Monday, August 29, 2016

Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival and the Saratoga Springs International Film Festival




First, I would like to talk about the Saratoga Springs International Film Festival.

The festival will be held on September 17, there are numerous venues at different locations throughout the area; these locations will include showing of the movies, plus panel discussions and exhibitors.
The lineup for the film festival will showcase many independent films from around the world.  I encourage everyone to attend this film festival; it will be one of the best you have ever seen.
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Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival

I attended the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival held in Charlton, Ma., which is approximately one hour from Boston, Ma. The fair itself is located at the “Ye Olde Commons",  which is a facility dedicated to providing a camp site with a medieval flair.  The site is used for many different gatherings, including LARP (live action role playing) camps, re-enactments, receptions, and of course medieval fairs.
As with many fairs there were numerous events, performers, merchants, and people attending it who like the medieval world.  The following is a partial list of those I visited or saw; I would recommend you go to the faires website to view a complete list of performers and merchants.

Leon the Blacksmith working at his trade
Tandy Leather- Many of you, who have read my blog, will remember this particular merchant.  I have seen them at the Market of the Moons Renaissance Festival and the Mutton and Meade Festival in the past.  This particular Tandy Leather store is located at 119 Webster Square Road, Berlin, CT 06037 .  I have worked with leather, most recently completed by armor, and from my experience finding leather products and tools, can be a very difficult task.  If you want to work with leather, or other animal hide, you must look up Tandy Leather.

Tandy Leather Tent
L.I.A.R.S (Ladies of Integrity, Aristocracy, Repute, & Society)- I saw this group at the dining hall. This group was formed in 2012; it consists of 2-5 ladies who sing period songs and entertain the audience. Their talent in singing is only matched by their wit and humor.  



 L.I.A.R.S.
Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword- You will all remember this group from my previous blogs. Any time I attend a fair where they are, I make sure I attend their demonstrations.
Encampment of the Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword


As with all of their other demonstrations I have viewed in the past, I learned something new. If you are ever at a medieval/renaissance fair or event, and they are there, make sure you attend one of their demonstrations. If you are the promoter or organizer of such a fair or event; make sure you contact them to see if they can become part of yours, you will not regret it.

Demonstration by the Brotherhood


Competition between the English Longbow and the Crossbow.


The Grinning Dwarf – I first saw this merchant at the Marketof the Moons Renaissance Fair.  They sell wonderful period clothing and other articles.  Visit them on their site.     

 The Grinning Dwarf Tent
Granny Grue Gleeful Tales – Granny Grue the vegetarian zombie, the creation of artist Glee Violette, entertains the entire family with stories and song. Her performance is funny, not scary.


Granny Grue entertaining an audience

Primrose Pirates -This group will entertain the entire family.  During the day, they engaged children in “Pummel-a-Pirate” using boffer swords. They later did a demonstration of the weapons used not only by pirates, but also by sailors. Their presentation about black powdered weapons was very informative and enjoyable to watch.




Primrose Pirates showing different black powder weapons


The Silver Kingdom Renaissance festival was very enjoyable; it included food, entertainment and merchants.  It is a smaller faire, but they have the proper attitude to present an enjoyable time for the entire family.  I will attend this faire in the future, and hope that they continue to grow each year.
I recently discovered this blog post about RenaissancePerformers and Merchants. It is worth taking a look at to discover more information about the people I have mentioned in my post previously, such as Steadfast Steel, Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword, or Alice and Her Puppet Friends, but it also includes ones I have not seen.
Next Week:  A very LARGE Renaissance Fair and more updates about the film festival.

W.A. Rusho is a professional wrestler, historian, and author of the novel “Legend of the Mystic Knights”. The previous publisher of this novel is no longer in business, and so he is actively seeking a literary agent or publisher. If you wish to contact him, email him, or visit his website.


14 comments:

  1. I had no idea there were so many renaissance fairs. This seems like an especially fascinating one. Would love to listen to LIARS.

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  2. The L.I.A.R.S (Ladies of Integrity, Aristocracy, Repute, & Society) sounds like fun! I wonder where they got the music from. Thanks for sharing, it sounds like you had some fun at this fair.

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  3. It looks as if there was a lot of great entertainment at this fair. A camp site with a medieval flair sounds like fun.

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  4. I'm so happy you enjoyed yourself and had a good time. I actually am the owner of "Renaissance Performers and Merchants" blog and the fan page. Feel free to post your book and I'll share your blog post today :) - Gia - co-owner of Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival

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    1. Wow, I am glad you stopped by. I enjoyed reading this blog. It is great to see someone else put so much time in showcasing talented people. The festival was very good and I cannot wait to go back next year. Thank you, and I will post my book when it gets republished.

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  5. What fun! I love Granny Grue and the L.I.A.R.S. Anything with wit is a-okay in my book. We adults tend to take ourselves too seriously. This event sounds like such a great time!

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  6. Glad you find so much to enjoy at the fairs. Am truly amazed at how many rebaussabce fairs there are in your part of the world.

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  7. I think my husband, who is really into zombies, would love Granny Grue. The idea of a vegetarian zombie is super funny.

    I'm glad you keep getting such nice weather for these fairs you attend. The pictures are always so pretty. After living in a city for year, it is nice to be reminded of grass and trees and open space.

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  8. The group of L.I.A.R.S. sounds lovely. With only two months left until this Halloween's costume, I'm thinking maybe next year I need to make a point to get to a festival so I can find my costume for 2017 ;)

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  9. Thank you for sharing these wonderful events with us William. I have to agree with others here that I had no idea there were so many fairs like this, or performers and artists who specialize in this period. Really fascinating. :-)

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  10. I listened to L.I.A.R.S.'s finale at the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzz4WFfe5Wg
    Those gals can sing!

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  11. this looks like a very fun fair, I've always wanted to go to a medieval fair, but have never had the chance to. Thanks for sharing these photos!

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  12. There are many Renaissance festivals in Mass., isn't there? I didn't know.

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    1. There is, I had just found 3 more this year. Also, in NY too, I guess it might be a North East thing.

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