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There were two medieval/renaissance faires held this past
weekend, so I will be talking about them over the next two posts.
First, I attended the Vermont Renaissance Festival, which
was held on June 24 and 25th.
This was the first time I attended this faire, but I did attend the
Vermont Winters Faire last March.
Besides these two faires there are numerous other events put on by this
group, check out their website to find out more.
The upper East Coast seems to have many faires (as you have
noticed from my reviews on my blog). The Vermont Renaissance Festival is one of
the major one of these faires, so I was excited on going to it.
The faire itself is held at the Mayo Events Fields at 80
Weeks Hill Rd, Stowe, Vermont. This is a 32-acre section of the 235-acre Mayo
Farm property, this property is part of the Stowe Parks and Recreation. This
land was purchased in the 1980’s for conservation purposes. The area is located
near West Branch of Little River and the green mountains of Vermont loom over
it from nearby. For me, this was a 4-hour drive to get there; I decided to go
since I enjoyed myself at the Winter Festival. The festival was worth the
drive.
As with most of my blog posts, I will mention the vendors
and artists I have seen, or stood out. I wish I had the time to list them all,
but space will not allow it. I would
suggest you go to the festival’s website and learn about each one. One of the disadvantages
of driving a long distance, is you must drive back, so I could not stay to see
all the exciting and entertaining acts, and vendors at the faire.
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| Made by Hand Leather |
Made by Hand Leather- Another vendor I see at numerous
faires. He sells some very good items at some very reasonable prices. Check out
his Etsy site and see his wonderful products.
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| Tintagels Gate tent |
Tintagels Gate- Another great vendor you can read about on
my past posts, including the recent New York Capital District RenaissanceFestival, and other faires. They sell wonderful items, including weapons, at
very reasonable price.
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| Band of Angels |
Band of Angels- You truly do not know how beautiful harp
music until you hear a master play one accompanied by a wonderful voice. This
group has both.
The Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword-Anyone who has read a
few of my posts know how impressed I am with this group. Since I have seen them
so many times, I am running out of words to describe how truly good this group is.
Normally, I would see them at the Mutton and Mead festival, but this year the
two faires were scheduled on the same weekend.
No matter which faire they attend, their knowledge and performance is
unmatched.
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| Draugar Vinlands Encampment |
Draugar Vinlands- A group I first saw at the Vermont Winter Festival last March. There are a group
of historical reenactors dedicated to the Viking age. Not only do they learn the fighting arts of
the Vikings (using accurate weighted weapons), they also engage in the
attitude and culture of the period. They are truly a great group, and I
encourage you to look them up and see one of their encampments, or
performances. Like the Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword, you will learn
something new every single time you see them.
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| L.I.A.R.S. (Ladies of Integrity, Aristocracy, Repute, and Society) |
L.I.A.R.S.- Another staple of medieval/renaissance
faires. I had posted about them on
numerous occasions. You must hear these
attractive women sing in person to truly appreciate how great their voices are.
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| O’h Aneligh |
O’h Aneligh- A group that specializes in Irish-American
music. They are very talented, and their repertoire includes songs from the
renaissance, civil ware and of course historical Irish songs.
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| Shelli Buttons |
Shelli Buttons- Another talented performer I first saw at
the Connecticut Renaissance Faire .
She is truly amazing. At this event,
she juggled fire, and knives (sitting on an audience member’s shoulders) and
performed on silk rope suspended high above the ground. If you get a chance, do
not miss this entertainer.
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| Grinning Dwarf tent |
The Grinning Dwarf- A great vendor I have seen over the
years at numerous faires. Truly good
products at a great price.
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| Iron Grove Forge |
Iron Grove Forge- Reading my posts, you know how much I
appreciate the skill used in blacksmithing. He was a very talented blacksmith,
who took the time to educate anyone who asked about this skill.
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| Spur of the Moment Joust Team |
What would a medieval/renaissance faire be without a good
joust. This was presented by the Spur of the Moment Joust Team and EquestrialMartial Arts. A very talented group, with some great skills.
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| Lusty Leather |
Lusty Leather-Another great vendor offering some great products.
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| There was even a place to buy Vermont Renaissance Festival souvenirs |
The faire also had wonderful food and drink. I bought a pulled pork sandwich from Bluebird BBQ.
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| Leanan Sidhe |
Leanan Sidhe- A group of belly dancers which will entertain you, but also educate you on the art and history of this dance.
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| There were so many other great entertainers, such as this performer named Avalon Sea, playing the Hurdy Gurdy.
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The Vermont Renaissance Festival is a great faire, and put
on by a group of wonderful promoters and volunteers. I would encourage each of
you to check out their site for next year, and also for the upcoming events
they put on.
Next Week: Part 2 of this past weeks faires.
W.A.Rusho is a professional wrestler, author and historian. You can reach him on his website, or by email.
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I can imagine it must take a lot of time and effort to run these festivals.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing
Wonderful William, though I was a little surprised to see the belly dancers. I love Vermont and have been to Stowe a couple of times so along with your wonderful photographs it was easy to imagine this wonderful event.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, what fun you have. If I was a traveler I would thoroughly enjoy going to one of these faires with you. For anyone at all interested in history this would be a fantastic experience. I'm always interested in how things used to be done and you would certainly learn that here.
ReplyDeleteBelly dancers at a Renaissance Faire> Is that an anachronism? I play the recorder, so I usually enjoy the music groups at these types of events.
ReplyDeleteBelly Dancers are thought to have come to Spain from Lebanon in the time of the Phoenicians (11th Century BC to 5th Century BC). Also remember, the knights from Europe who had journeyed to the Middle East probably would of been exposed to them.
DeleteThe belly dancers make me laugh, despite your explanations. Doubt belly dancing was common in medieval Europe. Have a feeling the belly dancers at the festival just love belly dancing:-)
ReplyDeleteI never attended a Renaissance Festival, although they certainly do look like a colorful and fun time. My dream has always been to engage in a LARP group (live action role-playing). Still has yet to happen!
ReplyDeleteHarp music truly is magical. There's a volunteer who plays at times at the hospital where I am getting my chemo treatments and it always brightens my day to hear those strings being plucked.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to recognize a lot of these acts by name from reading your blog. It's like I know them, even though I of course don't. If I ever make it to a North East renaissance fair, it will be like I'm seeing a bunch of celebrities! Glad the one in Vermont was worth the drive.
ReplyDeleteWilliam -- when I read your posts I become very nostalgic for my days when my husband and I had a log home in Petersburg, NY, nestled in the corner where Massachusetts and Vermont meet. We never attended a medieval/renaissance faire but did go to many flea markets and antique shows. New England was home to the first settlers and has a culture and history that is unmatched in any other section of the country. Look forward to your next post
ReplyDeleteYour posts always open me up to a brand new world that I need to experience. The sheer number of talented people that perform or are vendors at these events is pretty darned amazing. Glad you go to attend this one.
ReplyDeleteI was there too. First time we've taken our seven year old grandson. He was thrilled, especially when one of the knights gave him a trinket for choosing the weapons in one contest. it is all he's talked about since. So much talent in one place, wonderful way to learn medieval history and lots of attention to families. You've done a wonderful job of capturing the events and the energy!
ReplyDelete