Medieval Faire
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128824)
Gainesville, Florida
February 3, 2016 7:39pm CST
Wow! It's been a busy week for me, and as a result I haven't been on here much since the weekend! But, I had a fun weekend at the medieval faire, and am just now getting around to writing about it!
The event is called the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire, and this year is the 30th year of the event! The name Hoggetowne comes from an old nickname for Gainesville, which hundreds of years ago was affectionately called Hogtown.
Anyway, the medieval faire is one of the largest and best attended medieval fairs east of the Mississippi River, with about 50,000 attendees, second only to our Downtown Arts Festival, which draws more than 100,000 attendees.
Some of the highlights of the fair including jousting, a giant living chess board, birds of prey shows, hand-to-hand combat demos, and human-powered rides, not to mention hundreds of food vendors and merchandise vendors. The event organizers try to keep the theme as authentic as possible, which is why the rides are human-powered and not electrical powered! It definitely shows the ingenuity of the vendors who host the rides!
My favorite event is jousting, because let's face it...those knights on the horses are trying to impale each other with their jousting poles! lol All kidding aside, the brave souls who volunteer to participate in jousting have to be hurtin' pups at the end of the day, because there just is no way to fake an armored knight on a fully galloping horse charging directly at you with a very long wooden pole that he's try to knock you off your horse with!
Have you ever been to a medieval faire? Do you like them? What are your favorite experiences?
13 people like this
15 responses
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
10 Jan 18
@moffittjc Never been to one! 
But I would LOVE to go. The Medieval time is one of my favourite eras. I would totally dress up for that....well if everyone else was. haha I don't want to draw attention to myself.
But I would LOVE to go. The Medieval time is one of my favourite eras. I would totally dress up for that....well if everyone else was. haha I don't want to draw attention to myself.1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 18
Trust me...EVERYONE is dressed up in medieval costumes and outfits. And many of the women use the event as an opportunity to display the goods, if you know what I mean!
Hmmm....we have our medieval fair coming up in three more weeks. Maybe I should take some photos and show you what I'm talking about! lol
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
10 Jan 18
@moffittjc lol yeah I got ya. Women use a lot of events to do so. Even Halloween isn't scary anymore because of them. 
I would LOVE to see them! Only if you want to then that would be awesome.
I would LOVE to see them! Only if you want to then that would be awesome.1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
11 Jan 18
@moffittjc I feel like I have seen this photo before. I remember you showing me a photo of you in a group at this event. I will still try look at it though. 
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9218)
• Austin, Texas
10 Jun 17
Never seen a live jousting event. That must be exciting. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jun 17
They are pretty fun to watch. And there's nothing fake about them either, other than the wooden jousting poles are designed to splinter and break upon direct impact, so as not to impale and kill the jouster. But that's also what makes it fun watching (and knowing when there has been a direct hit) when you see the jousting pole shatter into a thousand pieces.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
They are very fun to attend! Two big reasons I like to go are: 1) it's different from your typical fair or special event; and 2) the people-watching opportunities are out of this world! I think people wait all year just for the chance to dress up in the most outlandish medieval costumes they can find! There are definitely some pretty interesting characters.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
4 Feb 16
I've never been to the Medieval Fair but my son in law is a huge fan. He usually asks for tickets for his birthday
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
4 Feb 16
I love the Renaissance Fair we have here. I hope I can go this year with my fiance, my mother, and her boyfriend.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Feb 16
A town not far from here has a medieval fair every year. As far as I know they don't have rides as it's not a huge town. I would love to see the jousting.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
I just can't get enough of the jousting! I go to the medieval faire every year, and every year I spend the majority of my time watching the jousting! It just never gets old for me! I could watch it over and over and over again and never get tired of it!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Feb 16
@moffittjc In the Vienna Museum of Warfare (I think that's the name) there are examples of knights' armour including a bit sausage affair which sat over the horses neck and down the shoulders to help protect it from blows. All types of fancy footwear for the knights too.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
@JudyEv That's a really nice picture! I love looking at all the different types of armor that was worn in medieval times, it is just so fascinating to me!
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
7 Feb 16
Sadly I have never been to one! However, I would so enjoy going to one. I love medieval times.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
I think medieval fairs are one of those things where either you love them or you hate them! It's really weird, but there are a lot of people out there that just would rather not have anything to with them at all. I happen to love them. It's a completely different breed of people who participate and attend them, but to me that's part of what attracts me to such events.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
I love going to events like this for the entertainment value, and to some extent, to see the period costumes. But, I've noticed that "period costumes" is a very loose term, as many people end up dressing up in whatever they feel like and calling it "medieval dress," whether accurate or not. People are just having fun, so it's not really a big deal as to whether their costumes are historically accurate or not!
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
4 Feb 16
I have been to a renaissance festival type thing. I enjoyed the food and the wares for sell. I wouldn't mind going to another but haven't had the chance to,. Perhaps I will be able to attend this spring.
I imagine the jousters were not just sore because of the weapons but because of the heavy armor they have to wear to protect themselves.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
It's funny watching them try to move or walk around with their full-body armor on. I can only imagine how tough it was in the actual medieval times for knights to have to go into battle carrying so much weight on their bodies!
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
4 Feb 16
@moffittjc I watched a video once of a man putting on armor and riding a horse. It didn't seem a very easy task at all. So many layers to put on to protect yourself and I feel for the poor horse who had to carry all that extra weight.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
@ScribbledAdNauseum When I was watching the jousting events this past weekend, I noticed that every knight had two helpers assigned to him for preparation at the beginning, and dismounting after the event...one to hold the horse steady and one to help remove all the armor!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
We have a website for our faire? Wow, I need to pay more attention to my own community! hahaha
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
4 Feb 16
@moffittjc Yes, you have a website and it's well done too.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
@LadyDuck Apparently I don't pay much attention at work! The website is produced by my own department! I was speaking to our marketing division on Friday, and we have five different websites and 12 social media sites! Yikes! That's a lot to manage!
1 person likes this
@IvySaysHi (4603)
• United States
5 Feb 16
I would like to go to one of those events it sounds soo fun. The closest I have come is our annual Celtic Fest which if you haven't guessed is more about Celtic culture.
@IvySaysHi (4603)
• United States
6 Feb 16
@moffittjc I have only been once so I wouldn't know. They do have competitions of like log tossing and other things like that
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Feb 16
@IvySaysHi That sounds a little like the Scottish Highlands Games! I'm sure they are very similar in some respects, and very different in other respects. Ireland and Scotland are adjacent to each other, so I'm sure there is some crossover into each of their various festivals and events!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
Would the Celtic Fest be anything similar to the Scottish Highland Games? I've been to Highland Games before, but never to a Celtic Fest!
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
4 Feb 16
Apologies for getting ratty but when did American English invent the ludicrous spelling 'faire'? It should be fair or if you're being really pretentious 'fayre' but 'faire' only exists as the French verb to do. (I've been having this argument with an American friend whose book I'm currently editing so you just pushed a hot button when I saw your title).
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
I have no idea why they spell the word the way they do. It's probably a case of ignorance 39 years ago when they first came up with the name! During the medieval faire is the only time I see the word spelled that way. Otherwise, we use "fair" for any other event names.
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
4 Feb 16
@moffittjc That's a relief! I think it's just a new type or pretention. In the UK people put Fayre instead of Fair if they're trying to be fancy but Faire is just a bit daft.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6406)
•
4 Feb 16
i really enjoy them. we've went twice. i went once in college with my girlfriend and our moms. and i took my kids to one in 2012. around here, the one we have is quite expensive. the tickets are high enough (my friend gave us free ones!) but then once you get inside, EVERYTHING costs money. so we had fun, but we didn't have any extra money to spend on stuff. we did dress up that year. It was so neat.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
I get in free since my department puts on the event, but for the general public it is $17 for the entry ticket. And like you said, once you're inside, you have to pay money for every thing you do! In the past, when my kids were little, I easily spent $500 on the three of us at the medieval fair!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
@jillybean1222 Yeah, I know what you mean. Back then I couldn't afford it either, but like a fool I just charged everything to my credit cards. Was definitely living above my means back then!
@jillybean1222 (6406)
•
6 Feb 16
@moffittjc yes, it's crazy. i felt bad when i took my kids because we were pretty broke and didn't have the money for all the goodies. they still had fun though.
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
4 Feb 16
Wow, I would love to go to one. I bet it was lots of fun. My parents took me to one when I was younger but I haven't been to one since.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Feb 16
@whiteream I'm going back on Sunday with a couple of my friends who are in town for a reunion. None of them have ever been to a medieval fair before!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
Thankfully, the event lasts for two weekends, so this weekend coming up will be the second weekend of the faire. I plan on going back and enjoying it one more time! This time I'll spend more time walking around and checking out all the vendors. They have the most interesting things for sale at their booths.
1 person likes this
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
4 Feb 16
@moffittjc That sounds like fun. I hope, you have I good time. I know, you will.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Feb 16
They are fun, and it's nice that they are much different from your average fair that you go to. Just an entirely different genre that most people aren't exposed to much. I think that makes it much more interesting!
1 person likes this
