This was the final weekend of the Brevard Renaissance Fair held at Wickham Park in Melbourne, FL. It was a great season and unfortunately, the weather was calling for rain all day on Sunday (which it ended up doing), so I was treating Saturday as the last day of the fair. I was determined to cover as many events as I could that I hadn’t seen over the past four weekends. I was up early and out the door to make my way to the fair excited to get the day going.
For the first time during this season, I finally got to the fair before the door openings at 10 AM. I knew something occurred during the opening but had never seen what it was because I wasn’t there early enough. Now, I finally had. King Philip of Spain was on top of the gates speaking to the crowd that had already gathered together. He explained there would be activities that day including burning Protestants at the stake, “For fun!” It was a few minutes later that Sir Edmund Tylney burst through the gate and into the crowd exclaiming the Queen Mary was dead. King Philip did not seem very distraught that his wife just died. He called for Princess Elizabeth to be called out to inform her of the news. When she arrived, she was quite perturbed by King Philip, probably assuming she was to be burned at the stake. Instead, she was informed she was going to be coronated to be named Queen of England. Sir Robert Dudley, dutiful at her side, dropped to one knee proudly exclaiming “God save the Queen!” which rose the same reply from the crowd. Queen Elizabeth declared the coronation would take place at 11:30 AM in the Royal Glade. She then declared the cannons be fired and to open the gates. The crowd cheered after the cannon fire and everyone started making their way into the fair. This was a great way to kick off the day.
As I stepped into the village, I was greeted by various members of the newly designated Queen and members of the Royal Court. They all greeted people as they entered ensure they received a very pleasant welcome. Sir Robert Dudley was very fiesty openly kissing Queen Elizabeth on the cheek in front of Lady Kat Ashley.
I made my way around to find Lady Ophelia’s Dance down by the Maypole that started at 10:30 AM. During this time, Lady Ophelia gathers members of the court and other people who wish to participate in it. As I was waiting I saw Ser Oakheartt the living tree trudging around the fair. The Maypole dance itself was quite beautiful and jovial to watch. The multicolored ribbons were held by everyone as they danced their way underneath each other and around the pole until they all reached the center and tied off the ribbons. The group then performed another dance in pairs where they danced around the pole and would switch partners after completing certain dance moves. The music was conducted by a violinist and a guitarist and was perfect. The participants provided glorious cheer and applause for the musicians and each other. It was a very entertaining event.
From there, I made my way over to the Brawling Claw Pub to catch the performance of Music the Gathering. An obvious play on words of the famous card game Magic the Gathering, this band performed folk music that ranged from fun and lively to emotional and somber. They use a variety of music arrangements for their performances and let me say, Marco, Liv, and Clara are very talented performers. The ability for them to make such beautiful music with these arrangements is quite impressive. I loved their show. And they even have trading cards of themselves for sale! And yes, I bought a set.
I rushed over to the Royal Glade to capture the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, first of her name! It’s a wonderful ceremony and after she was crowned King Philip was hoping he would be asked to marry her so he could also become King of England. Instead, she titled Sir Robert Dudley as Master of the Horse and Sir Edmund Tylney to oversee festivities. The Queen also took a moment to knight two children before making her way with her court. She looked more regal than ever.
And then it was off to the first joust of the day held by Noble Cause Productions. After following their events over the past five weeks, they were still as entertaining as ever. Sir William of Whitehall acted as Master of Arms hosting the display of knight feats between Sir Michael with Squire Barb and Sir Lilith with Squire Lydia. Sir William introduced the guests of King Philip and his sister Princess Juana, a Duke and Duchess (can’t recall from where), and “those two guys”. The first joust is full of fun lines, quips, and jokes between the two including many referencing Lord of the Rings. There is a contest between Sir Michael and Sir Lilith to catch aerial rings for a flower garland. Sir Lilith misses the last one as she feels Squire Lydia threw it too high and charges Squire Lydia to run them down. Squire Lydia is too fast and nimble hopping the fence and running through the crowd to escape. Sir William suggests to the crowd wants to see a joust so Sir Michael and Sir Lilith gear up and make passes at each other. As Sir Michael asks if Sir Lilith would make a pass at him, she replies “Sir Michael, I just want to take your face in my hands, and hold it underwater until the bubbles stop!” That got major cheers from the crowd. The two knights then make their joust passes with each pass hitting harder until Sir Michael’s lance shatters declaring Sir Lilith the winner. Sir William invites the crowd to come back at 2:30 PM for their second joust of the day.
I met up with my wife to grab some lunch. I hadn’t mentioned the fair’s food options in my other reviews, but it needs worth mentioning. The fair each year always had a nice variety of food. You could find burgers, pizza, cheesesteaks, and chicken tenders. Then you had more time-period items like kebobs, shepherd’s pie, Scottish eggs, and turkey legs. But, the winner this year for me was the tacos. While not Renaissance food that vendor’s tacos were just absolutely amazing. They offered BBQ Korean beef, barbacoa, and shredded pork. The only criticism is that booth ran out of the quesadillas after week 1 and I never got to try them.
It was then back to the Royal Glade for The Queen’s Feast where you could watch the Queen and her Royal Court eat! Yes, eat. All of them are literally eating lunch in character while attendees walk by or stop and watch. And the Queen and Court will happily interact with the attendees. One week my wife and I literally brought our lunches and sat down and ate with them. It was a pretty cool experience to eat lunch with royalty. That day King Philip and Queen Elizabeth were throwing grapes at two members of the court trying to catch them in their mouths. It was a hilarious game. Afterward, there was some light ribbing going on as Sir Robert Dudley was mimicking Lady Kat Ashley in her mannerisms and speech.
Then it was time for the second joust of the day. Sir William played Master at Arms and introduced Queen Elizabeth and her Royal Court. Sir Michael and Sir William tested the field lancing rings and aerial rings before getting to the actual joust. Once again the two knights fiercely attacked each other during each joust pass. But, this time it is Sir Lilith who breaks her lance on Sir Michael’s shield awarding the joust to Sir Michael. Sir William then recommends they perform a round of mounted combat. The mounted combat is fast and fierce and eventually, Sir Michael disarms Sir Lilith in winning the round. But, Sir Lilith offers to shake his hand graciously and instead yanks him off his horse! Sir Lilith points out the winner must make the opponent yield or be the last one of their horse, which she was. Sir William declares her the victor. The final round is hand-to-hand combat on the ground and Sir Michael and Sir Lilith are dueling with such skill, power, and grace. In the end, it is Sir Michael who is the better of the two disarming Sir Lilith. When he celebrates his victory, Sir Lilith comes from behind and literally backstabs him, spilling blood on the field. Sir William is outraged and ready to strike Sir Lilith down, but Sir Michael holds him at bay demanding justice at this dishonor. Sir Lilith demands a joust to the death. Queen Elizabeth agrees to allow the joust and the two will meet at 5:30 PM in a duel to the death.
I walked around for a bit checking out the vendors for the final time. I loved the wide variety of merchants the Brevard Renaissance Fair offered this year. Everything from art, to jewelry, to clothing, to armor, and weapons. And even specialized things like Scottish clothing to fur clothing to horns and ears. You then had the games such as buried treasure (poorly buried as they kept calling out), the LARP game with Dice Knights, to archery and axe throwing, and one of my favorite entertainment events to see, boffer weapon fighting! It is a great mix of vendors and look forward to seeing who they bring in next year.
Back at the joust field was the return of Equestrian Chaos! The group consists of women who show people the Amazonian warrior way between their skill in archery and horse riding. And also combined the two to show off some amazing archery feats. The women have amazing skills for horseback riding and archery and a flair for entertainment. I loved the show the first time I saw them years ago and loved them just as much this time around. I highly recommend seeing their performance whenever you can.
I made my way back over to the Royal Glade for the Meet the Queen event. The Queen and her Royal Court were enjoying the day keeping in the shade. The Queen asked for Lady Mary to sing for them and she provided the most beautiful song in French. I was blown away by her performance. Sir Henry then regaled us with a drinking song and everyone joined in. It was a very jovial event.
I made my way over to the Bard Stage to catch Boom Boom Shake. Two wonderfully skilled belly dancers performed for the crowd to Middle Eastern music. The balance and grace of these women were amazing and the crowd absolutely loved them. And they had a huge crowd around their stage.
I decided to check out Equestrian Chaos for a second time getting some pictures from a different angle. They were just as impressive as when I saw them for the first time that day. Their skill and strength to perform these athletic feats are seriously incredible.
Finally, it was time for the grand finale, the final joust of the day. The mood was somber as the sun was setting. Queen Elizabeth and her Royal Court were introduced by Sir William and they took their places on the podium. Sir Michael and Sir Lilith were introduced separately and they rode onto the field to cheers and applause. The Queen addressed the knights asking if there was no other way to settle their differences, but their words made it apparent there was not. They both had a chance to ride the field and found it suitable for combat. Sir William went through a presentation ceremony of their helmets and shields and then ordered them to their ends of the field and the joust to the death began. Each knight roared ahead eager to clash with the other. The sound of the lance against shield rang out through the field over and over, until Sir Michael’s lance broke, splintering into pieces all over the field.
Sir William ordered the knights to dismount and meet on the field in hand-to-hand combat. Sir Michael did, but Sir Lilith did not. Instead, she grabbed a lance and sped towards Sir Michael with hatred and rage on her face, ready to drive the lance into his heart. But, he saw what she had planned and raised his shield in time. The blow knocked Michael off his feet and Sir Lilith came around for another pass. This time, Sir Michael yanked the lance out of her hand, ready to use it at her. Sir Lilith dismounted and grabbed her sword and Sir Michael grabbed his own and they met in the middle bloodlust in their hearts. The battle was fierce and no punches were pulled but in the end, Sir Michael had Sir Lilith on the ground, sword at her throat, and hatred in his heart. And he showed her mercy. He declared to the Queen his honor was redeemed and walked away. SIr Lilith was disgusted and screamed his name and when he turned around, she launched the hidden dagger right into his eye. Sir Michael screamed as blood flew everywhere and then collapsed to the ground. Sir William looked on in horror and ran to Sir Michael, confirming he was dead.
The Queen was horrified once again at the dishonor of Sir Lilith and ordered Sir William to dispose of her. Sir William was happy to oblige, drawing his sword and moving forward. The two clashed in the middle of the field, but Sir William was too skilled, striking a blow to her abdomen and slicing her across. He then used his sword and her own to slice open her neck, killing her. Sir William then addressed the crowd after they cheered for his success and asked for a round of applause for both Sir Michael and Sir Lilith for their performances that day. The crowd cheered as they both stood up and took a quick bow. It was an amazing story throughout the three jousts that day.
The day ended with the burning of the Wicker Man, where people inserted their wishes into it all throughout the day. Afterward, those who were staying for the concert that evening were guided to the Brawling Crawling Pub for the Pub Sing. I had the opportunity to spend time with the Queen and Sir Robert during that time, enjoying the musical entertainment. When everything was ready, the staff guided people to the Queen’s Stage for Gaelic Storm. The Celtic rock band out of San Francisco, CA put on an amazing show filled with fun songs, humor, and great music. It was a great way to cap off the evening, and for me the fair season.
I’m definitely looking forward to next year and highly recommend anyone who has not attended to come next season and see how much fun this fair is for yourself.
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