The 32nd Annual Medieval Faire

This weekend, Norman, Oklahoma, hosts the 32dnd Annual Medieval Faire. I believe this is the fourth year I've gone, and I always enjoy it immensely. As has also been the case the last four years, it falls on a weekend my daughter is spending with me, so I got to take her with me. Now I grew up down in Houston, where we made the annual pilgrimage to the Texas Renaissance Festival. They have a permanent site outside of Plantersville, Texas, several times the size of Reeves Park down in Norman, and run every weekend from early October through late November. They describe themselves as "one of the nation's largest, most acclaimed renaissance theme parks." So a little single-weekend faire in an Oklahoma college town had pretty big shoes to fill. It fills them pretty darn well, I must say. The first year, I was expecting this tiny little thing, but every year I walk several miles, wandering the park checking out all the great attractions. This year We started off by arriving as soon as they opened up and making a beeline for the shop selling bottles of most excellent root beer. I bought a half-gallon growler there a while back, and they refill it for a mere four dollars. Brianna and I drank off our first refill by noon, and drank off about half the second before coming home. After that, Dustin and Jess arrived to show their almost-two-year-old the sights, so we headed back to the front gate to meet with them. We wandered aimlessly through the park, stopping for elephant, pony, and camel rides, and to play on the playground. They headed out a little before noon, and Brianna and I grabbed some lunch and headed back into the crowds to go visit the mermaids. Before we could get there, though, Jess and James arrived with Jen and Bonnie, so we went back to meet them at the front. One of Jen's friends was performing with a belly dancing group, so we headed over to watch their show. After everyone else got some food, we walked around a bit, then went to take in a show by The Bilge Pumps. It turned out they were filming for their next DVD and had secured a double-length timeslot on the stage. And they were definitely at the top of their game. The audience participation was huge, and I loved having enough of their songs memorized to sing along. I snagged their latest CD while we were there (it's ripping on my other machine right now). Chad and Lizzi arrived shortly after that. We had a great time wandering around ant taking in the various sights, stopping in the occasional shops, and so on. I scored a package of microwave pork rinds to feed my inner redneck (and Brianna's too). Brianna got her mermaid visit, and we all took in a storyteller's show before it was finally time to head out.