Sunday, September 7, 2025

Still Life with Robin: RenFaire with Robin

by Peggy Robin


You still have six more weekends to attend the Maryland Renaissance Faire. (must book in advance - go HERE )

If you've been hesitant to go because you thing it might be a little off-the-wall -- not to mention ahistorical -- well, you'd be right! But that's part of its charm. The Renaissance Faire is by no means limited to the historical period in Europe by that name. Far from it! It's full of costumed characters from every age and every place, from Ancient Greece all the way up to the Edwardian Era -- with side trips to the major fantasy worlds -- the stuff of legends, and folktales. The hired, costumed characters who circulate -- most notably King Henry VIII and members of his court -- are from Tudor England -- but expect to encounter characters from many other cultures -- an explosion of diversity from all over the world -- and out of this world, too! I'm talking about elves, pixies, fairies, space aliens, hobbits, wizards, witches, what-have-yous). And then there are pirates and wenches from later eras, plus jesters and harlequins, and lots and lots of horned beings.

So it seems the "Renaissance" in Renaissance Faire is more of a state of mind, 

Here are some of the people we saw....


Members of King Henry's Court watching the jousting from The Royal Box https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=24808304678802703&set=pcb.24808334902133014

King Henry VIII and the Countess of Oxford (The King is between marriages at the moment, awaiting the arrival of Anne of Cleves



Here are some things to see and do:


Watch knights jousting on horseback (the biggest draw, so get there a bit early to make sure you get a seat)


Watch a Shakespeare play - like this scene from Macbeth - Three Witches




To get in the swing of it, I recommend you go in costume -- anything you throw together will fit it well with the wacky eclecticism of the crowd. If you want to be authentically something, rent your costume for the day when you arrive. Just imagine yourself in fancy number: Rent a costume

If you can make it on any of these dates, go and be merry: September 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28; October 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 & 19, 2025 -  10am to 7pm

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local, usually on Saturday but occasionally on Sunday.
Posted by Peggy Robin at 11:45 PM

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