Wicked Renaissance 2012

Last weekend, my mom and I visited The Bristol Renaissance Faire, which is on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois. This is something I look forward to every year, for many reasons. One of the reasons is that I get to see people dressed in fantastic costumes with really creative makeup.



Isn't this guy great? I don't remember ever seeing him before. He was just leaning against a tree when we found him. A little girl walked up and started to scratch his back and that's when I snapped this photo. He was gleefully snorting kind of like a dog who is getting its back scratched. I don't think I've ever seen false teeth like the ones he was wearing!

This guy was sort of a forest spirit type creature. I'm not really sure what he was, but his face paint was very cool. You can see a hint of a leaf painted on his jawline. He was hanging out in the wooded area where you can find a lot of fairies, and fantasy creatures slowly moving around.



I just love this man's hat! I don't believe he was hired by the faire, but what a costume! I managed to catch these two coming toward us as well.



We were sitting on a bench as they walked past, so I got a different angle tilting upwards.



Again, I'm not quite sure who we have here. He could be a swamp creature. He was moving about on a wood stage while sticking his tongue out at the kids. Like many people at this faire, he was good at posing for a photo while pretending not to see me.



I was calling this lady "The Renaissance Daisy Duck". She was new this time too. She was very friendly and came over to tell us her version of a nursery rhyme.



This little gargoyle was so cute and happy looking! He was being sold outside of a shop. There's tons of shopping at this faire! All the streets are lined with cool wooden structures with decorative hanging signs.



The lady in purple is portraying Queen Elizabeth I. We've had a few different Queens over the years. This one was pretty jolly as she danced. The man she's dancing with is a real character. I remember him talking with us last year. He must be a historian in his off time, because he knew so much Elizabethan history! He told us this history in the tone of a gossip.



While we took a break on a bench, an old hermit passed by. I didn't realize he had a hunched back until I took this picture. His back appears to be stuffed, at least I hope it is. Check out the top of his cane! That's another fun little detail I noticed after seeing this photo larger.



If I look at all worried here, it's because of who's sneaking up behind me!



See? I had reason to be afraid! Every good Renaissance Faire needs a dragon.



This is one of the lovely fairies I mentioned earlier. I love her hat! I think all the flowers are felted. She was interacting with some children and they seemed fascinated by her.



There was a Robin Hood play at the Faire and I got my photo taken with the villains afterwards. They were very friendly, though! Turns out I dressed to match their group.

I met some other nice guys at the Faire:



I think this one is a viking, although there was something pirate-like about his voice. I put my hand on his back for this photo, and I have to tell you, that fur cape was hot! Sometimes I think about how overheated these people are in their costumes on a hot summer day, especially the women in all those layers.



Here's another cool guy we ran into! He was a knight in the "Joust to the Death" we watch every year. When I say to the death, I mean it! At least, theatrically. There's loads of fake blood, axes being thrown, and swords on fire!



The man above was the one we were told to cheer for, because of where we were seated. The men in our section (which I took to calling the embarrassing section) merrily shouted this chant:

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Blood makes the grass grow!"

They loudly booed every opposing knight and screamed things like "Kill him! He's skinny!" I was just laughing and laughing, but some people took this battle dead seriously. One guy couldn't sit still through the battle and ended up hopping around in excitement! 



I saw this figure outside a crossbow tent and just had to photograph him. I yelled "Plague Doctor!" and immediately ran over. My mom was chatting a bit with a woman running the shop as I ran over to photograph him. I got close to his face as I talked to myself a little. I was saying things like "This is going to be so cool for my blog!" and "Let's get the right angle here." I was really concentrating and closing in maybe five inches from the beak when the thing lurched toward me! I mean the whole head shot forward right at my face! Evidently, this figure that had been standing still as a statue was actually a man in a costume. I screamed so loud "AHH! GAH!" and pointed my finger at him saying "YOU!" I felt a mixture of amusement and fear. This is the photo I took right before he lunged forward at me:



Looking at this now, I think I see the hint of his eye. Anyway, immediately after I yelled and pointed, he stopped moving. Everyone looked over, and probably wondered what my deal was. Later in the day I got my courage up and decided to go back to get my photo with him. I cautiously walked up and quietly said to him "Please be nice." I heard the girl in the shop say "Why is she talking to our Mannequin?" So I got to look nutty again!



He was nice and stood still this time. By the way, we stood and watched him for a good 10 minutes and he never moved for anyone else. I guess it was just my lucky day...



It was a little difficult to photograph these guys because of the light, but I still wanted to share this photo. Let's see if I can explain this... While we were walking through the faire, these people draped entirely in black came quickly moving through the crowd. Some of them were beating on drums. If you look closely, you'll see the bat hat on that second one. They didn't say a word, they just quickly moved. Every once in a while, they would stop and freeze in position. Right in the middle of the crowd. It was very creepy and almost hypnotizing. People began following these creatures without even knowing why!



This photo was taken as one froze in place. Eventually, they led us to the area where people dance in a drum circle.



How cool is this witch? She was such a character, but seemed very sweet. She was kind of lurking on down the street on her cane while looking around. I asked if I could have a photo with her and she said "Aye, Aye." She made a number of poses, so I had a few photos to choose from. As you can tell, I was really laughing here. If you look closely at the end of her hat, you'll see a little fish skeleton! 

I ran across a few videos of The Bristol Renaissance Faire on YouTube. This one is from this summer. It will give you an idea of the Faire's setting. It runs for around 15 minutes and contains some beautiful photos and music!

This next video gives a great, if graphic, view of the "Joust to the Death". You'll recognize the knight who was in the photo with me, although he sadly does not last long. I'm going to warn you that this is violent. Seriously, many blood capsules were used on this one! Besides the gore, you will get a chance to see the fiery weapons I mentioned. By the way, the villain doesn't normally win. So this is an unusual match. If you decide you can take this, you'll want to watch it full screen!



I was so excited to find this next video! It perfectly illustrates what it's like to walk alongside the dark clothed creatures of "The Death Parade". You'll also see some other very cool characters!