Saturday, May 25th, unfortunately, a washed-out day for us. While the day started a little overcast with a chance of rain, after we got inside and started walking, it became very dark and it poured. Stages already had entertainers performing and then the lightning started. That immediately drove them off the stage. We rode out the rain inside of the vendor’s shops (thank you Georgia Renaissance Festival for having physical buildings), but after it let up the grounds were a muddy mess. Some of the attendees didn’t seem to care as they sloshed through muddy puddles. We walked around for a bit enjoying the shops, the dueling arena, and checking out the reptile conservatory before calling it an early day and re-trying again tomorrow. Camera gear and mud doesn’t mix very well.

Sunday, May 26th was a perfect festival day! We started off getting there early so we could enjoy gate opening where King Henry VIII welcomed people to the Village of Newcastle. Various entertainers came out to speak and perform to the crowd about their acts. And it was Pirate Invasion weekend so many people dressed up in pirate garb ready to have a phenomenal day. As the gates opened there was a loud cheer and people made their way through the gates to the festival grounds.

The moment you walk into the Festival you are greeted by multiple cast members wishing you a good day. And throughout the day there are opportunities to interact with the cast members as you travel through the festival grounds. You may meet Iggy the Gargoyle who has been a resident of Newcastle for many years. You might encounter Queen Amina and her Court Aminatu. The warrior Queen leader of the Hausa tribe and her court traveled from Western Africa to visit the village of Newcastle. And you might even encounter the Hounds of East Fairhaven with their sweet and lovely hounds. Interacting with the cast of a festival always provides a more immersive experience.

As I said last year, the Georgia Renaissance Festival has a wonderful location. It is large (you will walk a lot to cover the festival) and they have physical buildings for all of their vendors. It provides a more realistic feel to the festival instead of seeing pop-up tents. It is a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy. There are so many different shops from clothing to jewelry to weapons and even gaming dice. One of my favorite stores sells handcrafted stuffed fantasy animals. The problem on the festival grounds is the lack of cellular signal. It’s so weird since there are residential homes right across the streets from the grounds. The Festival does notate on the website and tickets you might not have cell signal inside. This can cause some issues when trying to find your friends who have split from the party.

Much like last year, the food and drink options were incredible for the festival. There were so many different items to choose from including massive turkey legs, giant hot dogs, and my personal favorite the Steak on a Stake! The meatballs on a stake were also quite yummy along with the corn on the cob. Drink options were plentiful between your sodas and waters and so many varieties of IPAs and ciders. One of our favorite non-alcoholic drinks ended up being a cherry slushie. It was so tasty!

One of the truly fun things about the Festival are meeting other attendees, especially those in cosplay. There were so many cool costumes that day and a few people were kind enough to pause for some photos.

But, let’s talk about some of the entertainment we saw at the Festival this year. Several of them were repeats from last year because they were very enjoyable and happened to be back again! First was the Birds of Prey show. Steve Hoddy the founder of Earthquest educated the attendees about birds of prey and showed off his ambassador birds. This included an Arrow Harris hawk, a great horned owl, a peregrine falcon, and an Andean Condor named Storm. His falcon decided he didn’t want to stick around for the show and flew off into the trees and did not return (don’t worry, they’re all chipped and easily tracked). One of the great things he taught people was about the Merlin Bird ID app created by Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology. The app can identify over 400+ different species of birds by their singing calls. Steve highly recommended attendees to download it and go out into their own neighborhoods to see what birds live there. Earthquest is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation and environmental education. You can check out their site at https://earthquest.org.

Also returning was Cast in Bronze. Charlie St. Cyr-Paul is a Carillonneur who performs music on the only existing mobile carillon. The carillon weighs 4 tons and contains 35 bronze bells ranging in various sizes. The carillon is played like a piano and the keys are pressed using both Charlie’s hands and feet. As he presses the keys, the bells attached to that key will ring. Charlie takes some classical and modern-day music and re-creates them on the carillon. Some of my favorite songs he performed were the Game of Thrones theme song, Hedwig’s Theme from the Harry Potter franchise, and the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. My daughter and I truly enjoyed his version of the classic “O Fortuna”.

And we couldn’t go without seeing one of our favorite acts in the daredevils of Barely Balanced. The trio of Small, Medium, and Large entertain the fans with their humor and acrobatic performances, feats of strength, and incredible balancing stances. I’ve seen them many times and would never pass an opportunity to see them again. They’re absolute crowd pleasers and the show we attended was packed! Every seat was filled plus the people standing to enjoy the show. Plus, you could also purchase from them their 5E Dungeons & Dragons adventure they created beating up monsters with giant turkey legs at a Renaissance Festival!

One of the crowd-pleasers returning was the Italian band Rota Temporis. The drum band had the crowd completely amped up and rocking the stage. Rota Temporis is loud and then get louder. You can hear them playing from the joust field, which is on the other side of the festival grounds! They truly are a fun band to watch and I suspect they’ll be back next season.

One of the new acts for the Georgia Renaissance Festival this season was The Reelin’ Rogues. I had the opportunity to see them at another Renaissance Festival. The trio performs a variety of Celtic music singing songs of Irish history and folklore. They are very energetic and the three are very talented musicians. It’s amazing how beautiful their music using only a guitar drums and a flute or bagpipe. They’re one of my favorite acts and the crowd also enjoyed their performances.

The staple of every Renaissance Festival is the Joust. The troupe working the Georgia Renaissance Festival is known as DeBracey Productions. They ran three shows a day as part of their storyline. I’ve seen them multiple times and they always provided some different aspects to the joust including a lot of trick riding between four knights. This show I saw only had two knights performing. The story was good though I miss seeing the cast I’ve seen in the past. I will say DeBracey Productions does put on entertaining shows and this year if you were in the front row you had the chance of getting sprayed with joust blood!

Another new act this year was the belly dancers of Boom Boom Shake. I’ve seen them before at our local Renaissance Faire and they’re so much fun. Their music is great and both women are very talented belly dancers. The crowd enjoyed their performances and I suspect we will see them back at the Georgia Renaissance Festival next season.

One of the fun and surprising acts for me was Juggling Geoff. His show is what you expect of him juggling various things and even balancing a stack of items. But, it was his interaction with kids was great. And the fact he got them to get a spinning plate line where they started passing the plates down to each other was fantastic. You could see his facial expression showing his enjoyment. I really enjoyed his show and was glad I got to see it.

Our visit to the Georgia Renaissance Festival will filled with fun and lots of laughs. I truly love this festival and look forward to returning next season when they celebrate their 40th Anniversary! I’m sure it will be a special season.

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For the first time during this season, I finally got to the fair before the door openings at 10 AM. I knew something occurred during the opening but had never seen what it was because I wasn’t there early enough. Now, I finally had. King Philip of Spain was on top of the gates speaking to the crowd that had already gathered together. He explained there would be activities that day including burning Protestants at the stake, “For fun!” It was a few minutes later that Sir Edmund Tylney burst through the gate and into the crowd exclaiming the Queen Mary was dead. King Philip did not seem very distraught that his wife just died. He called for Princess Elizabeth to be called out to inform her of the news. When she arrived, she was quite perturbed by King Philip, probably assuming she was to be burned at the stake. Instead, she was informed she was going to be coronated to be named Queen of England. Sir Robert Dudley, dutiful at her side, dropped to one knee proudly exclaiming “God save the Queen!” which rose the same reply from the crowd. Queen Elizabeth declared the coronation would take place at 11:30 AM in the Royal Glade. She then declared the cannons be fired and to open the gates. The crowd cheered after the cannon fire and everyone started making their way into the fair. This was a great way to kick off the day.

As I stepped into the village, I was greeted by various members of the newly designated Queen and members of the Royal Court. They all greeted people as they entered ensuring they received a very pleasant welcome. Sir Robert Dudley was very feisty openly kissing Queen Elizabeth on the cheek in front of Lady Kat Ashley.

I made my way around to find Lady Ophelia’s Dance by the Maypole which started at 10:30 AM. During this time, Lady Ophelia gathers members of the court and other people who wish to participate in it. As I was waiting I saw Ser Oakheartt the living tree trudging around the fair. The Maypole dance itself was quite beautiful and jovial to watch. The multicolored ribbons were held by everyone as they danced their way underneath each other and around the pole until they all reached the center and tied off the ribbons. The group then performed another dance in pairs where they danced around the pole and would switch partners after completing certain dance moves. The music was conducted by a violinist and a guitarist and was perfect. The participants provided glorious cheer and applause for the musicians and each other. It was a very entertaining event.

From there, I made my way over to the Brawling Claw Pub to catch the performance of Music the Gathering. An obvious play on words of the famous card game Magic the Gathering, this band performed folk music that ranged from fun and lively to emotional and somber. They use a variety of musical arrangements for their performances and let me say, Marco, Liv, and Clara are very talented performers. The ability for them to make such beautiful music with these arrangements is quite impressive. I loved their show. And they even have trading cards of themselves for sale! And yes, I bought a set.

I rushed over to the Royal Glade to capture the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, first of her name! It’s a wonderful ceremony and after she was crowned King Philip was hoping he would be asked to marry her so he could also become King of England. Instead, she titled Sir Robert Dudley as Master of the Horse and Sir Edmund Tylney to oversee festivities. The Queen also took a moment to knight two children before making her way with her court. She looked more regal than ever.

And then it was off to the first joust of the day held by Noble Cause Productions. After following their events over the past five weeks, they were still as entertaining as ever. Sir William of Whitehall acted as Master of Arms hosting the display of knight feats between Sir Michael with Squire Barb and Sir Lilith with Squire Lydia. Sir William introduced the guests of King Philip and his sister Princess Juana, a Duke and Duchess (can’t recall from where), and “those two guys”. The first joust is full of fun lines, quips, and jokes between the two including many referencing Lord of the Rings. There is a contest between Sir Michael and Sir Lilith to catch aerial rings for a flower garland. Sir Lilith misses the last one as she feels Squire Lydia threw it too high and charges Squire Lydia to run them down. Squire Lydia is too fast and nimble hopping the fence and running through the crowd to escape. Sir William suggests to the crowd wants to see a joust so Sir Michael and Sir Lilith gear up. The two knights then make their joust passes with each pass hitting harder until Sir Michael’s lance shatters declaring Sir Lilith the winner. Sir William invites the crowd to come back at 2:30 PM for their second joust of the day.

I met up with my wife to grab some lunch. I hadn’t mentioned the fair’s food options in my other reviews, but it needs worth mentioning. The fair each year always had a nice variety of food. You could find burgers, pizza, cheesesteaks, and chicken tenders. Then you had more time-period items like kebobs, shepherd’s pie, Scottish eggs, and turkey legs. But, the winner this year for me was the tacos. While not Renaissance food that vendor’s tacos were just absolutely amazing. They offered BBQ Korean beef, barbacoa, and shredded pork. The only criticism is that booth ran out of the quesadillas after week 1 and I never got to try them.

It was then back to the Royal Glade for The Queen’s Feast where you could watch the Queen and her Royal Court eat! Yes, eat. All of them are literally eating lunch in character while attendees walk by or stop and watch. And the Queen and Court will happily interact with the attendees. One week my wife and I literally brought our lunches and sat down and ate with them. It was a pretty cool experience to eat lunch with royalty. That day King Philip and Queen Elizabeth were throwing grapes at two members of the court trying to catch them in their mouths. It was a hilarious game. Afterward, there was some light ribbing going on as Sir Robert Dudley was mimicking Lady Kat Ashley in her mannerisms and speech.

Then it was time for the second joust of the day. Sir William played Master at Arms and introduced Queen Elizabeth and her Royal Court. Sir Michael and Sir William tested the field lancing rings and aerial rings before getting to the actual joust. Once again the two knights fiercely attacked each other during each joust pass. But, this time it is Sir Lilith who breaks her lance on Sir Michael’s shield awarding the joust to Sir Michael. Sir William then recommends they perform a round of mounted combat. The mounted combat is fast and fierce and eventually, Sir Michael disarms Sir Lilith in winning the round. But, Sir Lilith offers to shake his hand graciously and instead yanks him off his horse! Sir Lilith points out the winner must make the opponent yield or be the last one of their horse, which she was. Sir William declares her the victor. The final round is hand-to-hand combat on the ground and Sir Michael and Sir Lilith are dueling with such skill, power, and grace. In the end, it is Sir Michael who is the better of the two disarming Sir Lilith. When he celebrates his victory, Sir Lilith comes from behind and guts him, spilling blood on the field. Sir William is outraged and ready to strike Sir Lilith down, but Sir Michael holds him at bay demanding justice for this dishonor. Sir Lilith demands a joust to the death. Queen Elizabeth agrees to allow the joust and the two will meet at 5:30 PM in a duel to the death.

I walked around for a bit checking out the vendors for the final time. I loved the wide variety of merchants the Brevard Renaissance Fair offered this year. Everything from art, to jewelry, to clothing, to armor, and weapons. And even specialized things like Scottish clothing, fur clothing, horns, and ears. You then had the games such as buried treasure (poorly buried as they kept calling out), the LARP game with Dice Knights, archery and axe throwing, and one of my favorite entertainment events to see, boffer weapon fighting! It is a great mix of vendors and look forward to seeing who they bring in next year.

Back at the joust field was the return of Equestrian Chaos! The group consists of women who show people the Amazonian warrior way between their skill in archery and horse riding. And also combined the two to show off some amazing archery feats. The women have amazing skills for horseback riding and archery and a flair for entertainment. I loved the show the first time I saw them years ago and loved them just as much this time around. I highly recommend seeing their performance whenever you can.

I made my way back over to the Royal Glade for the Meet the Queen event. The Queen and her Royal Court were enjoying the day keeping in the shade. The Queen asked for Lady Mary to sing for them and she provided the most beautiful song in French. I was blown away by her performance. Sir Henry then regaled us with a drinking song and everyone joined in. It was a very jovial event.

I made my way over to the Bard Stage to catch Boom Boom Shake. Two wonderfully skilled belly dancers performed for the crowd to Middle Eastern music. The balance and grace of these women were amazing and the crowd absolutely loved them. And they had a huge crowd around their stage.

I decided to check out Equestrian Chaos for a second time getting some pictures from a different angle. They were just as impressive as when I saw them for the first time that day. Their skill and strength to perform these athletic feats are seriously incredible.

Finally, it was time for the grand finale, the final joust of the day. The mood was somber as the sun was setting. Queen Elizabeth and her Royal Court were introduced by Sir William and they took their places on the podium. Sir Michael and Sir Lilith were introduced separately and they rode onto the field to cheers and applause. The Queen addressed the knights asking if there was no other way to settle their differences, but their words made it apparent there was not. They both had a chance to ride the field and found it suitable for combat. Sir William went through a presentation ceremony of their helmets and shields and then ordered them to their ends of the field and the joust to the death began. Each knight roared ahead eager to clash with the other. The sound of the lance against shield rang out through the field over and over, until Sir Michael’s lance broke, splintering into pieces all over the field.

Sir William ordered the knights to dismount and meet on the field in hand-to-hand combat. Sir Michael did, but Sir Lilith did not. Instead, she grabbed a lance and sped towards Sir Michael with hatred and rage on her face, ready to drive the lance into his heart. But, he saw what she had planned and raised his shield in time. The blow knocked Michael off his feet and Sir Lilith came around for another pass. This time, Sir Michael yanked the lance out of her hand, ready to use it at her. Sir Lilith dismounted and grabbed her sword and Sir Michael grabbed his own and they met in the middle bloodlust in their hearts. The battle was fierce and no punches were pulled but in the end, Sir Michael had Sir Lilith on the ground, sword at her throat, and hatred in his heart. And he showed her mercy. He declared to the Queen his honor was redeemed and walked away. Sir Lilith was disgusted and screamed his name and when he turned around, she launched the hidden dagger right into his eye. Sir Michael screamed as blood flew everywhere and then collapsed to the ground. Sir William looked on in horror and ran to Sir Michael, confirming he was dead.

The Queen was horrified once again at the dishonor of Sir Lilith and ordered Sir William to dispose of her. Sir William was happy to oblige, drawing his sword and moving forward. The two clashed in the middle of the field, but Sir William was too skilled, striking a blow to her abdomen and slicing her across. He then used his sword and her own to slice open her neck, killing her. Sir William then addressed the crowd after they cheered for his success and asked for a round of applause for both Sir Michael and Sir Lilith for their performances that day. The crowd cheered as they both stood up and took a quick bow. It was an amazing story throughout the three jousts that day.

The day ended with the burning of the Wicker Man, where people inserted their wishes into it all throughout the day. Afterward, those who were staying for the concert that evening were guided to the Brawling Crawling Pub for the Pub Sing. I had the opportunity to spend time with the Queen and Sir Robert during that time, enjoying the musical entertainment. When everything was ready, the staff guided people to the Queen’s Stage for Gaelic Storm. The Celtic rock band out of San Francisco, CA put on an amazing show filled with fun songs, humor, and great music. It was a great way to cap off the evening and for me the fair season.

I’m definitely looking forward to next year and highly recommend anyone who has not attended to come next season and see how much fun you’ll have at this fair.

The post REN FAIRE TRAVELS: BREVARD RENAISSANCE FAIR WEEK 5 – WICKHAM PARK – MELBOURNE FL – FEBRUARY 4, 2023 appeared first on The Ren Faire Traveler.

Themed Weekends

Like all Renaissance Festivals, the Georgia Renaissance Festival has themed weekends to give people the opportunity to come dressed for the occasion. The last two weekends are:

May 27-29 – Memorial Weekend: This weekend is dedicated to those who have passed defending the freedom of our country. During this weekend, all active military members, veterans, and First Responders and their immediate families will receive special discounts on Memorial Day Monday at the Box Office.

June 3rd-4th – Flights of Fantasy: Be ready to see members of the fairy realm come to visit the Georgia Renaissance Festival. This is the final weekend and your last opportunity to attend the Festival for their season.

Tickets

When you go to purchase your tickets, online is the way to go to save some money. All tickets are good for one festival day. Adults are considered anyone 13 years of age and older. Adult tickets online are $26.95 – $28.95*. If you buy them at the Box Office adult tickets are $30.55. Child tickets online for ages 6-12 are $13.95 – $15.95*. If you buy them at the Box Office child tickets are $16.56. Children 5 years of age and under are free!

*Online ticket prices increase during premium purchasing days – Friday through Sunday.

Please note that all tickets are non-refundable. Ticket prices do not include sales tax and processing fees.

Per the Georgia Renaissance Festival website: IMPORTANT! If you are unable to print your ticket, we suggest you take a screenshot of your ticket and save it on your phone for scanning – there is very poor cell reception at the Festival site and you may not be able to retrieve an email once you are at the Festival.

Entertainment

The Georgia Renaissance Festival brought on for this season some truly great entertainers you can see through the last two weekends. Here are just a small sampling of the entertainers you’ll be able to see:

The Reelin’ Rogues: A bardic band of rebels entertaining through Celtic songs.

The Puppies of Penzance: Take a trip with a pirate ship manned by pups!

Birds of Prey: Bird show including hawks, eagles, owls, and vultures.

The Lady Victoria: Wonderful performer of Celtic and Early music on the Hammered Dulcimer.

Boom Boom Shake: Middle Eastern style dancing with a modern vibe. One of my favorites to watch.

Rota Temporis: An Italian heavy metal band with bagpipes and drums that plays Celtic music. Energy galore and not to be missed.

Washing Well Wenches: Comedic entertainment, highly interactive, and watch out of the splash zone!

Cast in Bronze: 4 tons, 35 bells, and amazing music generated from this Carillon played by Carillonneur Charlie St. Cyr-Paul.

DeBracey Joust Productions: Knights battling on horses, chariot, and the ground 3 times a day. Such amazing fight scenes and stunts!

And so much more!

Food and Drink

All great Renaissance Festivals have solid food offerings and this one definitely delivers. Here are some of the great food and drinks you’ll find at the Georgia Renaissance Festival:

Snacks: Giant pretzels, fruit and cheese platters, cheese bread, and more.

Entrees: Smoked turkey legges, Feast of Fowl Chicken Sandwich, Steak on a Stake, and more.

Desserts: Root beer floats, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream sundaes, and more.

Drinks: Water, milk, iced tea, Coca-Cola products, Budweiser products, Wild Leap Local Blonde Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, Fat Tire IPA, Monks Mead Dragon Nectar and Bacchus Pink Lemonade, assorted wines, and more.

Shopping

And of course, it wouldn’t be a Renaissance Festival without seeing so many artisans available selling their crafts! You can see the Festival’s artistans page at https://www.garenfest.com/artisans-market which includes a link with a PDF of the full vendor list.

Overall, the Georgia Renaissance Festival offers a huge variety of entertainment for your weekend, so go check them out before they close out their season! For even more details, visit their webpage at https://www.garenfest.com/.

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