Some Further Notes about the Kerrville Renaissance Festival

𝔗his past weekend, I once again attended the Kerrville Renaissance Festival--about which I've written before, here and here. (It can still be found on Twitter and Facebook, as well as elsewhere.) This year, I did not win free tickets; instead, the event was opened for all for free, so long as they came in wearing masks; as might be expected, there was some negative comment about the mask requirement, with at least one person I saw writing that "If I have to wear a mask, I'm not coming," but most of the people I saw on site were masked unless they were eating or performing, and the performers made a point of keeping their distance from the audience.

Coming to the entry on 30 January 2021.
The photo, like all of them in this post, is mine.

When we arrived--once again, my wife and daughter went with me--the weather was a bit chilly and quite overcast, with drizzle falling; it's a welcome thing in the Texas Hill Country in most any season, and it might have contributed to the relatively sparse attendance that had preceded us into the event. Soon enough, though, the clouds began clearing off, the drizzle stopped, and the sun came out to warm the area--something that received some comment in one of the performances we watched.

The Bedouin Dancers taking the stage.

The camp at some distance.

Some tabled discussion.

There were a couple of those, as might well be expected. Once again, we watched the Bedouin Dancers of San Antonio perform, with several of the faces familiar when they peaked out from behind their masks and the dances still commanding attention. We also looked at the mock-up Viking encampment that stood not far away from where the dancers performed, something with which my daughter found herself fascinated. It was, as most such things are, partial, with some things that would be expected of an encampment, even one meant to be up only for a few days, absent (some might say happily for some things, admittedly, and I doubt that the reenactors stayed overnight in their tents). Such events, as I have commented in the past, do not capture the "real," although they celebrate things and allow for release and enjoyment that are welcome in all times--but perhaps especially in times of strain. And I will note, too, that there seemed to be an effort made by the reenactors to be more inclusive in their company--as well as less of the overt racism I saw and heard last year, which I have to count to the good. The coded / covert / dog-whistly stuff seemed less in evidence, as well, though whether that was out of the increasing recognition that populations of earlier times were not so homogenous as has been traditionally believed or out of some other concern (perhaps worry about blowback) is unclear to me; admittedly, I'll take either explanation, if not both.

Berds! I lurve berds!

Sumer is icumen in...

The show that really caught my attention, however, was that of Ermagerd Bard, whom we got to watch when we stopped for a bit to eat (teriyaki jerky and popcorn served for a snack, both of which are so authentically early modern--almost as much as the smoked turkey legs available not far off). The performer, who polled the audience before beginning and tailored her show to suit, seemed to me to have done her homework, working not only to get the seeming of medievalism, but to ground her performance in what is known--and in both amateur and professional work--of the medieval; the scholar that remains in me appreciated her showing her work in even so casual a manner as noting some scholarly disagreement...which she did after leading the audience in a round over "Sumer Is Icumen In." (I even sang along, and I managed not to get pelted with...anything, really.) It was a fit choice, given the aforementioned shift in weather, and the performer commented upon it as she explained for the lay audience what the lyrics of the song mean, both denotatively and connotatively. The audience seemed quite interested in the lewd overtones of the work, with several I overheard noting their surprise that such things would have been in a song several centuries old. (Indeed, one or two, young children in tow, got up fairly quickly. I doubt it was in response to a sudden need for a diaper change, although I suppose it could have been.) And although I already knew about it, I was pleased to hear it explained well; I was happy to have a bit of thought go into things, more than I usually get to see when I attend such festivals.

We did a few other things at the festival, mostly walking around and looking about. We took a carriage ride that was pretty nice, and I was tickled that several of the folks manning show and craft booths noted "Oi! Must be rich people, getting to ride in a carriage and all!" It seemed to me that several more of the folks working--and there were fewer; the event was spare in both attendance and staffing, although it was still quite fun--were in on the joke than in past years. I hope that that part of it is a tendency that continues; I'll look for it next year, I hope, when there might be a bit more "normal" an event to attend.

No, I wasn't in a contest...though I'd've won...