This past weekend at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a history museum and historic ranch in Santa Fe, the eleventh annual Santa Fe Renaissance Faire was celebrated.
The fair grounds were separated out into sections based upon activities or people who inhabited those areas.
At the Royal Pavilion, one could meet the king and queen of the fair as well as their court. A town crier would announce activities from in front of their tent, these activities were from a long list of scheduled out plans for each area of the fair.
A popular location was Fairy Village, a large area near a river and some woods where the fairy king and queen would introduce you to their unicorn. A bridge here crossing the small river to another part of the village was guarded by a troll. People were required to tell the troll a joke or walk through the river to the other side.
If you were there looking for action then you could visit the Field of Champions, a battlefield where actors would joust, sword fight and play out other combat on the ground or on horseback. Audience interaction would influence the actors and actresses, changing the ending of the scene they were playing out.
All the actors and actresses were there in costume for the immersion of the attending audience, but there were a large amount of people of all ages who were attending dressed in costumes as well. Knights, fairies, kings and queens were all walking around joining in on the fun of the festival and some even acted along with the hired cast.
More entertainment was provided on the king’s stage and queen’s stage. Each had differing acts that were chosen by the liking of the king and queen such as belly dancers, a family circus and singers. These performers would wander around and entertain all throughout the fair in addition to the stages.
Vendors of many kinds were in attendance selling art, medieval memorabilia, fairy items, food and weaponry. Many of those in attendance who came out of costume would buy items and end up leaving in a costume of which they built from items bought.
In addition to the fun scattered throughout the festival, there was a large quest people could partake in. It had attendees go around and complete mini quests — a few were placing a rubber duck in the river near fairy village, meeting the King and Queen, passing the troll bridge and talking to a mermaid swimming in the watermill pond.
The fair was great for families and people of varying ages to come and celebrate in the festival. Interacting with all of the hired staff and people attending is a lot of fun and a good use of a weekend out. The only thing is that it was all outside, so if you’re thinking about attending next year make sure to plan for hot weather.
Tiffani Watteyne is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted by email at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @tiffanirosew.
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