Ohio Renaissance Festival
Our first visit to the Ohio Renaissance Festival in many years was terrific. We had an amazing time. The weather was dry and warm outside, but not too hot where people weren’t wearing their period costumes. We chose Sunday to visit with the hopes that it meant less traffic and attendance and we were rewarded. I believe the ORF organizers began limiting the amount of tickets sold as it was getting kind of nuts to get up here, and if so, today was perfectly managed. The last time we visited ORF was before the shutdown and I’m not sure my youngest was even born yet so it was almost a new experience for us. There were many upgrades and new things to see, and of course lots of shows to enjoy (and some classic ones).
There is a lot to note for this visit. First off we met some really kind people and struck up a lot of conversations with strangers who were more than happy to talk. The vendors and street performers were also really friendly and happy to take pictures with us. They were really interested in improving the little one’s experience and created a mini-game where children could get a little trinket for telling a joke, a story, or doing a dance (just look for the wooden X markers). My boys loved it. We also saw some fun shows, including the pirate stunt show and Tony the Tosser (juggler), the latter which blew my oldest son’s mind. Of course we could not leave without fully arming ourselves with sword and shield. We found some fun wooden examples at a fun shop there where they gave the boys a “huzzah” when they held their swords up in the air.
The food was decent, I of course purchased a smoked turkey leg, a longstanding tradition for me. We ate our lunch while we watched a performer run and jump on the “ring of death”, which was like a trapeze type act. We saw most of the festival grounds and noted there was much more in terms of eateries and stores. It seems to me they’ve expanded over the years with some additional variety. I remember some of the shows from the past but I am not sure I’ve seen the melee event. This is type of hand to hand combat event where guys dressed up in armor smack each other with swords, then chairs and then frying pans. My sons thought that entire event was awesome and wanted to chat the competitors up afterwards. They “knights” were tickled to see these little guys come up to them and give them props for their battle in the ring.
We want to come back to ORF for Time Traveler’s weekend – weather permitting. I purchased a shirt for this event (funny enough someone came up to me in the parking lot and we joked about how we just bought them from Amazon the day before). I did purchase some handsome leather braces for my arms to start rounding out my costume. I hope to develop a deeper character set up for when we visit in the future. I think Pirate’s Weekend is our new favorite though with Highland Games right after it. Good times.
