sale for $0.99 for the Kindle. If you do not
have a Kindle, they now have a Kindle App which allows you to read the novel on
any reading device.
I've been seriously considering getting involved in some events like these. My novel that is currently on hiatus features a leather tanning mountain man and it would be cool to join the mountain man society (not sure of exact name, but last month's Nat Geo had a write-up about it.)
ReplyDeleteThere are probably lots of people who do this. I know that hunting with Black Powder had completely vanished, until the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" came out, and suddenly everyone was into it. I know there is lots of information about how mountain men lived, good luck
DeleteLooks like a great event - something for all the family.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the hula hoop dates that far back. I recall spending many a time trying to win hula hoop competitions with my friends.
Glad you enjoyed the fair and many of the attractions, William. At the moment I'm a bit ambivalent about how society worked in medieval times because the main problems we face in the world are caused by people wanting to turn back time to those days. And they are active everywhere. Not only in the countries where there are wars because of it. Come across brainwashed people in Sweden who believe what they say even when it goes against facts.
ReplyDeleteThese both sounds like so much fun and so very interesting. That's a really enlightening piece of information about the hula hoop!
ReplyDeleteGotta say I'm a little jealous William because there seems to always be something going on in your part of the country. While there are definitely pluses to living on an Island, you really are left to entertain yourself for the most part. That was fascinating about the Hula Hoop - had no idea!
ReplyDeleteBoth fairs sound like they were a lot of fun. I think it would interesting to see reenactments of such different periods of history at the same event.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing circus acts. It's amazing to see people do those tricks with so much ease.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, I encourage you to write a post about your interest in the Civil War. Per the recent Confederate flag brouhaha, the Civil War is still somewhat controversial 150 years after it happened. Do you subscribe to the conventional view that the North was 'the good side' and the South was 'the bad side'? Alternatively, do you see any merit or justification in the South's secession?
ReplyDeleteHi William, I was fascinated by the blacksmith who did the historical reproductions with re-enactment equipment. That must have taken some time to learn - probably also required a lot of patience. Amazing what you find - and share - at these fairs.
ReplyDeleteI never knew the history of the hula hoop so thank you for the education. I actually take aerial silk classes for exercise. Oh my gosh, it works your entire body. I am always so sore the next day. The Coronas Circus Hollywood sounds like they would put on a good show, because it sounds like they do a little bit of everything.
ReplyDeleteAren't re-enactors wonderful? they can really bring a historic site to life. too bad you missed the medieval festival, as I've been to a couple of those and they are incredible.
ReplyDeleteSounds like things worked out even though you could not go to a medieval fair. I was surprised that the hula hoop has been around since around 1,000 B.C. in Egypt. I knew it got it's name from the sailors in Hawaii so just assume it came out in the late 50's early 60's. When I was young it was all the rage.
ReplyDeleteI always learn something interesting from your posts, William. I'd never heard the word Sutler before. Sounds like you had a great time at both events!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I used to have a weekend home in upstate New York, which is actually very rural from downstate and the opposite of the bustle of New York City. We went to many summer fairs and antique shows held in large open fields. It's like going back in time, in a good way, and I still own many of the artifacts I bought back then.
ReplyDelete