Shediac — This past weekend was a big one for Shediac, N.B., with the inaugural Renaissance Faire kicking off at the Neptune Drive-in.
Billed as fun two-day event filled with medieval-themed activities for all, the faire seemed promising to the 5,000 guests who made their way to the grounds.
But attendees were surprised to find that instead of jousting, falconry, parades or dancing, what awaited them was not much more than a cramped lineup.
Organizers claim the overall disorganization of the faire was all part of the experience.
“If you want to cosplay as a medieval peasant, that’s the experience you got — long lines for gruel, standing in the hot sun among your poor brethren, competing for something to drink. It was dirty, uncomfortable, stinky and bleak — just like the middle ages,” explained one organizer, who asked to remain anonymous less she be drawn and quartered in the town square.
“It was ‘ye olde shit showe’,” said Kara Burke, who attended with her best friend. “But I definitely felt like a nameless peasant living in squalor, so I’ll give them that.”
After hours in the line to enter the faire, attendee Jason Gorman said that, although he found an archery range, the bows were strung backward, making the activity dangerous.
“You think there wasn’t danger in the middle ages?!” scoffed the organizer, when our reporter mentioned Gorman’s comment. “Your lifespan in those times would have been 30 years, or maybe 40 if you were exceptionally lucky. And knights faced death every day.”
Others claimed that even a cup of lemonade at the event was $11.
“That was just to simulate the poverty of peasants,” the organizer offered. “You could barely scrape together the farthings needed to get a sip of something to quench your thirst after working the fields all day.
“Honestly, it’s like you people don’t even want an authentic experience.”