Medieval Faire

Saturday we went to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire – the inspiration for me doing a Middle Ages unit study with Brie in my attempt at homeschooling. I’m not sure how much this actually enhanced what we’ve learned in the books we’ve gotten, but the kids did get a sense of how people dressed and saw some jousting and weaponry up close. Side note: I never realized there was quite a market out there for medieval clothing, but if the number of stalls selling dresses and knights wear is anything to go by, apparently it’s quite a desirable look these days. In fact it was hard to tell the actors apart from the “common folk” because I suspect there are people who visit the Faire annually and choose to go in costume.

Though the Faire only runs for 6 weekends of the year, it is a permanent village with stalls and stages set up in a large forested setting – this was actually a pleasant surprise (that is, the shady setting) – since it would have been harder to be there for a long time if it was all in the sun.

The theme for this weekend centered around Celtic culture, so we were treated to bagpipes, flings, and many kilt sightings.

But here is an assortment of pictures with captions which may do a better job of capturing our experience…

Ben anticipating the fun that awaits him at the Faire

Look at this great resting station Dave discovered!

Look Mom - they even had baby elephants back then!

Enjoying the 'pipers music

jousing tournament

helping with story time

Reese enjoying a ride at the faire

Brie also enjoying the ride, Luke - not so much (instead of being powered by motor, this was a man-powered ride, actually two-man powered. They amp up the thrill of the ride by spinning around each seat. Luke was not impressed)

Ben - really excited by what he saw at the Faire. "Hey Dad, let me in for a closer look..."

..."Whoa, check out those legs!" (see below for more details on the kind of legs I'm referring to)

Okay, so this wasn't at the Faire, but it was after we got home. I couldn't resist putting in this picture.

Final note…the food was great, though expensive. We enjoyed a huge turkey leg, two huge ice cream sundaes, giant pickles and fresh squeezed lemonade. Not sure what to expect in the way of healthy food choices, I had also packed fruit and trail mix, but I was pleasantly surprised to find stalls selling fresh fruits and vegetables. All in all, I think it gets 7 thumbs up (Issy came with us and since we didn’t hear any complaints from Ben, I think he would agree it was a good time had by all).