Kay's Thinking Cap: Road Trip to History

I, as I told y'all Sunday, decided to go a-wandering so I fed Miss Ruby and headed northeast up by Lake Erie. I met old friends at a pub from our college days when summer holidays were celebrated at Geneva-on-the-Lake and shared a wee pint and lunch before heading south to Rock Creek to spend the rest of the day at The Great Lakes Medieval Faire and Marketplace. My daughter, a long-time member of The Society for Creative Anachronism, introduced me to the Faire about a decade ago and while I try to work in a visit each summer, it's been a few years since my last visit so it was fun to see how it's grown. My friends had never been there before and enjoyed it immensely.

Johnny Phoenix, whose specialty is "dangerous comedy", is of the many artists who entertain throughout the day. He is, in addition to being really funny, a fire eater and a fire walker and he walked that beam in his bare feet while making jokes! I never lose my awe and wonder for such feats.

Above Sir Gawain chats with the crowd after the human chess game. My camera was giving me fits so my attempt to show y'all how handsome he is failed.

The Faire, aka The Village of Avaloch, features all manner of medieval entertainment: jousting, rides, the human chess game, troubadors, fooles, pipers, musicians and food -- lots of food! It's set in a beautiful woods so it was a perfect refuge on a 90 degree day! The staff dresses in costume and they appear to enjoy their work. I giggled a lot as I was greeted by knights and princes with a deep bow, "Good day, fair lady!!!"

The Marketplace features all sorts of things Medieval and one can even rent costumes to really get in the spirit of the faire! My favorite was The Alchemist -- a charming little man from London who makes beautiful hand painted porcelain talismans for everything one can think of and provides you with a printed explanation of its powers. I chose Joy. It denotes happiness, success and creative expression. I hope it works!

I was delighted when I and my tired legs found a lovely young artisan who makes excellent quarterstaffs of all types of wood. Below is a picture (in which I think I look fat -- so what else is new? Just remember that I dressed to be cool and comfortable not stylish!) of moi with my brand new quarterstaff! It's a beauty crafted from hickory and topped with a crystal ornament. I told him about the Quarterstaff Revolution and he thought it wonderful. When I mentioned that canes signified infirmity, he interjected, . . . "but quarterstaffs denote power." What a great young man!!! And yes, I sent the photo to Ronni for posting on the site!

My favorite of the fooles and jesters is Axel the Sot. His PG-rated songs are bawdy and fun and his shows are always standing room only. I took pictures of him but decided that, in Axel's case, a picture isn't enough so I went to YouTube and found a videos to share with y'all!

It was a fun and interesting day and y'all can believe that I got my exercise in -- I swear we walked a couple miles which I needed badly! The good news is that my ElderExercise program is paying off -- I wasn't aching all over yesterday!!! Come join us -- we're a friendly, very supportive support group!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

Kay

6 comments:

Fran aka Redondowriter1:32 AM
This sounds like such a wonderful day, Kay. We have the Renaissance Fair here, but it sounds similar. I haven't been in several years.

And you don't look fat--you look beautiful. The exercise is paying off. I'm right behind you!
Darlene10:51 AM
I just saw you on TGB and here you are again with your staff. You don't look fat, you look lovely.

My mother was born in Geneva, Ohio and my family moved from there to Colorado Springs when she was two years old. You could take the family out of Ohio, but you could never take Ohio out of the family. I heard so much about Ohio when I was growing up that I feel a connection to the state.

Rennaissance Fairs are so much fun and I have been several times to ones in California and here in Arizona.
kenju3:35 PM
That looks like fun. I've never been to one.

In our morning paper, there is a story about the residents of Sir Gawain Lane, and how they can never get pizza delivered because no one can figure out how to spell Gawain.
LOL
Anonymous5:31 PM
Kay,'

Judy's remark reminds me of the fellow whose wife collapsed on the floor and he dialed 911.

"Send help, my wife is ill."

"Where do you live ,Sir?"

" I live at 866 Hyacinth Lane."

"Can you spell that,Sir.?"

"No, how about if I drag her over to Elm St. You can pick her up there."
Amy8:00 AM
That looks like so much fun! Glad you had a great time (you deserved it!).
Anonymous4:32 AM
Thanks for the Elder exercise link. You've been travelling a lot. Thanks for the post on the death of Olive Riley - I hadn't caught that w/ my schedule in July.

Sounds like the Faire was fun!