Sterling Renaissance Festival 2010

Anyone who knows me knows that I was kind of born in the wrong century. I'm all about swords, corsets and all that medieval kind of stuff. (extra points for Celtic stuff!) So going to a Renaissance Faire is a field day for me!

My family all went to the Sterling Renaissance Festival on Saturday. It's an hour from where my parents live (and 2 hours from where I live). My brother and his girlfriend were coming into town from Staten Island and it was something fun and special we could all do together. Since I've been married, I've tried to go to a Ren Fest at least once a year. Last year we didn't go to one because we bought a house and were trying to conserve money (it's usually at least $25 per ticket, plus money you pay for food and souvenirs). Two years ago, we went to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire in Ohio with my husband's family instead of going to Sterling. So I was glad we had a good excuse to go to Sterling this year. It was the very first Ren Fest I went to, in 1993 when I was 11 years old and we lived near Sterling, and holds a special place in my heart. And this year was the first time since '93 that my family has all been there together.


I love the cast and performers there! We had our pictures taken with Don Juan and Miguel, who have been doing the Festival for 27 years. They are great performers and funny guys, but they are also the sweetest and most humble guys as well and are always appreciative of their fans. When you see their shows every year, you practically know the routines by heart, but they are always still funny!

A downfall of the Sterling Ren Fest is that it is usually SO HOT (due to it being held during the summer months). I knew it was going to be hot, so I didn't wear my green velvet cloak (that CJ bought me on our honeymoon). If you go, make sure to bring adequate drinking water, or you'll end up having to pay $2.50 for small 8 oz bottle of water that you guzzle down in 5 minutes! My family brought water and soda in from the cooler that was in Dad's truck, and we still ended up having to buy a few bottles.

There are Renaissance/Medieval Faires all over the country at all different times of the year. At one point, CJ and I wanted to try to go to a different one each year. We went to one in Pennsylvania for our honeymoon, one in Virginia for our first anniversary, and one in Ohio for our 2nd anniversary. These have all been summer Faires...but I'd like to try to find one somewhere that is scheduled in the fall so we can enjoy the faire in a cooler temperature.