If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I
like to attend renaissance and medieval faires. In the past, I would attend
these events for entertainment, but recently, it was more to make contacts and
gain information to use to write my medieval fantasy novel series.
When I go to these faires and then write about them, it is
in the past tense. If you are in the New
York, Vermont, Massachusetts area, it is too late to attend, because they have
already occurred. I thought I would tell you about upcoming faires I am
planning on visiting, in case you want to visit them. If I had attended them in the past and did a
review, I am including a link to those previous posts so you can read a
description about them.
Our first faire is the New York Capital District Renaissance Festival which will be held on June 11 and 12th at the Indian Ladder Farms in
Altamont, NY. I attended this event for the first-time last year. In fact, this was the first event I wrote
about in my blog last year.
I met some wonderful vendors there, Teardrop Creations and Halderberg Meadworks.
This was also the faire where I was
introduced to the SCA-(Society for Creative Anachronism, The Eastern Kingdom).
Mutton and Meade Festival (June 18 &19) held in Montague, Mass. It
hosts a food drive for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, and also raises money for the Montague CommonHall. This
faire ended up being quite entertaining last year (review). I would say if you do go, check out
every inch of the faire, but particularly Cirque Du Sever, it is the best; if not only, acrobatic rat
performers in the world. I was also quite impressed with the The Brotherhood ofArrows and Swords,
their knowledge and skill handling medieval weapons is unsurpassed.
Krebashia Kingdom Medieval Fantasy Faire (July 9 & 10)
Malone, NY. Being small and relatively new, does not mean it is not worthwhile in going. I met some great people, read about them
here. One of the most enjoyable fighting
performances I have seen was done by Steadfast Steel.
I also saw my friend from Teardrop Creations there.
There was a very entertaining joust done by the Paragon Jousting LLC.
One of the best performances I saw there was done by the Ravenbane's FireCraft.
The Time Line of World History Weekend located at Schuler
Flatts Park in MENANDS, NY (I do not have upcoming dates, but usually held on a
weekend in August) Not truly a medieval faire, but includes collectors and reenactors
of several historical periods. This event can be very entertaining and
educational.
New York State Renaissance Festival (weekends: August 6 to Oct 2) Tuxedo Park,
NY. I must include visiting Skáldvik Viking Village
, Catskill Mountain Moccasins and the Bullseye NYRF Read about my
experiences there last year.
One faire that I have attended in the past, but not last year
was the Sterling Renaissance Festival (weekends, July 2-August 14), Sterling, NY. This
was the first medieval fair I had ever attended, and unlike in 2015, I try to
go back there every year. This year, I hope I get to attend this fair; and
afterwards I will describe it here on my blog.
So these are the medieval renaissance festivals I will be
attending over the upcoming summer. I hope you will return and read about each
and every one, or if possible be able to visit them. In a future post, I will describe the
country/regional fairs I plan on attending this year.
Just about time for these to get started. I'd like to visit some of the smaller faires on your list. The only one I've been to is New York Renaissance Festival which can get overwhelmingly crowded.
ReplyDeleteThese sound wonderful William. I wish we had fairs like this in the Islands, but it just serves to motivate me to get back to the mainland more often. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThese Faires sound wonderful. I didn't realize there was so many in NY. We have one near us in Pennsylvania at mid August and have gone a few times with the kids as an end of summer activity.
ReplyDeleteLucky you, which reminds me I've still not researched one in my area. I will be headed to Ashland, Oregon for the first time later this summer and have tickets to see Hamlet at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It's an amazing outdoor theatre and I can't wait. Though not a "festival" per se, it's always a bit like going back in time to see a Shakespeare play, especially ones done in outdoor theatres that are reminiscent of the Globe.
ReplyDeleteI never realized until reading your blog how many renaissance and medieval faires there were. I will not be in the area to attend any you've listed, but I just learned that a local church a few miles outside of my home city puts on a medieval faire one day in the summer.
ReplyDeleteI imagine these fairs to be big with lots of entertainment put on for adults and children. I expect it is noisy too with lots of laughter.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter went to one of these with friends years back. I had no idea they even existed. Seem like a very fun family outing.
ReplyDeleteLOVED the post!!! I'm the VP/Secretary for Ekrub Players, Inc. in Malone, NY (think beautiful, cool summer nights, bordering Canada, scenic byways near Lake Placid, short Jaunt to Montreal, Quebec. This year's Krebashia Kingdom is going to be the best yet. We have a great line up in entertainment, vendors and the venue is absolutely perfect for a medieval fantasy faire. Check us out on facebook, official pages and our Wix website. I'm the primary Admin... Trust me when I say our family-friendly events are growing in size and popularity. Comic Con, Royalty, Super Heroes, Pirates, Animated Films, Anime and Unique Characters: Come, introduce yourself and have fun with us!! Kids and socialized dogs on leashes are most welcome. (((HUZZAH)))
ReplyDeleteI can say that I am very excited about this years faire. I will also make sure I write up a review for it, as I did for last years.
DeleteThank you so much William! Ekrub Players salute you, Sir.
ReplyDeleteAm sure your list of fairs will come in handy for people in the US with the same interest as you. Personally am on the other side of the world so I will not visit any of them.
ReplyDeleteThis means you will have some wonderfully entertaining and insightful blogposts for us! Hooray for your year of fairs!
ReplyDeleteYou are going to be a busy man if you attend all these faires but what an interesting way to spend your time. I've never been to a medieval fair although I do love history. I don't think they have them in our area. Have fun William and keep up entertained when you write about them.
ReplyDeletePittsburgh has a Renaissance Fair in Aug/Sept, but I've not seen a Medieval fair advertised. You're a smart man to publish the dates--can I tell you how many times I hear about something after the fact?
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great summer attending as many of these as you can!
Music fan that I am, the Sterling Renaissance Festival, with its showcase of Minstrels & Musical Groups, would be the one for me.
ReplyDelete