Renaissance Fair

Last weekend a much anticipated event took place here in Moscow - One we've been hearing about since the day we moved here. The Renaissance Fair came to town!

I've never been to a Renaissance Fair. My exposure to them has been limited to second-hand descriptions and a handful of episodes of Gilmore Girls (which basically poked fun at them). I didn't really know what to expect. I hoped there would be minstrels playing, folks dressed in period clothes, and some Old English being spoken. Still, I somehow knew the good people of Moscow (who tend to be a little hippie-ish) would not disappoint!

Lainy and I walked to the park where the fair was being held. We could hear flutes playing from a few blocks away and got excited.

Our immediate exposure to Moscow's Renaissance Fair was a huge hand-painted banner reading: Moscow Renaissance Fair: Our Celebration of Spring. The first people we saw were a knight and a young maiden. I couldn't stop smiling and Lainy couldn't stop staring as we made our way through the crowd to find Brad.

Once we hooked up with Brad, we decided to walk around the park and see what we could see. Well, let me tell you, there were a lot of people that came out of the woodwork (if you know what I mean). But besides the weirdo's, there were some really awesome craft booths. Some of our favorites were: a booth selling homemade crystal balls and an apothecary selling his potions.

We ate "Nessie Ears" (as in the Loch Ness Monster) being sold from a huge cardboard castle. They turned out to be huge scones covered in cinnamon and sugar. Delicious!

After making our rounds, we decided Brad needed to get back to studying and Lainy needed to get to her nap. On our way out of the park we caught the last half of the May Pole dance. The dance featured a pirate, some fairies, William Shakespeare, and more maidens. Our favorite dancer was an old guy with shoulder-length silver hair. He spun and sidestepped like he would be content to dance around that May Pole forever. We got a good chuckle from watching him.

All in all, the fair was pretty sweet. Most people were dressed up, there was great live music, and I even heard some Old English. Not bad for our first Renaissance Fair. Actually, it was great!

Here are the pics:

What is a Chinese Dragon doing at a Renaissaince Fair, you ask?

We have no idea, but Lainy had fun running through it.

Lainy running through the dragon

Yes, that sign says "Around the World Yurt"

May Pole Dance

Our favorite dancer