Caroline is greeted at the entrance of the Arizona Renaissance Festival and Artisan Market by this eccentric, eggshell painted-face diva in period costume helping set the tone for the day.
Every year, from early February through typically the end of March, the Ren Fest comes to Arizona. This year, the fair will stay through the first week of April due to the heavy rains, which initially put a damper on events. Today has delivered beautiful skies and throngs of visitors. We all make our way through the village gate into this festive and always entertaining splash of color upon the brown lives of us Phoenicians. Caroline and I have missed a couple of years visiting the festival but made up for it during subsequent years by visiting more than once. The festival is held about a half-hour east of Phoenix within view of the gorgeous and legendary Superstition Mountains of Mesa, Arizona. Entrance is $18 for adults, $8 for children, and kids under 5 are free.
After a quick turkey leg breakfast, a tradition by now, we stop at Bungled Jungle. The Bungled Jungle is Pat Landreth and Suzanne Montano, artists from Salida, Colorado; our own house has become home to five of these creations. One of them was a large three-foot-wide scary-toothed clam-like creature; another was a mutant rabbit mirror.
The Renaissance Festival is also an Artisan Market that lives up to its name and is a primary reason for our many happy returns, from angel wings and handcrafted brooms to didgeridoos, candles, soaps, sandals, and jewelry. The festival features the works of more than 200 artisans; strolling through the village we encounter many an eccentric vendor almost dragging us into their shop. For the hesitant men who may at other times abhor shopping, a lusty wench with cleavage stretching, err, protruding from left to right eye with nothing else getting our attention quite the same way, lean over the counter enticing us to drag our wives in to look at whatever it is they might be selling.
Paced between the village shops are more than a dozen entertainment areas. Each corner, grassy area, covered seated theater, and stage serves a multitude of acts. From medieval song and dance to readings of poetry for the King and Queen. Under a tree, we stop to listen to a couple playing period instruments. Where dancers were moments before, we now sit for a bird of prey demonstration.
Today’s favorite performance comes from the Wyldmen over on the Mud Stage. Three guys, one hidden in the corner on the drums, while the other two move through an uproarious routine that takes them deep into a pit of mud in a classic battle of good versus evil. The kids in the front row enjoy audience participation by receiving a good dowsing of mud, which they seem to enjoy. Particularly memorable this year are the Matrix effects; you just have to see these guys.
After a good side-splitting and my stomach now empty, it’s time once again for food. The Renaissance Festival has something for everyone. We can choose from fish and chips, coagulated dragon boogers (pickles), the King’s nuts (candied almonds), a lusty wench (no, not the one I referred to above; these are two chocolate-covered strawberries), and roast corn. There are also vegetarian choices, pizza and chicken for the kids, some tempting sweets, and various other dishes that are sure to find the indulgent visitor.
The Ded Bob Show is an all-time favorite of attendees. We stop in on the show every visit. Unfortunately, the voice behind Ded Bob seemed to be ill this weekend as a stand-in Zombie was filling the skeletal shoes of our regular host. Ah, Chris Rock is hosting the Oscars tonight; maybe there’s a connection? Sadly, we didn’t find the new guy as compelling and soon found ourselves wandering in search of more treasure. Caroline finds that treasure in nearly every shop. Today, she bought earrings, porcupine quills for her hair, and a wooden hair stick from Morgan Reed, a favorite of hers.
Of course, that’s not all she wanted. She liked the wind chimes on the left, eyed dozens of bars of home-made soap, would have bought a Renaissance style dress ($400 – $500 ouch) and a few more pairs of earrings along with that handmade cape, a ring, something made of leather, a stringed instrument whose name escapes me, but the reality of our NOT-limitless buying power kept her in check. Between the shopping, entertainment, and food are exhibitions of living history. Maidens singing while washing laundry, farm animals begging for kids to buy a handful of grain to feed them, to a blacksmith hammering steel into form.
Not far from a primitive working kitchen and next to the Henna Body Art booth, a woman is spinning wool into thread. This is mesmerizing watching her foot pump the pedal, spinning the wheel while her hands gently pull and spin a lump of wool into thread – in my computerized world, this is amazing.
Watching a guy weaving thread into fabric is another must-see for us city folk. The fabrics and clothing from Greentree Weaving are exquisite but not for the weak of wallet. The day shoots by under the almost burning sun, ha, we applied sunscreen earlier. Enough time for one more performance on our second loop around the festival, and we will have to peel ourselves away for this year.
The number of things to do here at the Arizona Renaissance Festival is enough to keep a family busy for an entire weekend. It is a highlight of our year that for two months at, the end of winter (if you could call it that here in Arizona) to early spring, we are graced with these fine performers, artisans, and wacky talented at times, even a little weird characters who come to this landscape that is hardly a picture of middle England to so thoroughly entertain us.
A bit redder than when we entered from a day under the sun and blue skies, Caroline and I have given in to the appeals for mercy from our feet that have made nearly three laps around the festival – we had to check a couple of other shops after the last performance, and are now on our way to the exit and our waiting car. Fun, fun, fun.