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| Creating priceless memories at King Richard's Faire |
Thank you to King Richards Faire for providing passes for my family to attend the 2016 Renaissance faire and to Oriental Trading Company for providing some of the accessories to complete our children's Renaissance costumes. All opinions expressed are my own.
One of the things my family looks forward to the most in the fall is visiting
King Richard's Faire in Carver, Massachusetts. This was our 4th year attending this Massachusetts Renaissance faire and it has become one of our family's fall traditions. The memories we create at the faire each year are priceless and will stay with our children for the rest of their lives. Hopefully, when they have children of their own, they will be carrying on this tradition.
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| Jacques Ze Whipper at the 2016 King Richard's Faire |
This was the third year that our children dressed up for King Richard's Faire. It's the Faire's 35th Anniversary, so dressing up was a must for them. Our now 9 year old son has attended the faire as a knight and a wizard in the past. This year, he wanted to dress up as his favorite King Richard's Faire performer,
Jacques Ze Whipper.
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| DIY Child's Jacques Ze Whipper Costume |
I think I lucked out because I found a boys dress vest in the exact blue that I needed for this costume. Some items I especially had trouble finding were the red costume sash (something other than a $30 red silk scarf) and leather-like arm bracers for a child. Oriental Trading Company actually saved the day! The red sash, whip, and face crayon for the mustache were found among their huge selection of
Halloween costume accessories. But wait! I had another stroke of luck with our son's Halloween costume. He had chosen a ninja costume to wear for Halloween from Oriental Trading that happened to have leather-looking bracers for his arms and legs. All these things brought our Jacques Ze Whipper costume together perfectly. Our son was just thrilled!
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| Jacques Ze Whipper Costume Accessories |
For our 9 year old daughter, who has attended the fair as a maiden and as Juliet, she wanted to go as a princess. After we finally found a dress that looked and fit great (and wasn't itchy), we finished her costume with a goldtone tiara, black crystal goldtone earrings, and stacking chevron rings. What truly made her costume stand out was the black lace fan she carried. I just happened upon it when I was looking for accessories on the Oriental Trading website for our Jacques Ze Whipper costume. Another stroke of luck!
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| Girl's Renaissance Princess Costume with Lace Fan |
In addition, to dressing up this year, we vowed to make it a point to see at least one or two performers that we haven't seen during past visits. We tend to make seeing our past favorites a priority, so we rarely have enough time to discover new shows.
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| The Squire of the Wire at the 2016 King Richard's Faire |
Upon entering the Faire this year, we had the pleasure of meeting the
Squire of the Wire. He was so nice (and funny too) that we made an extra effort to catch his act. I also had the pleasure of catching the graceful
Draiku Aerial Show because I happened to be waiting nearby while my daughter was having her portrait painted.
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| Draiku Aerial Show at the 2016 King Richard's Faire |
It is also a tradition of ours for each child to choose a souvenir to take home from King Richard's Faire each year. Some years, the souvenir hunt was a little painful because my children can be quite indecisive. This year, they each knew exactly what they wanted right away!
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| Monogrammed Medieval Staff Souvenir |
We discovered a wonderful little shop called
Seekers and Settlers! I don't recall seeing it in past years, so perhaps it is new to King Richard's Faire? It carried such charming wooden items, like staves, witches' brooms, magic wands, and more. Our 12 year old son chose a staff for this year's souvenir. When we got home he had the idea to tie a piece of suede cord around the wood near the top for each year he's attended the Faire and intends to bring the staff with him for future visits. We also purchased a magic wand and sleeve for a birthday gift for my daughter's friend (huge
Harry Potter fan). Both the staff and the wand were monogrammed for us free of charge!
By the way, our son (pictured above) is wearing the chainmail bracelet he got for a souvenir during last year's visit to King Richard's Faire.
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| Animated Baby Dragon Puppet Souvenir |
Our mini Jacques Ze Whipper chose a baby dragon puppet from
Imaginarium Galleries. These puppets are controlled by a cable that runs down your sleeve to your hand. The cable is used to control the motion of the dragon's head. This baby dragon is perfect for children. There were much more detailed winged dragons for teens and adults that were extremely impressive to see.
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| Having Our Daughter's Portrait Painted at King Richard's Faire |
For her souvenir, our daughter asked to have her portrait painted. There were sketches offered that would take about 30 minutes, but she opted for the oil painting, which would take about an hour. I was amazed at how well she did sitting still for the artist. After about 40 minutes, he ended up being nice enough to take a photo of her (with his magical medieval tablet) to finish the remainder of the painting, so that she wouldn't need to sit for the whole hour. We just needed to come back to pick up the painting before we left because the paint takes at least 2 full days to dry.
When we returned to pick up the painting, we were extremely pleased with the results. Our daughter was so happy. This might just be the best souvenir we've ever taken home from King Richard's Faire yet! I highly recommend having your or your child's portrait painted, especially if you are in costume.
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| Original Oil Painting Portrait Souvenir from King Richard's Faire |
You can view
more 2016 King Richard's Faire photos on our Facebook page. Visit
kingrichardsfaire.net to learn more about the performers and artisans, view the entertainment schedule, buy tickets, or get directions. The 2016 season runs through October 23rd, so there is plenty of time for you to attend. If your schedule allows, I recommend visiting more than once because it is impossible to see everything there is to offer in just one day.
What would you love to dress up as for your next visit to King Richard's Faire?
Check out our past visits to King Richard's Faire . . .
