Slice of Life: Fun Times at the Renaissance Festival
Hello everyone! Recently, late last month, I took my very first trip to the Michigan Renaissance Festival located in Holly, MI. I had been wanting to go for years seeing how everyone I knew had said they had a great time, and I’ve seen pictures from other festivals out-of-state that looked pretty awesome as well.
Upon arriving at the festival entrance, which took quite a while considering my mom and I walked about a mile on a trail leading to the festival (we parked far away since the lot filled up fast). I was amazed and overwhelmed at the sights and sounds. It looked like something straight out of medieval times!
We spent a lot of time exploring the shops and browsing through the various products they had to offer. There was pottery, clothing, bath crystals, lotion candles, and more. I definitely had a hard time not buying everything I saw.
After shopping around for an hour or two, we set out for food and I had my eyes on the infamous giant turkey drumstick. The consensus? It wasn’t as great as I thought it would be since it was so incredibly salty. I ended up having to buy something else to eat in order to soothe my nauseous stomach. 🙁 I should have gotten the fish and chips, like my mom did.
After eating we decided to partake in some the games the festival had to offer. I played darts (so close to winning!) and even tried my hand at archery, which is way harder than I thought it would be. I think I would like to try archery again someday and get a proper lesson. My mom tried her hand at the good ‘ol basket toss game, which was fairly easy to win.
Next, we sat down for a while to experience a Mud Show, which was hilarious. It’s something different from anything I’ve ever experienced before, but I’d recommend stopping by the next time you’re at a Renaissance festival.
After that we walked around the fair, and took in even more sights and sounds.
Then we sat down for the big event: jousting! I had seen a jousting tournament once before at Medieval Times in Chicago, but it was so cool to be up close. We cheered for our section’s knight and booed at the opponents. We also oohed and ahhed at the intense sword fight while enjoying tasty schneeballs (which is a pastry shaped like a snowball).
Overall, I had a fun time at the festival! I saw entertaining shows, ate some yummy food, and saw amazing sights. I’ll admit I was a bit overwhelmed by all there is to see and do, but next time I’ll have a better sense of what I want to do next year so I can experience everything.
Have you ever visited a Renaissance Festival before? Tell me about your experience in the comment section below.
If want more information about the Michigan Renaissance Festival visit: http://www.michrenfest.com/index.html
*All pictures taken by me with my phone, Nikon and Canon camera
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I’ve started volunteering at one of Finland’s major medieval festivals last year. This year was my second time. They are quite serious about keeping it authentic, the vendor stall signs look really medieval (featuring woodburning, runes, etc) and they sell authentic middle ages food, like a whole pig on skewer, served on wooden plates. Everyone eats with their hands or brings their own wooden forks. No sodas, only juices and ale. Turnips instead of potatoes. The hold that one at a huge park near an old castle. The castle is from the 17th century, not exactly medieval but its dining hall looks medieval. It’s an awesome experience. Jousting is my favorite, too!
Volunteering at Renaissance festival sounds like so much fun. I appreciate all the time and effort the workers put into giving people an authentic experience. It’s like being transported back in time. It’s so cool that yours is held near an old 17th century castle too! That must be awesome!