Four weeks into the Brevard Renaissance Fair season and I can say what a great season this has been. Everything from the new layout of the Fair, to the improvements in the Royal Family tent, to the vendors and entertainment have all been top-notch. The fourth week was also Heroes of the Realm week, so costumes from Spiderman to Captain America to even Doctor Who (3 different versions). Most important, it was a weekend of fun.
I like arriving early to catch as much of the fair as I can. This particular day was going to be long as I was staying to see Celtica Nova‘s evening performance. The moment I walked into the fair I was greeted by multiple people, including the Royal Court! King Philip of Spain and his guards were there, Queen Elizabeth and her entourage were there, along with a group of faeries, the living tree Ser Oakheartt and the harpist Kathleen Finnegan. If you have not seen her perform yet, she’s set up straight through the front entrance. Go take a moment and listen to beautiful melodies.
After browsing through a few of the vendors, I made my way over to see Daniel Greenwolf – Celtic Magic. Daniel and his wife Bella perform a variety of magic tricks while incorporating his wild sense of humor throughout the show. If you weren’t laughing at the jokes, you were enamored by his magic. There was a very large crowd there to see him and it was truly understandable as to why. Daniel and Bella’s fire breathing and fire eating was a great display to close out their show.
Right following him was the Clan Tynker Family Circus. The troupe of five brothers and sisters perform in a “vaudeville” style bringing in silly to stylish to dangerous acts. Starting off with the Chinese linking rings, to juggling, to suddenly juggling machetes over her sister! Throw in some fire-eating and ribbon dancing for good measure. But, the finale is stupendous with three members juggling fire torches. It’s truly a sight to behold. Clan Tynker is a phenomenal act to see.
And then, of course, it was over to the jousting field to watch the knights of Noble Cause Productions put on their performance. King Philip made an appearance with his sister Juana to watch Master of Arms Sir William host some friendly test of skills between Sir Michael and Sir Lilith. After the tests of skill, Sir William recommends the two have a friendly joust and after a few passes, Sir William recommends the knights return later in the day for a true joust. The reason I love the opening joust is for the light-hearted affair. The jokes on Lord of the Rings, Lilith being sent back to her room, Michael about being hit by the quintain all provide the atmosphere for a fun and jovial event.
Afterward, I headed over to the Royal Glade for probably one of the most unique events, the Royal Feast. The Royal Feast is literally the cast of the Royal Court sitting outside and eating lunch in front of people. Literally. And all while staying in character. Even odder, did you know that you could bring your own lunch and sit down and join them? My wife and I did it the week before and it was hilarious. You have this unique opportunity to sit down and eat with royalty, yet barely anyone knows about it! Instead, you see attendees walking by and gawking at them eating lunch, maybe sometimes stopping to say hello before moving on. I decided to sit down and join them, taking the opportunity to snap some candid photos (after they had finished eating of course) and some of these were just priceless.
But, the best was seeing the interaction between Queen Elizabeth and Sir Robert Dudley. The two of them played out their roles so well and the chemistry between them is superb.
From there it was on to the second joust of the day when things start to heat up. The rivalry gets a little out of hand with chivalry on the line and Sir Lilith shows her true colors. The action sequences in this joust are well worth watching and both knights deserve all the cheers they get for their performances. The end scene with Sir William drawing his sword ready to get medieval on Sir Lilith will give you goosebumps. And this culminates over to the last joust of the day where it’s a fight to the death. Those sequences are by far the greatest ones ever and once again both knights put their bodies on the line for the performance. If anything, the joust is always my premiere event to watch, even though I’ve seen them so many times this season.
And then it was off to the Pub Sing! at the Queen’s Stage to wrap up the fair. And getting to see Queen Elizabeth chug down her drink was absolutely well worth it. The Pub Sing is great musical entertainment and a great way to close out the evening.
Now, for me, I was staying for the concert after the fair closed. First to the stage was the Black Velvet Band who provided a very fun performance with bawdy toasts and songs. Nothing too dirty but just enough the adults would understand but not the kids. Cu Dubh came on next going full out metal red lighting and all for their performance. They really are great musicians. And then we wrapped up the evening with Celtica Nova. Bagpipes, fire, and Irish Rock. What more do you need? They provided a great show for the fans and it was a fantastic way to close out the day.