Let the Merriment Begin!

Today was the third of our on-going "Second Saturday" series. My husband dreamed up this idea of leading a family excursion to a local sight or event on the second Saturday of every month. It's been great! So far we have been to the National Zoo, the D.C. Monuments and Memorials and today we ventured farther north to Anne Arundel County, Maryland for the thirty-third annual Maryland Renaissance Festival. My sister and her two girls joined us and it was fun for all.

First, you park in a huge field, not unlike the parking at the Addison County Fair, but slightly nicer. Then, you mosey up to the big tudor-style "Passport to Merriment" ticket area. We got there just as it opened, so the King and Queen and members of the royal court were on the balcony of said structure, with an announcer introducing them. They fired the canon and opened the gate with much cheering on the part of the many costumed festival goers. There were some really serious costumes, too. This festival has lots of hard core followers- of all ages- and they were dressed to the nines. I understand you can even have your wedding here in the chapel. 

The physical set-up is really impressive. It's a forested area and the buildings are permanent. Many have been around long enough to grow nice moss on their roofs, too. There are shops selling period costumes, leather goods, pottery, herbs, beeswax candles, blown glass, celtic-style jewelry, feathered masks, hammocks woven on-site, Robin Hood hats (hats of all kinds, actually), clever hand-crafted games and puzzles, silk purses, wooden swords, etc. The six-year-old got her face painted by the most professional face-painting artist I've ever seen. No wonder it cost $8.

Entertainment at the Festival is really top-notch.  There are no fewer than seven stages or pavilions. There is almost always something going on at several simultaneously: storytellers, musicians, dancers, mimes, magicians, shows with lots of audience participation, and straight live theater. It's all very family-friendly with many of the shows aimed right at younger audiences. This is really good stuff and beats regular County Fair entertainment by a very long shot. There are also the wandering or non-stage artists: the group of female mimes on stilts, the arial acrobats, the guy in the owl-bear costume (ok, maybe he was just an attendee), Robin Hood, the members of the royal court who wander the lanes, etc. In fact, see here for a complete listing of the in-house cast. Amazing.

Next, there are the games and rides. Well, one ride that we saw, anyway. There's a long, steep polished wooden slide for which you pay $1 and ride down on a fabric mat. My sister and some of the kids went twice and the second ride was really rather thrilling and fast. There is also a wooden ship in the playground area, and somewhere there are pony rides. There are games of physical skill like the hammer and bell, a very tricky Jacob's ladder game, and even a small juggling school. If you're a good knife-thrower, you could win at several booths, and there are also several other games of chance. I saw a small maze and was tempted to see if I could get lost, but refrained.

Finally, there's the food. Of course, what's a Renaissance Festival without a good leg of mutton? Well, this one has plenty of tough roasted turkey drumsticks which come pretty close. We bought two. We also ate pizza calzone-on-a-stick (really yummy), quesadilla, orange and berry slushies, and my sister got a chicken pot pie, soft pretzels and funnel dough sticks. But there were way more items that we didn't try and many of them were either on-a-stick (mac and cheese?!) or wrapped in dough and/or deep fried (yes, even pickles). Actually, a lot of the food looked really good and we wished we could have tried more things like apple dumplings, beef stew in a bread bowl, crab cakes, etc.

The oldest girl wanted to stay forever, the six-year-old was in awe of everything, the two-year-old loved the slap-stick mime show, and the baby was the most enthusiastic cheerer at the jousting match. Oh, didn't I mention the jousting match? Yes, real horses, real men in real armor, real lances. A few broken ones and some dented armor, but no one was hurt. We all walked away from our half-day sojourn in the Middle Ages smiling and wishing we could go back again next week.

See Rennfest.com for lots more information.