The word of the day is anachronism.
anachronism (ə-ˈna-krə-ˌni-zəm ) – noun
1. an error in chronology, especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other
2. a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place, especially : one from a former age that is incongruous in the present
3. the state or condition of being chronologically out of place
…from Merriam-Webster
On a whim I decided to attend the Upstate Renaissance Faire on Sunday. I had never been to one, but several of my friends from the 13 Stripes sessions were performing, so I thought I’d go see what it was all about. It was pretty much what I expected. Even so, it was still a lot of fun.
This year the Renaissance Faire has found a new home in Spartanburg at the Interstate Fair Grounds. I made my way over and arrived at about 11:00 am. After parking and heading over toward the ticket booth, I found my friend Tim McManus entertaining the guests purchasing tickets. He would inside doing the same a bit later.
Cost of admission was $10 for the day. Not too bad. I headed on in with the realization that I was the anachronism. I was not dressed appropriately for the event, wearing regular shorts and a light shirt. It was going to be hot. I had a water bottle and my big Nikon DSLR as my only other gear. There were a few other normies dressed like me. Quite frankly, all this costume stuff looked like it would unbearable in this heat.
There were three rows of pavilions set up along the midway of the fairgrounds. These were all vendors with all sorts of exotic items, from medieval garb to armor to weaponry and jewelry. There were potions, palm readers, magic wands, and other strange things.
Honestly, there were some really cool things that I might have bought. I’ve been looking for a tankard from which to quaff during our sea shanty sessions, and there were some nice leather goods. What really caught my eye were some hand-forged Damascus steel knives. These were beautiful. Sadly, give our housing situation I just don’t want to add another thing to our rental. Maybe next year when we’re back in our real house I’ll indulge.
Mixed in among the vendors were various tableaus. These included mermaids, noblemen, and dancers. My favorite that seemed like the most historically correct was a Moorish group.
I was interested in the music and performances as much as anything. There were several stages set up throughout the venue. I stopped at several to listen.
There was a large main stage, but there didn’t appear to be much going on. Every time I passed by there was just one guy in costume telling jokes. On beyond that was the Knotty Nymph stage, which had 18+ shows, mostly for belly dancing and language. Even so, there were some children there. It was tame. I did watch some belly dancers.
I was very interested in one particular performance. During the day there was supposed to be several “Shanty Shindigs.” I imagined these to be sing-alongs, similar to what we do at 13 Stripes. A guy in pirate attire had led a drum circle earlier, but I missed that.
The guy described himself as a “bard” and said that he travels all over the country doing this. But when it came to the actual Shanty Shindig, I was sorely disappointed. It was just him playing ukulele and singing shanties that he had written. Oh well. I didn’t stick around.
Along with the musical performances there were demonstrations. There were two different blacksmiths.
There were aerial acrobatics…
…and demonstration of other trades, such as basket weaving.
And there was fighting. Lots of it. There was supposed to be a jousting tournament, but I didn’t get to see any of it. One could try their hand at axe throwing or spear chucking. There were also opportunities for archery and for sword fights.
A few wandering entertainers displayed their talents, including my friend Tim, performing as “TC Costello” on his accordion.
Apart from vendor sales and paid activities such as axe throwing, most of the economy operated on tips. There were tip jars, but most had QR codes that linked to Venmo accounts.
While I was strolling through the pavilions I called my brother Houston, and he wanted a Face Time tour of the event. I walked around with the phone, showing him some of the more interesting sights. A couple of times during the tour I heard my name called. My friend Jeff Goodman was set up with his Wizard of Oz Pottery. I let him chat with Houston for a bit.
When I stopped by the Fell and Fair booth to show him some helmets and armor for sell, I again heard my name, and turned to find my friend Clara, who plays with us at 13 Stripes. She was signing up folks to fight a knight.
I’ve saved the real weirdness for last – the visitors in costume. To me, “Renaissance” entails a specific period, with a certain type of music and specific clothing styles. This seemed to be a free-for-all. There were medieval elements, such as the armor, etc, and there were even elements of steampunk. The majority of the costumes were more along the lines of sword and sorcery fantasy. In that aspect this was much more like cosplay at ComiCon than any real historical reenactment. Here are some of the outfits I encountered during the day.
There seemed to be a lot of elf ears and mushroom hats. I just didn’t get it, at least, in the context of the Renaissance.
Hands down, the best costume was this guy…
He was working hard and changing trash cans, and had lots of bags on the back of his vehicle. Turned out he was a pretty cool guy and we shared a laugh about some of the silliness.
It was a great experience, but it was hot, my camera’s batteries were dead, and I was hungry and tired. The last thing I wanted to do was stand in line to pay $15 for a turkey leg.
To me, this was just like ComiCon or even the Scottish Games at Furman. It’s cosplay, and excuse to pretend. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.