I Never Saw Any Jousting

I went to my first renaissance festival and I want to be a medieval princess now.

The weekend of the 26th was the final weekend of the renaissance festival in my home state. Now, I've always been kind of a nerd, but I hadn't really been particularly interested in medieval history or anything from that era until I watched Momo O'brien's Youtube video about Biccoline (but that's a post for another day. Look it up if you're interested, it looks super cool!). I love renaissance dresses and cloaks. Alas, I don't actually own one, because I'm a broke high schooler, but we're working on it.

My parents had gone to the festival years prior to this, and they had mixed reactions on the subject. My mom thought it was weird and kind of silly, and to this day she hasn't gone back. My dad, however, thought it was kind of interesting, and said that he would've gone back if the opportunity arose.

And it did.

I had been wanting to go, just to check it out and see what it is because I'd heard mixed things about it, and I wanted to decide for myself- plus, I'm currently in the process of writing a book that is set in a time period very similar to medieval times, so it was good research- so he offered to take me and my sister and my friends if they could come.

So on that Sunday, my friend, my sister, and I piled into the car and drove over half an hour to get to the festival. My friend and I were already freaking out when we arrived because the signs in the parking lot looked like medieval flags, but our elation was expected, considering we're both theatre nerds who desperately want to go LARPing at some point.

Now, if you've never been to a renaissance festival, let me give you a quick overview of what the festival grounds looked like. This might not be standard, but this was my experience.

They. Were. Huge.

Like, we just barely had time to walk around the whole thing, and we were there for 5 hours. Of course, this was also sidetracked by my friend and I ducking into every shop that we could and admiring all the beautiful things we couldn't afford. The grounds were enclosed with a wall/fence thing, and the entrance looked like the entrance to a castle. I'm not just saying this for dramatic effect, stepping through the "castle gate" was like stepping into a whole different world. It looked like a genuine medieval village, with shops and restaurants built in the classic architecture of the era. It was a feat, and totally surpassed all my expectations.

There were shops selling virtually everything, from daggers to schwarma (Marvel fans where you at?) to literal crowns. Some of my favorites were a shop selling calligraphy pens and stationary, literally all the clothing shops, the crown shop- it is impossible not to look gorgeous in a crown- and the weapons shop, solely because they had beautiful prop weapons, and my little theater kid heart was crying.

The food was mediocre, but that wasn't really what I'd come for. I just kind of wanted to check it out, and overall, the festival was very cool. No, we didn't see any jousting, which seems to be what everyone asks about when you talk about the renaissance festival- my friend and I were too busy shopping to go watch people joust. I think my dad got to see a little bit, but they were done for the day by the time we finished the other things we were doing.

Everyone looked beautiful; there were people in period ballgowns, and crowns, and one girl dressed as an elf, and even three people who were cosplaying Loki, Thor, and Valkyrie (not sure what they have to do with the era, but I asked for a picture anyway for my other friend who couldn't come and is obsessed with Loki) and my friend and I already cemented plans to get ourselves some medieval gowns and go next year. All in all, I enjoyed it, and I'm definitely planning on going back next year.

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