Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire

In strictest adherence to the One Fun Rule, a roadtrip was made this weekend-a step back in time, into Sherwood Forrest, the world of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, wenches and swashbucklers, knights and fairies, kings, queens and all manner of royalty and their attending courts-including jesters and wizards!  Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire takes place each year in Battle Creek, MI at Kimball Pines Park and runs every weekend from the first weekend in July through the first weekend in August. This is the 17th season, growing and going strong!

Our initial inspiration to visit this event came from our beloved Lady Russell aka Patricia Bradfield who makes the loveliest jewelry I've seen! She is the proprietor of Lady Russell's Twisted Stitches and one of the most creative ladies I know. Patricia is a whiz with everything MicroSoft Office and desktop publishing. She scrapbooks, makes jewelry, crochets,  and in her earlier days pursued aviation as a hobby! I love working with Patricia at the shelter and really look up to her as a role model. Yes, Patricia-I hope to be like you when I grow up! That could take awhile! Anyway, back to Lady Russell and her wares...which these photos do not do justice. You really should make a trip out to the festival and see them for yourself!

Lady Russell's tentmate, Clida Taggart is equally talented in the art of creating Renaissance and Celtic clothing. Her elegant designs and rich fabrics are a feast for the eyes. Of course, I would pick out this heavenly pink ensemble. Her business is called Handcrafted Heritage. Each one of her gowns are a work of art and definitely qualify as a collectible.

The moment you step through the front gates, you are transported to another world. In the forest all the vendors, staff, volunteers, entertainers and even some of the guests, are in costume and in their character roles for the entire event.

You will find over 60 vendors here who offer every sort of imaginable item or service. We encountered many crafters with wares of every description. Lots of beautiful items for the home. Extravagant costumers. Leather goods. Weaponry suited for the Renaissance and Celtic period. Food. Drink. Henna tattoos. Psychics. Incense. Candles. You name it, they got it! Here are but a few examples of what we found:

Oh, and let's not forget The King's Nuts! Almonds they were with cinnamon coating. YUM!

Look at the huge wood this guy has for sale! Impressive!

We saw one of every kind of thing imaginable...

Even a lusty pirate! AYE!

There are nine different stages that host live entertainment all day long! We took in a few shows while there. The first featured a pair called Crye and Cudgel. This was a balancing act where objects of every size, shape and description where balanced on this guy's chin! Even a park bench~unbelievable!

All of the shows are free with your admission to the festival, however, the actors do accept tips. Many of them are theater interns and semi-professional actors from local theater groups. The only pay they receive for their efforts at this event are through the tips they are given. All of the shows we watched were well worth a buck or two!

Next on the agenda were two ladies called Ample and Trite. They sing, do limericks, and tell epic tales of love and romance. The added bonus feature is that they incorporate "volunteers" from the audience to play various roles in the story. Our own Tyler Wiedewitsch was chosen on this occasion to be "Edgar's Wife"! AWWWW, isn't he/she adorable?! Ample and Trite had difficulty getting Tyler into the bra-to which he quipped, "I'm used to taking these off, not putting them on!" OK, Tyl, TMI for mom!

We witnessed the Ye Olde Noble Cause Joust...reminded me of Medieval Times!


Then we capped off the experience with the final act of a 6 vignette that went on throughout the day starring Robin Hood, his Merry Men, Maid Marion, King Richard, evil Prince John, and the entire Sherwood Forrest! Of course, in the final act, good triumphed over evil.

This was a great time! If you'd like to get in on it, the festival continues until August 3rd. Each weekend has a theme: July5/6 was Knights in Service, July 12/13 is Highland Fling, July 19/20 will spotlight Legends and Lore, July 26/27 is Fantasy Adventure,  and the final week is all about the lives of pirates and wenches, appropriately dubbed Scurvy Dogs and Grog!
More information can be had by checking out the website:
http://www.silverleafrenfaire.org or you can click on the sidebar of this blog under i likes it, i likes it a lot!
Signing off from Sherwood Forrest~Good day, my Lords and Ladies!