Sherwood Forest Faire closing weekend

[Zardoz]

Well, all good things come to an end, and last weekend (4/2-3) was the closing weekend for the second year of the Sherwood Forest Renfaire near Austin Texas. We were out for the day on Saturday, and while we spent most of the time seeing friends we only see at faire, Shelley and I of course got a few pictures....


Here's Shelley and I, one of the things eveyone likes about Sherwood is that "It ain't so damn hot this time of year"! Well I think it was about 85 -90 degrees (F) that day! One vendor had a bunch of those wagasa (paper parasols) and they did a brisk business! Plus- they haven't had any rain up there for a month, so it was quite dusty as well...



Our friend Sandy

Gnomes


New to faire? shiny new targe, check- big *ss axe- check, fancy renfaire boots- check, new kilt with the basting still in... yep.
I took him aside, and he and his wife got to work on it.


Me by one of the Seven Sisters


I heard there was gonna be a hanging, and sure enough the Sheriff had caught up with one of the merry men...


public executions always draw a crowd!


But Robin and his crew saved the day!

more to come....

[The Thirsty Viking]

Looks good man. I would have loved to have been down there, but we were at the Scarbie sight all weekend getting the Forge prepared for opening next weekend.

I went to sherwood for opening weekend and it was a blast.

[English Bloke]

I'll bet that was a good laugh!

[Zardoz]

Of course if you've seen any of my faire shots, you know I took in a Circa Paleo show.


the dancers kick up a bit of dust.



And before we had to go, we took in a joust;

Some of the Lords and Ladies, notice the parasols!

one of the knights picking a joust maiden,


And a little full contact tilting.

We had a great day, even with the warm temps and dirt baths, I wish I'd been able to get out to this faire more than I did this season, but we're looking forward to next year, and of course we have the Texas Ren Fest coming up in October.

[CMcG]

Do they really do full contact jousting?

Awesome!

[The Thirsty Viking]

Do they really do full contact jousting?

Awesome!

Most Faires down here do. I know at Scarborough they have even hosted a couple big international jousting tournys.

I cant really speak for Sherwood, but to me, their arena seems too small to even allow the horses to get up to speed.

[Zardoz]

Sherwood's lists were expanded this year, they're hosting the Texas State Jousting Tournament on April 9-10.

[The Thirsty Viking]

Sherwood's lists were expanded this year, they're hosting the Texas State Jousting Tournament on April 9-10.

Very good!

Just in case it was taken as such, I was not in any way trying to be disparaging toward the faire. They are still in their infancy and still have a lot of growing to do. In fact, I think that in time, they will be a serious force to be reckoned with in the Faire circuit.

[Highlander31]

Great photos, Z. Good of you to help the new guy with his kilt.

...Plus- they haven't had any rain up there for a month, so it was quite dusty as well...

No rain for a month ,...we've only had three half days of clear weather for the last six weeks. I'm not sure I remember what dust is.

Do they really do full contact jousting?

Awesome!

Jousting has been making a comeback as a sport over the last decade.

[Santa Wally]

Thanks for posting the GREAT photos, looked like lots of fun.
I was at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival (can you believe the acronym BARF ?) on March 12. (Can't prove it, can't post any pics). They were jousting there. Full contact for sure, the lances were being snapped off as they hit.