Welcome back to another blog post, and I got a weird one this week! Instead of talking about Harmonizer or the Sapphire Verdict, this week, we’re talking about an IRL event I went to, a Renaissance Festival! I’ve been to these in the past, but it’s been YEARS since I last visited, so I figured I would take some pictures and document my journey! If you enjoy medieval nerd stuff, then buckle up, because here we go!
Opening of the Gates
The idea to visit the fair came about sometime at the end of summer. It has been at least fifteen years since I last visited one, and I wanted to go back and do some of the things that I never got to do as a kid. Thankfully, I had some friends that also wanted to check it out, so we decided to go to the Charlotte Renaissance Festival since that was the closest, and it was packed! Thankfully, getting through the gates was easy for us, but the crowds were absolutely THICC once we got inside.
One of the first things that stood out about the fair was the sheer amount of costumes and actors. There were SO many people dressed up as different things that it became impossible to tell who was paid and who wasn’t. For the most part, the outfits were medieval, but there were a few dorks that dressed as Star Wars characters and other odd things, which is odd considering there’s a dedicated week for that later… Anywho, we also saw a odd amount of furries as well as one person that was wearing a… gimp suit? I have no idea how to describe what I saw, and I thankfully did NOT get a picture of it.
As we made our way into the fair, one of the first stops my friends wanted to make was to get beer. Because that’s something you do at 9:00am. Anywho, I got water, and that was something I was going to MASSIVELY be happy about later.
Now, this was where things took a surprising turn for me. There was so much to do that I had no idea what to do, and I was nominated as decision maker for reasons I CAN’T FATHOM! There were several dozen shows scattered around the fair and my friends wanted to see some. It’s at this time that I need to clarify that I was there just to shop for trinkets and see weird things, so I had not planned for this. This, of course, leads into a lot of the shows that we ended up seeing!
Showtime!
There were a ton of different shows at the fair, but we started off with a balancing act. In terms of all the shows we saw, this was one of the better ones. The humor was on point, and weirdly adult, and the performance was actually quite impressive. It was also at this time that I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses, and that is something I really regretted by the end of the day. We ended up visiting a few other shows, but then we got to one of the highlights!
The Raptor show ended up being one of the coolest shows. They displayed a hawk, a falcon, a vulture, and an owl, all of which were quite impressive. It was wild to see these birds so close up, and even weirder to feel them brush the top of my head when they flew over us. It’s at this time that I would say that the handler had great control, but for some reason the owl was on strike! In fact, it interrupted him on several occasions to quite literally tell him ‘no!’ I think this was the show I got the most pictures of, so check those out below!
Some other shows that we went to included a hypnotist, which was… probably not worth the time, as well as a comedy act. The comedy act had its charm and was a retelling of Snow White’s story if that story was being told by your REALLY drunk uncle. They ended up pulling a lot of people from the audience and the show kinda went off the rails to say the least. While it was good, I really regret not seeing the r-rated one they had, because I got the impression these guys really would have let loose and been nuts!
The last big show we went to was, of course, the jousting, which I also got pictures of! It was odd how energetic the crowd was for this. They were constantly cheering and chanting, and once they figured out one of the horses was named ‘Bob,’ things kinda got crazy! As for the jousting itself, it was interesting that they were actually trying to hit targets off each other. From what I remember as a kid, that was not something they risked, so it was fascinating to see them actually land hits and destroy these targets. Overall, the jousting was entertaining and a nice way to cap off the fair, but we’re not done yet!
Shopping!
The shopping at the fair was quite amusing for me. There were a LOT of things to look at and browse. We saw plague doctor masks, weird pursues with faces on them called grichels, numerous artists with ‘no-ai’ stamps, glass blowing, and a whole host of dragon-themed stuff! One of the funniest combos we ran into was a hot sauce stand. My friends wanted to stop by there and try the sauces, but as they were doing that I looked over to my left and saw… A GIANT PORTRAIT OF A FENNEC. I could not make that up even if I had wanted! Obviously, I bought the giant Fennec and my friends bought some hot sauces.
We also stopped by a chocolate shop at one of my friend’s suggestions. Clearly there is an ongoing theme here. This shop had tones of chocolate stuff including chocolate covered oreos, fudge, peanut butter graham slams, peanut butter cups, truffles, and a whole lot of other stuff! I have a weakness for chocolate covered oreos (Seriously, they call me like sirens) so obviously I went for those first, but all the stuff they had there slapped!
Another interesting shop I personally got something at was a stained-glass cart! They had a lot of designs, but the one I got was a simple green potion bottle. I could pass on something that reminded me of Feera!
One of the last places we went into was a dragon-themed shop. I really got the impression that a lot of their art and stuff was mass produced, but they did have some things there that were human made for sure. I wasn’t going to get anything, but then I saw a tiny dragon in a coffee cup! There were a dozen of these little guys, and I could not resist getting one for my shelf, especially since it was the perfect ‘trinket’ I wanted to get from the fair! I have half a mind to go on the internet and find the rest!
The last thing I’ll note about the shopping was the massive wave of anti-AI signs that I saw. A LOT of the shops had no-Ai blurbs, and I overheard numerous people make remarks thanking the shopkeepers for avoiding AI. I was pleasantly surprised to hear such vocal opposition to AI crap, and hopefully the Renaissance Festival can remain mostly untainted by it as the years go on!
Takeaways
Alright, now we get to the lessons learned. I don’t usually do this, but we’re doing this section in a list view just to make it easier to digest. I REALLY want other people to take this to heart so everyone can have a better time at these fairs! These are the things I learned and will do differently next time:
Sunglasses and a hat: First of all, it’s hard to watch a show if you are getting BLINDED BY THE SUN. Seriously, there was no winning no matter where it was in the sky! Also, I got sunburned really bad and I was in tree coverage most of the time. Wear a hat or at least get some sunscreen!
DO NOT GET THE TURKEY LEGS: These things are expensive, they taste mid at best, and they are LOADED WITH MORE SALT THAN A LEAGUE OF LEGENDS REDDIT POST! Do not waste your money on these!
Plan ahead: Plan ahead for the shows and figure out what times they go on at. It’ll make it way easier to traverse the fair and optimize your time there!
Fewer Shows: Also, do not get sunk on seeing every show. There are a LOT of games and stuff to play, and I really, REALLY wish we had done a few. I mean, who doesn’t want to throw some ninja stars?
Dress up!: This is an opportunity to be a dork. I’m not the type to ever dress up, but if I had, I think my experience would have been even better! I would highly recommend finding something, even something simple, just to experience more of the RP!
Bring a big waterbottle: Our fair only let us bring in one water bottle, so next time I’m bringing one of those big gallon sized ones. It’s still one water bottle folks!
Backpack: If you want to buy a bunch of stuff, just bring a backpack. Seriously, it helps so much.
And… that’s all I got! I think those few changes would have made my experience all the better, and now hopefully it’ll make your experience better too!
Conclusion
I wish I had taken more photos, but that’s all I got! I had a lot of fun visiting the festival again, and I can’t wait to go back and do it again now that I’ve got some things figured out! Honestly, given the amount of fun I had, now I’m looking at other potential festivals and things to do, so we’ll see what other posts I make in the future!
For now, that’s all I have for this post. I’ll be back in a few weeks with a big update for Harmonizer AND the Sapphire Verdict! Until then, take it easy, wear sunscreen, and, as always… CHEERS!
The Flying Fennec