Canada

This year we decided to start our family vacation with a visit to the Medieval Festival in Brooks. Our good friends visited it last year and were very impressed.They and their children loved it and this summer our family, inspired by their experience, went to Brooks.

We left on August 10th. It was very hot that day. The temperature reached 40-41 Celsius degrees but fortunately, in our car air conditioning worked and it allowed everyone to feel quite comfortable.When we arrived at the hotel and got out of the car, despite the evening time, it was stuffy and hot like in a real sauna. Fortunately, our hotel had a swimming pool and after the street heat and tedious moving it was a real salvation for tired travelers. The next morning, rested and refreshed, we went to the long-awaited Medieval festival!

Frankly speaking, it was not the first such event for our family. In our city, a medieval fair is held regularly every fall. We visited it several times and were generally satisfied with it. At our fair, the main focus is medieval crafts. Blacksmiths with their anvils and bellows demonstrated how in ancient times forged weapons, knives, scissors and needles. Spinners showed how out of the ordinary wool, using conventional spindles, to make thread. Weavers on ancient looms wove simple and rough cloth and sewed shirts. Stone masters right there engaged in the amber, and immediately made them into a simple decoration and so on. We expected to see such magic in Brooks too...

But we had to see something completely different. In Brooks, of course there were also artisans, but they did not tell or show anything. They only sold their products. There were many trade rows, but we did not see any handicraft workshops. The main emphasis in this medieval festival was on fights, battles and tournaments. They were held in three different arenas. Heralds went to the audience sitting in the stands.  They announced the participants, told who they are and where and from what age their armour.  There were one-on-one fights,and they were wall-to-wall. Watching this was very exciting and at the same time disturbing , because they were  rooting for guys and worried about the participants of the battles.

On the biggest arena were real jousting tournaments. Knights in great armor and a powerful great horses prepared for duels.  The Herald introduced each of them and asked to choose a lady. Then he asked the knights to get special signs from their beautiful ladies. And then there was a very funny situation, one of the participants chose a beautiful lady in a little baby but in getting a sign from her, he failed. About the problem he gesticulated eloquently, and urged the audience and Herald to sympathy and leniency. After this provocative beginning,  the actual competition began. The participants demonstrated their skills, performed various tricks with the help of horses and targets and scored points. At the end of the tournament, the knights showed us the real spear fights. They met one-on-one at full gallop and tried to knock each other out of the saddle.

Children also found something to do. The local library offered them to make cardboard shields, plastic swords, crowns, scepters and magic wands. There was a home zoo with hand rabbits, dwarf pig, and sheep. There was also a fantastic poultry house with different birds of prey. You could pet all of the animals. There were different competitions such as tug of war, it was possible to try on real chain mail and helmets.

At the end of the day, we were waiting for a real medieval feast! Fire-roasted whole pigs with a sauce of fried bread, dried meat and fish, simple vegetables and Braga. The feast was a success, as was the whole medieval holiday!  Thank you to our friends for this wonderful idea. Next year, we want to visit this intriguing and atmospheric place again.