The Renaissance era: a turning point in world history for art, literature and human ideology.
This point in history changed the way people viewed the finer arts. The Renaissance festival, not so much. Yet every year floods of people from all over the country travel by plane, car or exotic horse-drawn carriage to be in attendance, dressed to the nine in their nicest costumes (most of the time not actually related to the Renaissance period), and I can only think “why?”
I was so kindly asked by a group of my friends to join them on their excursion to visit the “days of yore.” Obviously and without hesitation, I said yes. So we strapped up our boots, readied our steeds and rode into the sunset. Alright, so maybe my horse was actually just a minivan, but the boots and sunset setting stand firm.
After an hour of driving and singing along to the fist-pumping-est music we could rustle up, we had arrived at the destination. And let me say, I was not expecting what I saw. It was as if everyone and their mother had decided to choose the adventure I had chosen for the day and arrive at the festival. Admittedly, they were dressed more appropriately than myself.
Then again, no one was really considering me as “dressed” wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie and my dirtiest pair of Converse. But that wasn’t going to get me down. “Opinions be damned!” I cried at the top of my lungs as my group and I charged through the gates to see the festivities.
Immediately, any doubt that could have possibly crossed my mind changed at once to shame. Imagine men dressed as trees on high stilts, towering about the grounds. Envision shopkeepers selling their wares to the populace laced in the garb of the period.
Visualize men dressed in kilts, women dressed in corsets and children dressed as, well, children. To paint an accurate picture, throw in a guy dressed as the protagonist of the “Assassin’s Creed” games. Everything around you is breathtaking and captivating – there isn’t a person in the vicinity who doesn’t catch your eye, even for a moment. And at that instant, it all became clear to me as it should have been all along – the Renaissance festival was awesome.
The landscape was fresh, yet old and bold, the individuals were awe-inspiring and the food wasn’t too shabby either.
We spent our time, ate our fill, spent what little cash we had, and left with a tale to tell. Had I anticipated the festival being as enchanting as it was? Not even in the slightest. Nevertheless, if you asked me if I wanted to return next year, I’d simply respond with “What time?”
So why then, in the midst of my recapping of the experience, do people go to the Renaissance festival? It might be because, even though it might not completely capture or portray the actual Renaissance, it encompasses the heart and soul of the people who set it up and, most importantly, the folks who come to express themselves through it.
