My Adventure at Renaissance Fest

 Renaissance Fest Hammond, December 2021

By Jasmine Ezeb

After several months of expectation, on December 12th, 2021, I finally stepped into a time warp, transferring me into a period that is so bizarre, so foreign, so unheard of, that one cannot but help to appreciate the many sites, activities, food, and festivities associated with this event. On that day, I felt a surging excitement in the green parking lot. I walked with my best friend, her two children, and my boyfriend. I wore a long khaki shirt, with a red dress underneath it. At the top, the dress had many fillies, and it tied. I tied a red and brown scarf around my head. Gabby said I reminded her of a midwife. I did not take offense. Maybe I would be a midwife if I was back in those days. I liked to think of myself as a bar owner though--an entrepreneur, not quite peasant class and not quite upper class...somewhere in the middle. I joked with my boyfriend asking, "Where oh where is my business partner?" He lacked a costume, so I assumed my co-tavern owner was non-existent. 

Upon walking into the quaint festival, I noticed all of the many diverse shops. This was my favorite part. Window shopping in a renaissance festival was even more enlightening than window shopping at a mall. I just love to window shop in general, but here there was merch that I did not get to see on a regular basis. Plus, here I could pretend I was some sort of elf, or witch, or princess, or (in my homely attire), a tavern owner. Elf ears wiggled on display shelves itching to be bought, while light wooden wands hung on racks, swaying in the wind. Immediately, this small jewelry store caught my eye. There were so many elaborate rings, earrings, and necklaces. One ring was huge (obviously for a guy). It was silver and chunky with an encrusted eagle face. I gawked. It was so mysterious and ornate. There was another ring with a silhouetted pink heart in the middle, silver arches overhanging the precious stone. That was the one I wanted...but in purple. I tried on the delicate ring, and miraculously, the store had my size. It was twenty dollars...not bad at all. 

As we walked through the festival, I noticed more and more attractions from the previous years: the archery (which I avoided like the plague because I was so bad at it), axe-throwing (I sauntered over, but was briskly pulled away since the line was so long), and jousting. The jousting seemed to be what my companions really wanted to see, but there was already a huge crowd forming, and I do not like crowds. Before going over to the event, we checked out a couple more stores. There was this sophisticated teashop that caught my eye; there seemed to be a lot of different, assorted products there. This included teas, incense, candles, and soaps. I was glad I stepped in there, for the candles, small and petite in nature, caught my eye. The very nice saleslady, who was dressed up as a witch, answered my many questions. Apparently, each scent and color meant something. One candle, a vanilla scented, creamy colored one, was for tranquility. One could light this candle and all the sudden be overwhelmed with a sense of peace. What a beautiful candle! Another one, which was pink, had an airy scent, almost like bubble gum, very sweet. This one was for inspiration and also gave one a sense of love and comfort. This would be the candle that I would buy. I picked up three of them, then sauntered to the teas. It overjoyed me to see that there was a natural, organic chai. Chai tea is one of my favorites, so I scooped it up for the affordable price of five dollars, then I approached the check out line. This was indeed a great shop to visit. 

After that, we decided to go to jousting. My best friend and her kids had already made their way over  while I was fangirling in the tea shop. I saw them from afar, juxtaposed in the middle of the crowd, seated. I immediately was like, 'not happening,' and I perched myself a secure distance away on a tree root so that I could see something. The crowd went wild as the two contenders, laden in suits of armor, came out with their impressive lances. I watched enough to know that everything was real, which was remarkably impressive, but also kind of scary. After seeing a few clashes, I was ready to move. I told my friend I would meet her after the show at the food court. I figured that since everyone was at the jousting, that this would be the perfect time to go to other stores without the interference of other people. This magic shop caught my eye. It only had two rooms and a lot of random stuff. I went in.

In the shop, there was a very old man and a young girl. He gave me a warm smile, and I looked around. There was such a cacophony of treasures on display: decks of cards, crystal balls, puppets. It was all very creepy and gave me weird vibes. 

"Would you like to do a card trick young lady?" asked the old man. I inwardly frowned. I guess one card trick would be fine. I picked a card off the top. 

"Was this your card?" The man asked after he had shuffled the deck a few times. 

"Why, yes," I said, not even quite remembering. "Have a good day!" I quickly rushed to the exit. On the way out, I saw this doll that was labeled "cursed object". I shivered. How freaky! 

"How was it in there?" my boyfriend asked, curious.

"Creepy," I answered, truthfully. I kept thinking about that weird looking cursed object. I told him about it, and I told myself that it did not mean anything.

We met up with Gabby at the food court, and I was soon to discover nothing really caught my interest. The end of the festival was nigh, and many food booths were either running out of product or closing shop. I could feel myself growing more and more agitated and my belly feeling like an empty well. I could not even get the signature turkey leg! Gabby's kids continued to have no shortage of energy, and I wished that I could absorb some of that. I idly watched the Shakespeare skit going on at the center stage before finally deciding to try one more food booth. I just wanted some red beans and rice or baja fried rice with shrimp. 

"We're out of rice," the cashier told us flatly. 

"I'm cursed!" I cried. 

"What about a smoothie?" My boyfriend asked. 

"Sure," I agreed. The smoothie actually proved to be quite refreshing. Soon the whole group was ready to continue. I noticed that Gabby had picked up another friend along the way. Who's that? I thought. She was a stunning young woman, and a twinge of curiosity overcame me. Gabby walked with her new friend and the kids, while Jay and I made up the caboose. We passed the butter-making station and the blacksmith's shop.  We passed a small castle-looking structure, and soon a sign that said "Maze" caught our eye. We thought it entertaining to have a friendly competition to see who would figure out the maze first. I joked with Gabby how during our previous renaissance, I had beaten her to the end of the maze. Of course, we had no way of verifying this, for Jay had not been with us that year. Gabby warned me to stop patronizing her, but I could not help it. 

The maze was different this year. Somehow, it felt more foreboding with it's extra twists and turns, and the creepy looking well in the middle. The woman at the front had been very nice. She had many colorful tattoos on her chest, and alluring, thick brown hair. We each paid our five dollars and cautiously walked inside. Gabby had her two kids with her, who represented a team, and Jay and I were on the other team. Immediately, Gabby began running with her kids, whereas I hung back with Jay rather annoyed. He wanted to figure out the clues that hung on the walls of the maze, especially the riddle. I did not want to figure out the riddle, but I wanted to win just like I had in a previous year. I stubbornly walked ahead while he decoded the riddle. Unfortunately, I found myself in a dead end, and my anxiety began to creep up on me like a five-o-clock shadow. "What are you doing?" he called out to me. I did not even realize that I began shouting for him. I definitely would not be winning this challenge. I heard Gabby excitingly call out from the front. "We reached the end!" I blew out a frustrated bit of air, took Jay's arm, and we continued walking. It was another five minutes before we finally reached the end. "Did you figure the riddle?" I asked. Jay promptly answered, "NO." 

The rest of the festival went by pretty fast. I still did not get my turkey leg. I found out that Gabby's new friend's name was Liz, and that Liz and I went to college together briefly, before I ended up transferring. I also already had this Liz on Facebook. Small world! I really enjoyed talking to her. 

We waited in darkness for the fireworks at a tea shop. This is when I got to talk to Liz. While Jay watched the kids, who increasingly had an interest in a pile of mud a few feet away from the teashop, we women finally had a chance to really talk. Turns out Liz was an English major just like me, and we had really similar interests. We sipped on our tea in the freezing cold weather, and this moment really brought me a lot of peace. It was funny how after half the festival cleared out, I felt so much more centered. It was like we had the whole place to ourselves. We watched the fireworks erupt over the Lake, and the light glistened on the black lagoon. My tea was gone very fast, and I was impressed by the lemon cake flavor. 

After the fireworks, we walked Liz back to her car, which was an adventure in and of itself. We parked in the woods, and we had no lantern or flashlight, and by then, everything was very dark. We used our phones as light, and I told Gabby's oldest son to lead the way because he actually had a glowstick. Feeling important, he helped us avoid the many mudholes and random breaks in the path. Liz thanked us for walking her to her car, and finally, after an exhausting and fun day, it was time to go.