Renaissance Faire 2011

Wentzville, MO has been the host for the grand St. Louis Renaissance Faire for the past 13 years.  The faire takes its visitors back to France in the 16th century to the quaint village of Petit Lyon.  Everyone both young and old who attend are encouraged to join along with the festivities for the spring time faire. The villagers of this mock village have set up stands along the pathways to sell their wares. All vendors were dressed in costumes from that period. There were approximately 80 vendors selling a wide variety of merchandise similar to what would have been found during that era.  We roamed the village shops and watched as the artisans demonstrated period skills.  There was something for every man, woman and child.  I watched as men examined knives and swords and tried on leather boots and hats while the women sampled the perfumes and incenses and tried on the graceful flowing peasant dresses. The King and Queen of France along with their court and guards honored the village by attending the faire.  And yes of course, if we are going to have the royal court we also must have a jousting tournament.

Last year I took my two oldest grandchildren to the faire.  This year I felt all four grandchildren were old enough to join in the fun.  The faire is held outside at Rotary Park.  The weather was a typical wet cold May day.  St. Louis weather can be so unpredictable.  Every day the week before the day of our planned attendance I checked the weather forecast.  One day the forecast called for cloudy with a chance of showers while the next sunny with temps in the mid 70s.  Unfortunately the day of the faire the sun chose not to show her cheerful face and we were blessed with cold drizzly rain the whole time we were there.  Days like that have a way of bringing adults' spirits down but not that of a child.  All four children had a fabulous day running through the village from vendor to vendor and joining in all the frivolities.  The King's quests was by far the children's favorite activity of the day.  Each child was given a list of places to visit.  Once they had completed their quest they were granted special audience with the King and Queen.  If it had been determined that the child was worthy the young male child would be knighted by the King and the female child would be appointed the awesome award of being a princess.  My two youngest granddaughters already thought they were princesses.  They now have certificates from the Queen herself verifying it.  I am quite positive they will be impossible to live with for the next couple of months.

Although we were cold and wet we had a delightful trip back to Renaissance France.  For those interested, the faire will continue weekends only for the next two weeks.