Fast Times at the KC Ren Faire

A couple of weeks ago I attended the annual Renaissance Festival in Kansas City. This was my first time attending the event, so I was not exactly sure what to expect. However, I definitely thought the mead would be cheaper. 

I spent two days in Kansas City to soak up the festivities, and there was a staggering number of people who came on the first day. I quickly realized they actually meant something more like "Medieval (with some other Renaissance and Fantasy stuff) Festival." For the most part it was themed around the Middle Ages, but there were also a lot of people dressed as fantasy characters. People wore armor, barmaid dresses, corsets, pirate attire, antlers, horns, fairy wings, and perhaps the most importantly, clip holding steins for their alcohol. So, the festival is a strange amalgamation of about 1200 years from the Early Middle Ages to the Renassaince, plus various fanastical worlds and works of fiction. It truly is a spectacle to see all of these different things clashing together, but still in an aesthetically cohesive way.

Me enjoying a swim in Mermaid Cove

So, the accuracy is minimal, but really that's not the point of the festival. The point seems to be just to have fun, as opposed to a history lesson. But, there were some things that harkened back to the medieval tradition. For instance, the code of chivalry was very prominent with many characters at the festival. There are daily staged jousting competitions with a few knights fighting each other on horseback.  The two protagonists are the more chivalric knights, always sticking to their code of honor. One of them even offered a flower crown to a little girl in the crowd to exhibit his kindness. The villian of the jousting competitions, Sir William, exhibited the opposite of chivalry. His side of the crowd had been prompted to chant "Cheat to win!" and the crowd on the other side had cheered for the heroes "Might for right!" It was interesting how clear the difference was between the knights' devotion to chivalry and how that correlated to how moral they were.

Me, enamored with the Fairy Forest, with Rita Vega

One of my favorite things from the festival was the music. Particularly, I enjoyed the flautist Gwyneth Whistlewood and the Dublin Harpers. Gwyneth had an assortment of different flutes and explained the history behind them and how their construction changed the way they played. I was especially impressed by her replica glass flute; it had a unique sound. My favorite thing I saw there in general was the music performed by the Dublin Harpers. I already have a deep love and appreciation for celtic music, but seeing this family of harpists live was incredible. Sitting under the trees, eating a historically innaccurate cheeseburger, and listening to them play old and original Irish tunes on four harps and two celtic drums was such a nice experience. I felt somewhat connected to my celtic roots, and I began to imagine how similar tradition celtic music would have sounded all those years ago. I would certainly do that again. 

While it was a little annoying to see a lot of people wearing costumes that were basically charicatures of different people at the festival, such as the Romani people, the rest of the festival was a fun time. The food, live performances, games, and shops were all interesting to see. The festival will still be going until the end of October, and I definitely reccomend it, despite it not being the most accurate. I personally reccomend the turkey legs, craft beer, and a visit to Fairy Forest. 

You can read more about it here.

Bonus pic of me sharing a turkey leg with a butterfly