Wicked Renaissance 2013

Me, a bridge troll, and my mom

It's that time again when I share my yearly Renaissance Faire photos! Be sure to click on these to see them larger. My mom and I had a fun day until it rained, although even that was interesting. I ended up with a very different set of photos later in the day. The day started off very sunny and hot. These are the opening gates we passed through on the way in. You'll see the lady in the balcony later on.

Cool Hippocampus on the crest below her

The storefronts and restaurant facades are very cool as are the hanging signs. We're lucky to have such large trees in this area. They add a kind of Sherwood Forest feel to the place.

Here are some of the many dresses and costume accessories that are for sale.

There are lots of little shops in the middle of the forest, like this wonderful gypsy cart that is painted with bleeding hearts.

I think this is some kind of demon wild boar on one of the buildings. Check out his eyes!

Robin Hood and Little John giving one of their performances. They're usually walking around interacting with the crowd.  I didn't notice that moose until I saw the pictures at home...

Bluebeard the pirate with an actual blue beard. He has some awesome accessories on his costume. Check out the ship's wheel with a little skull.

It was Steampunk weekend at the faire. I didn't get a lot of photos of the Steampunkers aside from this one. This guy was wearing a heavy looking propeller hat and I'm not sure what kind of backpack. It looks like some kind of early rocket pack. There's a cool elf lady behind him.

This is "The Rat Catcher". I wish I'd gotten a clearer picture of him, but he was busy moving around catching rats. He kept poking that staff under plants looking around. That bunch of fluff on the top of the staff is his collection of "rats". They were all toy rats of course! I found a clearer picture than mine on Flickr:

The Rat Catcher making a face

There were plenty of fairies this year, like this mossy herb fairy:

These were the best wings I've ever seen at the faire! They are so iridescent and pretty.

This sleeping fairy was lounging around for a long time. She was a nice non-moving photo op!

This lady, who I like to call the fire fairy, was perched high on the balcony of a building. I was happy that my camera could close in on her this much! I wonder if someone airbrushes the makeup on the fairies?

In front of a metal flower shop:

A man modelling the wares of the leather shop behind him. Every year there is a different guy in a different leather outfit out front.

Remember Evil Seth Green from the 2011 photos? He had a new white outfit this year.

He was coming towards me at kind of a quick pace and I was shaking a bit when I took this, so it's a bit blurry. I really wish it was more clear! Despite having seen a lot of scary dudes at the faire, this one got to me. He had that creepy sneer going on.

Here are a few more fun guys. There are some funny details in this one if you look at it closer. The man to the left of me has red eyes, which I didn't notice until I looked at this on the computer. I actually didn't look at his face at all when I went over to pose with these guys, so that was a bit of a surprise.

There were plenty of statues. This one was an actual person!

St. Michael

A very cool stone head on the ground near where the Queen's court meets. I oddly didn't see the Queen all day!

This jester statue has stood high on a rock as long as I can remember going to the faire. If you look closely, you'll see a spiderweb complete with a spider hanging off his nose!

I'm not sure what to call this woman's talent, but it was awesome. She was way up high in a tree doing some kind of air acrobatics on long pieces of fabric.

A man pushing the little kids on a ship ride. I can almost hear the high pitched screaming and giggling again looking at this.

These two were dispensing free advice to the passersby. They were about as sassy as they look.

Remember this little witch from last year's photos? She's such a character. This year she brought some friends along.

Here they are being asked by a religious character which one of them started the rain. It had rained a bit by this point, but we found cover under a tree.

On to the Joust to the Death!

Unfortunately, it rained again and big time with thunder, lightning, and a total downpour. The storm continued for a long time.We had to run for cover under the stables. A few diehards stuck it out in those bleachers waiting for the show. The expression on this drenched kid's face says it all. Let's all say it together "Awwww!"

Despite the rain, the show went on! Not for very long, but still the knights got out there. We were hiding under the cover of the horse stables when I took these photos. We were in such a hurry to get under something, I didn't even realize we'd be standing with a horse. We got to see maybe 15 minutes of sword fighting. No one wanted to bring the horses out in that muck and I'm sure leather and armor can only take so much rain. There was a new Xena: Warrior Princess type character out there this time. I really like this action shot!

A proud warrior and his victim:

One of the knights even brought out the firey whip in that rain. You can guess how long that stayed lit, so I was glad to snag a photo of it.

These two looked pretty hardcore as they stood out in the middle of a rainstorm in their black leather outfits.

I actually found a video someone took of that joust at the same time I was taking my photos:



I can tell from the view this was shot, that one of the diehard people who sat out in a rainstorm taped this. Go to the 1:41 mark to see the fire whip!

Here's what the faire grounds looked like once the storm finally stopped. The ground is usually hard and dry with a layer of sandy dirt on top of it. It had transformed into a muddy lake that our feet were sinking into.

We thought we were out of the woods as far as stormy weather, but as we were leaving it started up again! I managed to snap one more picture as we ran out to the car. I couldn't pass up taking a picture of these two.

It was a shame that we didn't get to see the drum circle and dancing at the end or the parade. Remember those photos I shared of the deathly parade last year? I would have liked to have seen that again. I guess I should just be grateful for how much we did manage to see and take pictures of! The rain did at least give this year's Ren Faire photos a different look.

I have one more video to share. This is a montage of characters from our Ren Faire this year. You'll see some of the people and creatures I photographed, like the troll, the fairies, Bluebeard the pirate, and that fabric acrobat high in the trees. It's all set to some of the bagpipe music we heard this year.  I think this person really captured the mood of the Faire.



P.S. ~ If you missed my Bristol Renaissance Faire posts of past years, here they are:

Wicked Renaissance 2012

Wicked Renaissance 2011

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!