A Trip to the Faire: Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival

"I took a trip down to look at the fair
When I arrived, there was nobody there..."
--Renaissance

I've had the song from the 70s prog-rock band Renaissance running through my head since yesterday. And like that song, my quiet morning in rural West Newton, PA, suddenly transformed into a busy, bustling, magical afternoon of jesters and joking and majestic color.

Welcome to the Shire, where anachronism, entertainment, games, and swordplay abound-- along with food, crafts, and heavy textiles swelter under sunny skies.

You could start with some games. Tell me, how are you with Ye Olde Archery? Can you split your foe's arrow in twain? ...

(No, me neither.)

How about lob produce for fun at some poor dude in the stocks, in "Vegetable Justice"? (I had to take a pic of that, it just made me laugh...)Maybe some grog is more to your liking?

Or you'd like to sit in a wooded glen and enjoy a musical performance...
A parade signals a joust will begin soon...

Here comes da Queen...
And here a rather oversized version of His Royal Majesty. Just look at that papier mache turkey leg behind him... It must be four foot tall. (It's good to be the King!)...

Sir Mitri, of Spain, seems to be eyeing up this girl's lunch...
He gets so busy jousting, pillaging and wenching there really isn't a lot of time for a sensible meal these days .

We all gather for the upcoming tournament. A local Faerie has a minor wardobe malfunction, but doesn't seem to mind.
The crowd gathers, and it's ready to see some energetic combat!...
I notice my favorite knight from last year, Sir Roderick, has made his debut once more. This time, he's on the side of good. I guess he learned his lesson from last year's "cheat to win" mantra...

He wears the colors of black-and-gold... Always popular in Steelers territory.He takes on Sir Mitri, though Spanish-English relations don't seem to improve for the exercise.

Having won a test of skill, Sir Roderick bestows upon a shy spectacled princess, his "Queen of Love and Beauty" favor for the day, giving her a garland of flowers. She didn't know quite what to do with all the attention.

Along the way, I picked up a couple of pieces of handcrafted jewelry, a fine lunch of fish and chips, and a rather remarkable case of sunburn-- the latter souvenir was completely free.

I am a girl who always enjoys a bargain. :)

Hope you all have a terrific rest of your Labor Day weekend. I'll see you again later in the week.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire Fun

This Treasure Box Wednesday-- as based on an action-packed weekend, where houseguests took center stage instead of Ye Olde Thrifting-- I thought I'd share with you a few pics of the Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire.

Here we have the pre-joust parade...
...Gosh, I knew kings tended to have swelled heads, but this is ridiculous!

The theme this year took a distinctly Tudor track, and so you see the procession of courtly ladies in 15th/16th century gowns...

And this was our fine leader for the first joust... It appears she's been hitting the mead a bit early...Of course, you can hardly blame her. With just five whole peasants to help her cheer on Sir Ian, she didn't have a whole lot to work with.

Here we see the King's court in Ye Royale Pavillion looking merry in pre-joust anticipation...


And here we have our knights for this day: Sir William, Sir Ian and Sir Roderick...

I found myself surprisingly close to where Sir Roderick was hanging out in the arena, and he kindly posed for a few, um, paintings via Mine Canon Powershot...

Thank ye, good sir....


This is Sir Ian. He was supposed to be my region's knight for the day, but he went evil into the second joust and so I ficklely switched my allegiances...
Sorry, dude.

Here we see him in an action shot, tilting...

After the festivities, who wouldn't enjoy some fish, chips and a pint o' mead? (Or, well, Guinness in a plastic cup...)And after a bit of Royal foolishness...

We went on our way.

• A story which is equally silly, and you also might enjoy. Find out what happened once I hit the Ren Faire parking lot. You might just get a chuckle here on my humor blog! Click here.
  

Fare thee well, good people!