Renaissance Festival: Fun for families and Those with Fetishes

This past Sunday Kirios and I made our second annual outing to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. When it comes to things like fairs and festivals, we’re both pretty much big kids. And we always love to travel and sightsee and take pictures, especially since Kirios bought a dSLR last fall. So I donned my medieval princess tiara (purchased at Medieval Times; it was a gift from my childhood friend during our 8th grade class trip to New York) and a purple sweater to match, and we drove out Crownsville, Maryland.

The festival features a great array of fun food, games, shops, and people watching. Last year, Kirios and I enjoyed getting lost in the maze and shooting bows and arrows at the archery booth. Kirios climbed a “castle” wall and tested out his ax throwing skills, and we watched the tail-end of a jousting tournament. We had lots of fair food, including a giant turkey leg for Kirios, mead, and some chocolate covered strawberries at the end of the day. This year, we were already exhausted from last week’s holiday celebrations and multiple birthday festivities the evening before, so we spent more time strolling through the shops, soaking in the atmosphere, and enjoying the beautiful autumn day. And we people watched.

The Renaissance Festival attracts all sorts of people – families come for the day, enthusiasts purchase season passes. College students and sports fans are easily spotted in the crowd. And then there’s the collection of freaks with fetishes – I mean this in the nicest possible way, I think it’s great that the fair has become a gathering place for people with a lot of distinct interests and past times. There are all sorts of people who have invested in expensive Renaissance fare – elaborate, often beautiful costumes and chalices, handcrafted jewelry and accessories. Despite the popular “boob shelf” corset byproduct, of which I am not a fan, these guests’ outfits enhance the experience for festival goers such as me. There are people who just like to dress up in general – Star Wars fans, storm troopers, Darth Maul, and the princess Natalie Portman was in those newer movies; a girl in an inflatable Austin Powers Fat Bastard get up, and young kids starting their Halloween celebrations earl, and young kids starting their Halloween celebrations early. Then there are the people who dress in kilts, some folks sport fairy wings, others wear nymph and satyr horns or bushy fox tails, some wear shackles or carry whips, and there are multiple shops which sell leather masks. Individuals accessorized in this matter usually incorporate more traditional Renaissance garb into their outfits as well– but really, in what other public venue is it socially acceptable for these to be worn and displayed with pride by people of all ages? It definitely makes you wonder what these people are like in every day life. Are they our teachers? Accountants? Bosses?