First trip to the Renaissance Festival.
The Renaissance Festival, it comes ever year and every year I stay away. Strange, because the Renaissance is one of my favorite eras in art history. I think I had developed an aversion to it a long time ago after seeing the “festival regs” hanging around town. To be perfectly honest, I think I was always a bit frightened by the event. I have a number of weird, OCD-ish hang-ups relating to cleanliness. I would always see festival goers in their Renaissance gear and get a bit overwhelmed and slightly anxious. I am festive and I am fun, but walking around in the Florida heat dressed to the nines in layers of Renaissance era clothing and/or fantasy make-up just made me uncomfortable. I never understood it. Its hot and there is dirt everywhere, how could people stand it. I personally wanted to shower just thinking about it. Oh, and the turkey legs…automatic gross out when I smell them and gag reflex engages on sight. This year, I decided to see what all the fuss was about and gained a new appreciation for it. The costumes, when done well, are actually quite interesting, some downright beautiful. The fact that a number of workers stayed in character the entire time was something I came to respect. There were some talented craftsmen in the mix, a number of fun activities (archery being my favorite), jousting and a fairy forest, just to name a few of the rad things I encountered. My favorite bit of entertainment was definitely the Wheel of Death. The act wasn’t just thrilling, there was an enjoyable comedic aspect to it. What made this trip even better? A unicorn sighting. They may have been part of a throne, but I was super excited to see them. I was amongst my own kind in a way.
