DAMSELS AND KNIGHTS AND VIKINGS, OH MY!

The beginning of July means it's time to dust off the jerkin, polish up the mail, sharpen the bodkin and head off the Renaissance Fair at Casa Loma ...
OK so Collette and I didn't dress up, it was too hot and we really don't have the gear, but lots of other people did, as they do every year for this annual event held at Toronto's very own castle.
This year's fair had some of our returning favorites and a few new attractions. One of these were the Brothers Grimm, billed as "twins separated at birth". And like all brothers, they seemed to never agree about anything

What they offered was an energetic and fairly funny stunt show with hand to hand, sword play and even whips, as you'll see in the video at the bottom of this post ... yes, of course there's a video.
A returning favorite was Zoltan, a magician and stunt man. Now, Zoltan is no ordinary magician. He is not Zolan the Magnificent or Zoltan the Incredible .. no, he is Zoltan the Just Adequate
What he had were some card tricks, a little self humiliation, fire eating and a fairly twisted sense of humour ... so yeh, we like Zoltan.
There was a bit of conflict at the Renaissance Fair. The Lords and Ladies of the Castle were in a generous mood, inviting all us commoners to their lovely manse but they took it a bit too far. I mean, really, who's idea was it to invite the Vikings?

At any rate, there were Vikings camped on the lawn. I think they were out of beer. Why else would they have stolen the fair maiden?

Well, the knights of the castle took some exception to this .. in typical medieval fashion as you'll see from Collette's photo's and in the video

Even after the Lady was rescued, the carnage continued as the Vikings began to squabble amongst themselves. I heard something about "lost honour" but frankly, I think they just ran out of beer.

Besides the new shows there was also the familiar, such as gypsy dancers ...
... and the guys from the Barrie Swordplay Association
In the video I just gave a few highlights of their performance but they really do put on a great show. To see more of it, check out the video I did last year, the Assc. is about half way through it
So a day in the sunshine, in and out of this unique urban castle, surrounded by damsels and knights and vikings .. oh my! Seriously, what's not to love

Casa Loma Renaissance Fair from Collette Scale on Vimeo.

WE TAKE THE SUBWAY TO THE RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance Fair, that is. Go ahead, chuckle all you want but these events are cool, no matter what you think. There are swords, and falcons, and low cut bodices and men in tights (for Collette) and mead. And swords. Sorry, but that's cool.

This was a small Fair held on the grounds of Casa Loma here in Toronto. For those of you don't live in the GTA (and golly, why don't you? [could it because or our snotty Toronto attitude?]) Casa Loma is our city's castle, built by some eccentric robber baron in the 1900's and now owned and operated by the city. It's a pretty cool place, and there's lots to see, including the architecture and the gardens and it's a quick subway ride away from our house. If you ever come to Toronto (and gosh, why wouldn't you?) you should check out the Castle.

As I said, it wasn't a large fair, but it was pretty cool. Lots of folks walking around in costumes, lots of vendors selling "medival" goods. Did the Middle Ages have credit cards? Was the limit a sack of potatoes and a tankard of ale?

Out in the courtyard, there was a small encampment of knights who would stage duels from time to time. Well, I think they were knights. With the street crime in Toronto these days, they could have been some kind of new gang.

There were some good vendors. Collette was enamoured of the jewellry but ended up buying some really lovely hand thrown mugs. Anyone who knows us understands that when I say "coffee mug" I'm referring to something big enough for a full grown adult to bathe in. What can I tell you, we love our coffee. Collette refrained from buying the jewellry and I somehow, in an example of iron will, refrained from buying any swords or knives.

Wandering around the grounds was a belly dancer and a young lady holding a Harris Hawk. I wasn`t allowed to buy those, either.

Part of the fesitivities was a demonstration/show put on by the Barrie Swordfighting Association. I was born in Barrie. Trust me, in Barrie, you need to carry a big freaking knife.

The show was pretty entertaining. A few duels, some demonstrations of proper medieval sword technique, a little posturing. There was a nice audience interaction segment, a father and daughter called up to duel. The little girl was hilarious. They put her in armour, shield and sword. The first outfit was a tad large, so they found her something more appropriate.

She went after her knight with a a pitbull like tenacity. Clearly, this little girl has brothers. Watch the video, it's a Monty Pythonesque kind of duel.

There was an advertised "archery demo" that took us into a tunnel deep under the castle, under the road to the former stables. No horses there now, and really not an archery demo at all, but a place where you could pay to take lessons. The tunnel was pretty cool though, all damp and narrow and it took you by this huge bank of coal furnaces that once heated the castle. The way Toronto is gowing, we may be all reverting to coal.

Back outside, there were more hawks, more lords and ladies, more knights, and ice cold beer. I know, me finding beer, pretty shocking eh.

All in all, it was a great day, as you can see from Collette's pics. Check out the video, some of the swordfighting was fun and the castle itself is quite beautiful. Now it's time for me slip on a pair of green mull tights, adjust my jerkin and pour myself a big tankard of mead .. um, they do make calorie reduce mead, right?

Casa Loma Renaissance Fair from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.