That was my first reaction as we -- Sir Ryleh the Wanderer, Sir Aaron (AKA Dr. John Dee) and Lady Rhiannon (AKA Karusie, the Molting Faerie) -- pulled up to Landreth Park in Joplin, Missouri on Friday evening. Even tho they were still setting up, by the sheer number of merchant tents and activity booths scattered across the hillside, we could tell that the new Joplin Renaissance Festival had a LOT to offer the wandering playtrons already. By Saturday morning it was even better!

For us, Joplin was an easy three-hour drive from our home base in Arkansas. We arrived in plenty of time to locate the faire, find the campground, set up our tents, eat a quick meal and even saunter around the grounds a bit before dark. The campground was AWESOME -- and not just because it was free. From Campground Hill we not only had a wonderful view of the festival itself but it was only a short walk over to the Main Gate in the morning. The downside: we were exposed to the wind day and night which truly comes "sweeping down the Plains" out of Oklahoma -- and regretfully doesn't stop there. Worse, it was decidely chill Friday evening. Capt'n Cutter, we understand, had to break out hand warmers and tuck his little Conure, Jaq, into his armpit just to survive the night!

Saturday was the best day at Joplin. The day started out cool but was mostly clear with a moderate breeze, warming up nicely into the afternoon. In other words, nearly perfect faire weather. It certainly brought out a large crowd for the first day! Hardly had the faire opened, however, when the strains of "The Star-Spangled Banner" came wafting across the grounds from the baseball game starting up across the road. Patrons and Rennies stood respectfully at attention until the Nathional Anthem ended, then raised a resounding "HUZZAH!" in response. Interestingly enough, Ryleh spotted several of the baseball players and their families at the festival after the game. Apparently they were curious enough about all the colorful tents and bustling activity to walk across the road and investigate. Ryleh also noted a couple of biker couples in full leathers -- obviously part of the big biker convention also being held in Joplin that weekend -- touring the faire. That certainly provided considerable variety in the usual RenFaire patron mix.

There was a LOT for them to see and do as, quite literally, there was something for everyone there at Joplin. Ryleh for one was truly impressed by the sheer number and variety of faire merchants, which's most unusual for a first-time faire. The selection of swords, garb, jewelry, pottery, clothing accessories, handcrafts and more was simply outstanding. There were also demonstrations of glassblowing, handthrown pottery and blacksmithing, camel rides and falconry, the Vyking Camp, Brambles School of Defense, Barbarian Battles and the Landsknecht besides a long list of wonderful entertainers already well-known on the Midwest Renaissance Circuit: Brother Donald the Storyteller, the Bedlam Bards, and The Limey Birds among others, joined by such familiar faces as Queen's Gambit, The Lord Mayor's Company and Red Moon Tribe. But there was more!

There were new groups unfamiliar to Ryleh like the Sonic Sidhe Tribe, Howl-O and a band of singing pirates whose name escapes me right now. On top of which, the Royal Court was actively engaged all day in Knighting Ceremonies, Parades, courtly dancing, receptions and more -- in addition to an ongoing convoluted storyline worthy of Shakespeare played out with the festival as background. There was even a local Faerie Court represented. WHEW! For Ryleh it was like total Renaissance sensory overload: there was just so much going on, he couldn't decide where to begin so he wound up just wandering around aimlessly, taking pictures whenever anything caught his fancy.

Fortunately for him, Sir Aaron and Lady Rhiannon (by then accompanied by her Rennish suitor, Matt AKA "The Scottish Ratcatcher") had loftier goals: visiting all the merchant booths and, for Sir Aaron and Matt, pummeling each other soundly with boffer swords over at the Barbarian Battles activity area. They enjoyed the "swordfighting" so much, in fact, that they even entered the daily tournament sponsored by Barbarian Battles. Matt, alas, was eliminated in the first round on Saturday, but Sir Aaron managed to fight his way into second place that day. But not without injury, however: a blow across his back raised a two-inch-long welt still visible on Monday evening, while one of the Valkyries painfully reminded him of the necessity of wearing a cup into combat. Not satisfied with only two injuries, however, Sir Aaron entered the tournament again on Sunday, where he took a blow to the knee which left him limping afterwards. Despite such punishment, he again took second place that day. A number of videos showing the action at Barbarian Battles on both days can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

Alas, Saturday ended all too quickly! But having a better idea now of everything that Joplin had to offer, Ryleh was really looking forward to faire on Sunday. The weather, unfortunately, had other ideas. As the sun set on Saturday evening, the wind died away but the night remained comfortably cool. Somewhere between 2am and 3am, however, the wind started back up -- and soon turned into a howling gale. If Sir Aaron and Matt hadn't been kept awake by my snoring, they certainly didn't get any sleep over the wild flapping of our tent walls after that. In fact, Ryleh was somewhat concerned over Lady Rhiannon's safety. Not only was she sleeping alone but since she is quite petite and very much on the light side, he was afraid the wind just might pick her up -- tent and all! -- and sweep her off to some far, distant country. He could just imagine her waking up under the towering walls of an emerald city and saying: "I don't think I'm in Missouri any more!"

Fortunately, Ryleh had driven the tent pegs deep, so neither tent became airborne that weekend. However, the temperature dropped swiftly to a sub-Arctic level -- and then it began to rain. This was not good news for Joplin. It was even worse for Ryleh: the combination of galeforce winds and brutal cold literally drew the energy out of him that day. He managed to make faire on Sunday morning and even last an hour there, thanks to a hot cup of chocolate supplied by the Lions Club of Joplin. But after an hour in the foul weather, with few windbreaks, little shelter and the prospect of several more hours of unrelenting wind and cold, Ryleh had no recourse but to head back to camp and seek comfort in the warmth of his sleeping bag.

The good ffolke of the Joplin Renaissance Festival proved hardier than Ryleh, as did Sir Aaron, Lady Rhi and Matt. The show did go on: indeed, the gate was surprising considering the weather conditions on Sunday. Fortunately, the day did warm up as the rains ceased and the clouds broke up toward afternoon; even Ryleh managed to regain enough energy to break camp before the Last Huzzah, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y. Alas, nothing can be done about the weather. Had it only been as pleasant on Sunday as Saturday proved to be, methinks that the Joplin Renaissance Faire would've seen just as many patrons if not more that day. As it was, unofficial estimates of the weekend gate ran 15,000 patrons on Saturday, with another 6,000 on Sunday. For the only weekend of a first-time tent faire, 21,000 festivalgoers is a remarkable achievement!

Instrooth, everyone in Ryleh's party had a right wonderful time at Joplin: there were old faces and new, rare entertainments, delightful music and a most friendly atmosphere which we all enjoyed all weekend long. Needless to say, the Joplin Renaissance Festival has definitely made our list of "must see" faires next year. Until then: HUZZAH!

Standard Disclaimer: This webpage is strictly an *Unofficial* look at the Joplin Renaissance Festival held at Landreth Park in Joplin, Missouri. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Joplin Renaissance Festival (contact bruce@joplinrenfestival.com for more information; Phone (417) 483-1849; home page http://www.joplinrenfestival.com/) and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are copyright ©2000-2008 by George Laking.