Now I’m a Connoisseur!
On Saturday this weekend, I met up with a pile-ton of friends at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. I mentioned this to a coworker at breakfast this morning, and he commented that I didn’t seem the type. Let me explain, as I did to him. I’m not “in character” at the faire, I’m not even in garb (not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just not my thing). I do, however, highly enjoy the shows.
This year, I had a rare opportunity, as I also went to King Richard’s Faire in Cah-vah. We went down there with Mike’s family earlier in the season. This is where we normally go, but the prices have been going progressively up, and that is something of a burden on a large portion of my friends. So, for price reasons, we all met up at the CT Faire this year.
So I feel like I can be some kind of connoisseur of renaissance faires this year.
Shows to see at King Richard’s:
- Etienne – This guy is amazing. He juggles and makes jokes and balances on things. Wicked funny and wicked cool. He is new to the faire this year, and I hope they keep him.
- Joust to the Death – The knights get all into it, and they divide the crowd into teams rooting for each knight. You feel like you have some connection to the knights.
- Nature of Mercy – Two guys with swords dueling and involving all of the little children as a mob. Cute, funny, and entertaining.
- Royalty Sings and Dances – The main characters of the faire sing reworded classics. It’s always hilarious, and these people are truly talented.
- The Mud Show – Which side is the best side! How can you go wrong with a show that makes half the audience chant, “Trojans, Trojans, we will never break!”
- Tale of the Tiger – Lions and tigers! But no bears. But that’s okay, because they have a Liger, and that’s just amazing.
Shows to see at the CT faire:
- Smee & Blogg – They sing! They dance! They’re the singing executioners! And they’re pretty damn funny.
- Duncan Doh’Naught – This guy probably belongs in an insane asylum. He juggles rocks, then clubs (more dangerous than rocks), then knives (more dangerous than clubs), then lit torches (more dangerous than knives), then battle axes (more dangerous than torches), then battle axes that are lit on fire. He also balances large and dangerous things on his face, stabs himself in the chest with a sharp blade, and then walks across a loose-rope (not tight, that’s for sure) while juggling torches and balancing a bowl full of fire on his head.
- Zoltan the Adequate – Is he amazing? No! Is he fantastic? No! Just Adequate. He’s a funny magician.
Shows to avoid at King Richard’s:
- The Unruly Fools – This couple has an act so rehearsed that after seeing it once you’ve memorized all the schtick.
Shows to avoid at the CT faire:
- The live chess game – It’s so slow you forget to care.
- The joust – It’s on a small field, you have no idea who you’re rooting for, and you can’t hear the dialogue.
Lists are fun and all, but how about a sumary.
Well, if you can afford the $24 cost ($23 if you print the coupon from their website) for the day and don’t mind spending some brain power trying to figure out how the hell the food tickets work, King Richrd’s really is a better day. The stages are well and permanently built, and the environment makes you actually believe that you are “back in the day.” The shows are of a higher caliber, and there’s no ghetto feeling about the whole thing.
But if you need to save money, the CT faire isn’t that bad. You get what you pay for at only $15 for the day ($14 with the internet coupon). The stages look, feel, and are temporary. The chessboard is painted on the grass. And there are no ligers. And really don’t expect much from the joust.
I did have fun at both faires. Highlights of King Richard’s were Mike’s dad getting pulled on stage with Etienne, Mike’s mother and sister failing to understand the food tickets, and rooting for the stereotypical bad guy in the joust (Mike picked our section!). Highlights of the CT faire were Kelly getting picked on by Zoltan, Kelly getting picked on by Duncan, and Kelly getting picked to participate in Feudal Feud. Obviously both were fun for getting to spend time with people I happen to like.
Do you care? Probably not. I don’t know what made me think I could be a connoisseur!