Two more weekends left for Renaissance Fun and Festivities!

Two weekends down. Two more to go. For those who have already attended the 3rd Annual Springtime Robinhood Festival in Nottingham (i.e., at the Guilford
Fairgrounds), you still have time to return to see everything left that you did
not have time to see the last time, and even some new shows! For newbies, you
will absolutely not want to miss the fun. Are you up for a Secret Villian’s
meeting?...A punishment at the Court of Prince John?...Or maybe a good joust?

Fun for kids is the Cirque du Sewer, the world’s only rat circus. Perfect for a
good, clean Renaissance-time, sans the pestilence! Don’t miss the band, Wolgemut either. Their music will guarantee you to feel like bagpipes and drums are hip, and you will ask why don’t people play them more?! It will run again this
Memorial Day weekend rain or shine (Saturday and Sunday only), and then it all ends June 2^nd-3^rd.

The Faire is an interactive experience like no other. You will instantly feel at "home" in the Shire. Villagers will greet you at the gates, and you
will meet and be a part of cast interactions with the Queen, The Prince, town
merchants, and last but not least Robin Hood and Maid Marion themselves!

If you missed the Mother's Day Feast, the School Day and the Fantasy and Time
Traveller weekend, you will not want to miss any further days. Coming up are
Romance Weekend (where you can even renew your wedding vows uniquely, with the debaucherous, portulent Friar Tuck himself!), and the Highland Games and Pet Lovers weekend the next.

My 9 year old daughter "Colombina" and I, "Dolly Salvador," have already entertained more than a few guests with song and some skills along
with our mates. Her skill is archery, and mine is art and a few songs here and there. OK, her's happens to be much cooler, and has a larger fan base, but it's still been a lot of fun and educational.

Throughout the faire days, we are putting to great use our new, learned ways of the Renaissance, circa 1194. Our language has transformed in such a way that we leave the "Shire" many nights still speaking the Queen's English. A few local
food and gas establishments have even experienced a bit of this, as we show up
in costume, still in our hard-to-break-acting modes! We usually have fun with
that during Halloween while running last minute errands in costume, catching a
few strange glares from people or chuckles at best, but this is a new one, even
for us. Inquisitive minds try to guess what we are up to.

During "School Day," many area school and homeschools had brought in middle and high school-aged youth in for a shortened faire day. It was incredibly challenging and fun, as many wanted  either to understand and decode exactly what everyone was doing and how they could engage with us, or they were trying to "break character" of the villagers. One youth asked me if a Merry Men’s fight scene was role playing or acting, or real. When told about a “Nerf” sword he owned, I played off that I was baffled as to what the object was, until the young boy caught on and played along. Another youth asked me if there were real assassins abound. I said the answer depended on if she wanted to avoid them or to join them. She approached me a few more times, playfully just to check in if they were around yet. One youth inquired as to what Colombina’s most prized hunt might have been. Explaining the Maypole and the associated dance was another fun one!

The Guilford Fairgrounds are at 1 Lovers Lane in Guilford, CT. For more information on the Faire, including special discounts, or some phrases you can use at the faire, visit www.robinhoodsfaire.com,  or call 860-478-5954.
Come in costume, rent one there, or come as yourself. Come play, stay and eat!We hope to see you there! Also, please stay tuned to this blog for more awesome experiences about the Faire and a dosage of Renaissance culture!