Renaissance Woman

As usual, we decided against following the ‘Black Friday’ holiday tradition, where people head out at the crack of dawn to go and fight total strangers in the sales, after having spent the day before being thankful for everything they have. (I see that Black Friday sales, and all that’s bad about them, have taken off in the UK, even though they don’t even have the Friday off – very unfortunate in my view!) Instead, we set off in the opposite direction, out of town to meet up with some friends at the Texas Renaissance Festival.

The Festival is held over eight weekends in the fall and is set in a permanent ‘village’ on a 55-acre site. Amazingly, it sits unused for the rest of the year. The best description I can give, for those of you who have never come across a renaissance festival, is that it’s like a mediaeval theme park. The employees and entertainers all dress in various costumes, some distinctly more authentic than others, and (try to) speak with a British accent. They sell products like drinking horns, wooden swords and glow-in-the-dark dragons. There are various forms of old-fashioned entertainment and if you’re feeling peckish, you can indulge in a turkey leg, washed down with a glass of mead. It’s all done with such enthusiasm and light-heartedness that it really is great fun! I think I could get used to be addressed as M’lady!

The best part for us though, is the people-watching, because about half of the people who go to the Festival get just as dressed up as the employees. You can buy elaborate costumes, from chainmail to full gowns at the Festival, and some people go every weekend, every year, so I’m sure they make good use of them.

It’s easy to be drawn into photographing the characterful, lively street entertainers that work there, but it’s the visitors in costume who provided some of the best pictures for us. I particularly liked this woman who was just sitting by herself, deep in thought, while surrounded by throngs of noisy people.

And here's Leejohnaire's blip of another couple of visitors.