Last Sunday, I decided to venture Kelley Farm, near Puyallup, for the last day of the Midsummer Renaissance Fair. Pictured above are "the lists" where the tournament (jousting) was held. Unfortunately, I'm not quite the "ace reporter." I thought the tournament started at 5 PM, so I wandered around checking out other venues. When I spotted the crowd walking away from the lists at 5, I realized I missed the whole thing. Funny, though I never heard any commotion, like the clash of steel or the roar of the crowd.
Upon my arrival, the first thing I noticed when I stepped out of my air conditioned vehicle was the heat. With temperatures in the mid eighties, there was very little wind blowing across field. At least I was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, unlike the re-enactors wearing their medieval ensemble.
Parisals were prevalent...
...and there was even a "dark ages dousing booth" to help cool folks off.
While I may have missed the grand tournament, I did see some "Boffer Sword" fights, sponsored by The Game Matrix.
The "Shirts Army" vs...
...the "Skins Army."
Our emcee...
"Boudicca" and her Ninja boyfriend prepare for battle...
The battle is joined!
The girl in the bellydancer miniskirt became known as the "Jingle Queen." She was elevated to royalty during the "Kingslayer" round and had to be protected, otherwise her team would have lost.
For those of us who like to keep our enemies at a distance, there was archery practice.
Some pikemen conducted field drills.
The fair included non-martial activities, such as this minstrel troupe, singing about the "joys" of tobbacco and "barley corn" (beer).
"Scaramouche" performed in the heat.
As if it wasn't hot enough, there was this fire juggler.
After the tournament, the folk dancers gathered at the end of the day.
Behold the "Throne of Dorkness." No kidding, this was a prop used in the movie, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, made by Dead Gentlemen Productions.
Despite all the festivities, some folks just couldn't take the heat...
There were plenty of vendors, especially replica weaponsmiths.
"I'll take one of each, please. Better yet, make it two."
2 comments:
Thanks for the photos, Ted. I've been the Bonney Lake one once - when the first went there. Missed the subsequent once. I like the Gig Harbor side location better. Although, it was free going over the Narrows back then too. Best, Dean
You're welcome! This is the third one I've been to. The first time I went, was at Gig Harbor.
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