To find 16th Century England one only needs to go Harveysburg, Ohio. 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the Ohio Renaissance Festival. The village of Willy-Nilly-on-the-Wash welcomes visitors from all over to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s visit and the ensuing festival. Great fun will be had by all! That’s the hope anyways.
Ohio Renaissance Festival Entertainment
One of the things that make a renaissance festival fun is the unique entertainment. Right from the beginning, before the gates even open, the visitors are treated to some dancing, some comedy, and some drama. This sets the stage for what is to be found when one enters the gates.
The village of Willy-Nilly-on-the-Wash boasts 11 stages filled with performers. In addition to the stages, visitors will see other actors wandering the grounds. There will be members of the Royal Court, musicians, and other patrons in 16th century garb wandering the grounds of the village.
One of the main attractions is the full contact armor joust. This is a rare opportunity for people to see professionals go after each other with real weapons while clad in full plate armor. It’s a treat to see the talent it takes for these men to handle the horse and land a blow with the lances. People can pick their hero and then cheer for him and jeer the rest. It draws people further in to the fun.
Food at the Ohio Renaissance Festival
Another thing to enjoy at the Ohio Renaissance Festival is the delicious food. Just about everything can be found on a stick, of course. There is also the giant roasted turkey leg that is a staple of any self-respecting renaissance festival.
Soup in a Bread Bowl is common fare at the faire and will not disappoint. They fill the bread bowl to overflowing with ones favorite soup or beef stew. The only gripe that can be made is that there could be more food booths around the grounds. There are spots that seem to have no food around.
Dungeon of Doom at the Ohio Renaissance Festival
The Ohio Renaissance has a unique attraction in the Dungeon of Doom. It’s a large castle looking building that is a museum of sorts. It has exhibits of medieval torture. Using paintings and dummies set in actual torture devices, the Dungeon of Doom teaches about the different ways people were tortured. For an additional $3.00 people can go through the Dungeon of Doom.
The Ohio Renaissance Festival is Family Fun
There is something for everyone at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. There is a family friendly environment. It’s very clean and well laid out. There is tons of shopping, good food, and games to play. It’s worth the drive from a long way off and offers a different experience from other festivals, like the Michigan Renaissance Festival.
Parking is $2.00 and to get in it’s $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for children 5-12. Going to their website will save money though. The Ohio Renaissance Festival is a fun to step back in time and forget the problems of today.
Shane Werlinger - Shane Werlinger has been published in anthologies and written reviews and articles for BuddyHollywood.com and reviews for Infuze Magazine ...
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