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“Once a
king always a king, but once a knight is never enough”- such humor
abounds at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. This event is held for two
months every summer in the small town of Larkspur, Colorado; and over
the years it has attracted more and more visitors and vendors.
The atmosphere at the Renaissance Festival is fun and absolutely
medieval. There are princesses, fortune tellers, belly dancers,
spinsters and knights- and most the time it is hard to tell if they are
getting paid to be there or if they are just paying customers acting out
their fantasies. There are several authentic stages set-up which house
acts such as Puke and Snot (a comedic duo), magicians, or sword
fighters. The shops are all outdoors and they sell items like dragons
teeth, Fairy wings, fantastic pottery pieces and gorgeous jewelry- all,
of course, sold by costumed and often time vivacious sales people. For
the darker side of things, there is a castle showcasing actual torture
devices used on criminals at the time.
Of course, the real reason to come to the festival is for the food. The
best turkey legs are sold here; as are creations like Italian ice,
spinach pies, steak on a stick and artichokes in a butter sauce. The
food vendors yell out their goods in medieval accents as you pass by,
and most the time you have to stop just to see if you have enough room
to ingest one more thing.
For children there are rides (actually hand-cranked, not machine), a
petting zoo, princess dresses to buy and dragons to pet. This is
definitely a family-friendly environment, but not to the point of
annoyance. Teenagers, young couples and grandparents all enjoy being
transported back in time.
By the end of your day here your feet are black from the dirt you have
been walking in, you really hope one of those good looking knights will
come rescue you, and the Renaissance seems like a fantastic era of
history full of whimsy, character, great goods and even better food-
What more could a wench, a princess or even a pirate ask for?
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