Navigation Bar

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sterling 2013: Missed the Joust but Got the Men

Our 2013 visit to the Sterling Renaissance Faire was something of a first for me. I have now been to the Faire and completely missed a joust! This year, I finally scraped up enough funds to put a down payment on my Holy Grail of Renaissance Faire wear: boots! I am having them custom-made by Catskill Mountain Moccasins, a regular vendor at the Faire, and maker of some pretty amazing footwear, which I've been eyeing for twenty years. The joust, unfortunately, took place during my fitting, so Hubby and the Peanut went to see that while I was measured for my boots.

While I was disappointed to have missed out on the display of horsemanship and lancework, I did get in a few fresh experiences. This year, we tried turkey meatballs, which were terrific, and I had a go at the archery booth. Turns out I'm not a bad shot, after warming up to it. I'm better with a recurve bow, but my love is the longbow.

I also got to see the Queen's Duel toward the end of the day, where the Queen and her ladies witness a display of martial skill, as well as the knights' attempt to successfully woo a lady. That was such fun! At the end, I also had the opportunity to pose for a photo with a couple of the knights, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Christopher Hatton. Now what girl in her right mind passes up the chance?

The Hubby and Peanut are taking martial arts classes, and so found some wooden practice swords for sale and purchased them. Hubby must've thought I felt left out, because he also picked me up some wooden knives, which are Way Cool.

Finally, another first: we were there nearly the entire day! We've never attended Faire all day, and we managed to remain until an hour before closing. Someday, we hope to see both the opening and closing ceremonies. I'm told the end-of-day Pub Sing is not to be missed!

Check out the rest of the new photos in my Renaissance Faire Album

No comments:

Post a Comment