Are you Hungry, Milady?

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Back to King Richard’s Faire after our little diversion to Bridgewater.

 In actuality the Faire would not have let me take a little side jaunt like that. Unlike a lot of other attractions there is no readmission. You can’t get your hand stamped, leave and come back. I suspect they do that so you can’t leave to find lunch someplace else. As many times as I have been to King Richard’s I have never found much to eat that I enjoy or that’s actually good for you. Now the fudge, fried dough and ice cream are all great but not exactly what you’d like to have for lunch. I’ve tried the “shepherds pie” and the turkey legs in years past. Neither were to my taste. The sausages on a bun aren’t my cup of tea either. I didn’t try the fish and chips but looking at other’s plates, they didn’t look too appealing. Don’t I sound awful fussy.

I finally settled on a slice of pizza and a bottle of water. It didn’t taste too bad but it was expensive. The way it works is that first you stand in line at a kiosk to buy meal tickets.

They are sold in batches of $5.00. Each ticket is worth  50 cents so you get 10 tickets for your $5.00. Then you stand in line at the food vendor’s window to order your food. I swear it’s a psychological ploy but anyway, my slice of Pizza was 14 tickets. That’s $7.00! The bottle of water was 6 tickets which is another $3.00. But since you aren’t using money it’s easy not to think about how much you’re spending. You have this pocketful of tickets and just hand them over.  That’s really my only complaint. I’d prefer to be able to leave for lunch, go someplace to eat what I want to eat and then return…or better still, let you bring in a picnic lunch. But that would be undermining the food vendors.

Next to the food vendors is an area with picnic tables surrounded by rides for the kids and a stage for entertainment. Along with the “kiddie” rides there are midway kinds of shows and games. Instead of throwing ring over a bottle you throw an ax or a knife. That sort of thing.

 There are hay bales for the kids to jump on and many roaming entertainers. Never a dull moment.

Around the lunch hour a parade comes through and winds its way around the vendors and picnic area.

King Richard and his knights are in it and the “Big Puppets” plus any Faire Visitor with a costume can join in.

Wow I didn’t realize I had rambled on so long about food! I had fully intended to get to the Jousting but here I am all out of space.

I guess it will have to wait for tomorrow when I fill you in on the Jack the Whipper too!

Roaming around Bridgewater

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The Town of Bridgewater is a little town in southeastern Massachusetts not that far from my home in Taunton, Ma.  As a neighboring town I’m aware of it and that it’s a college town home to Bridgewater State College. I’ve been told that they have a good photography program and have considered  classes there but not got myself motivated yet.

I bring up the Town of Bridgewater because as I was out and about the other day I ventured into a section of Bridgewater that was all new to me.  My exposure to the town has been the main routes like Rt 24, and Rt 18.

This time after I passed through the center I took South Street out-of-town. It wasn’t long before my surroundings became not suburban but rural. There were farms and cornfields. It was beautiful.

And where there are farms there are …Farm Stands. One that stands out is Peterson’s Farm Fresh Produce.

I stopped in because the display outside was so pretty. It was obvious that someone had taken a lot of time in its presentation.  Another reason to stop was that it was open. I was there around 5 in the afternoon and they are open until 7 pm. That gives anyone time to stop for fresh veggies for dinner on the way home.

And fresh they were. The tomatoes, one of my great weaknesses, looked outstanding. They are a cash (or check) only stand so you want to be sure to bring the folding stuff with you. No debit or credit here.

The folks that run the stand were some of the friendliest people I’ve met. We had a nice long chat even though I wasn’t buying this time (no cash on me). For mascots they had both a cat and a dog, both as friendly as their owners. It was a great stop in my travels. If you’re traveling through Bridgewater it would be worth while to take a side trip down South Street and stop at The Peterson Farm Stand. I know I’ll be going back but with my wallet next time! 🙂

Lions and Tigers and Ligers????

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I wandered around the grounds At King Richard’s Faire to get familiar with the layout working my way back toward the Tournament Field. Right next to the field was the Tiger Stage. I love this show. They have had it every year that I’ve been to King Richard’s Faire and to me it is the highlight. I love the animals.

Since it was the first show of the day it wasn’t too crowded yet and I was able to get a seat fairly close to the stage. I’ve almost always been in the back before  so this was a treat.

The show is put on by a conservation group. They have been featured on all sorts of shows and provide animals for the movies like Dr. Doolittle and Ace Ventura to name just a couple of fairly well known movies. I’ve seen documentaries  about them on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

This year’s show really pushed the conservation angle more than it has in the past. Although I thought it bordered on being “preachy” I happen to agree with what they had to say.

The name of the organization is T.I.G.E.R.S (The Institute of Greatly Endangered  and Rare Species.). They have a web page www.tigerfriends.com and they offer opportunities to get up close and personal with their animals at their facility in Myrtle Beach. www.myrtlebeachsafari.com. I had never heard of this being allowed any place except Tiger Island in Australia so to have a place in the US is awesome!

The show started with film clips on a big screen TV which was very interesting and enjoyable. It centered on a heartwarming story about a 6-year-old orangutan and an old hound dog named Roscoe.

Then out came the parade of cats. Bengal tigers, Royal White Tigers, Snowy White Tigers and a couple of very rare tigers that (shame on me) I forget what they are called.

 You can see the difference in their markings and coat color.

They had a lively little cat that I think was some kind of rare lynx.

It was easy to see why small children are banned from the first 3 rows.

This little cat was really alert and fascinated by any movement from the audience.

Finally the last big cat was introduced.

It was Hercules a world record size cat. He is a Liger. A liger is a hybrid between a Lion and a Tiger. The father is a Lion and the mother a Tiger. If it was the other way around he would have been much smaller and called a tigon. Ligers, unlike many hybrids, are not sterile so Hercules could father a bunch of little ligers.

He is really huge. 900 pounds and eleven feet tall. All the cats have their claws and teeth so must be treated with utmost respect. One swipe with a paw and those handlers would be toast. These are wild animals.

All of these cats  are raised with humans from birth (they are also are well fed) so they have no need to have a human snack, still they have the instincts of a predator so again, small children are not allowed in the front rows where a child’s  quick actions could trigger an attack. You will also see that they are being given a bottle when they are on stage. That is milk and the animals consider it a treat. It keeps their attention centered on the trainers.

The show was narrated by none other than my friend the Falconer.

To raise money for their organization, they had books, stuffed animals and DVD’s for sale after the show. As I was considering the DVD they told me about another option, one I couldn’t refuse. Around to the side of the stage they were bringing out the hawk I’d seen earlier and a European Eagle Owl.

For a fee you could have your picture taken with one of the birds.

It was a hard choice but I decided on the hawk. The Falconer told me it is a Harris’s Hawk. He said it is the only hawk that actually enjoys human company.

As I held out my forearm for the hawk to step on she let out a loud sound similar to a caw. Then hopped on my arm. It was almost like she was saying hello. This was definitely the high point of the day for me. After the picture I was allowed to pet her and she calmly accepted my gentle strokes before the falconer took her back to her post.

I missed most of the Challenge of the Champions that was going on at the Tournament Field but I really didn’t care. This opportunity was well worth it.

Tomorrow’s post will be a little break from King Richard’s Faire but I’ll have the rest of that experience for you next week.

Fair Morn Milady

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The Faire opens at 11:00 . I arrived just as the gates were opening. On the stage outside I saw one of the new additions…bagpipers!

 No mournful wailing for these pipers, the music was lively and the performers even more so as they jumped up and down as if to emphasis what they were playing.

I took my time wandering around outside. I spotted falconer  talking to a group of faire goers. As if on que the bird on his shoulder spread her wings.

 I gasped out “Beautiful” and his reply was “Thanks. The bird’s not bad either.”  Good comeback ! 🙂

Inside the gates it was very shady and dark.

 Just in the door was a young woman with a cage full of rats. The sign on the rats’ cage read Cirque de Sewer. The Cirque de Sewer show was at the “Mud Pit” and she was there to promote it. A lot of people we giving her a wide berth but I thought it was kind of fascinating. There was all this noise and confusion going on around her and the rats seemed to be completely un fazed. There was a little chair in the cage and one of the rats sat there quite calmly.

Only a few steps further 2 entertainers were circling in  a dueling circle.

 Before they got down to serious business they rounded up the kids in the audience to be their “seconds”.

 The costumes of the faire goers rivaled some of the actors.

This section of the grounds has a lot of shops.

 People were renting costumes and souvenir shopping as the made their way over toward the tournament field.

 The first show of the day would be at 12:00. It’s important to get to each of the shows at the tournament field as they tell a story that continues through the day. If you miss one of the shows you won’t fully understand what’s going on in the next show.

I had been stalling by the duels but they were still just warming up  their audience. I decided I’d seen enough of that and began to move on.

King Richard’s Faire

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It’s that time of year again or rather it’s been that time of year for a few weeks. Every fall for the last 30 years Carver, Ma has been the place to go for Knights and Pages, Royal Maidens and Wenches, Acrobats and Beggars, Kings and Queens.

So…..Hear Ye, Hear Ye

All ye Lords and Ladies of the Realm.

We are about to embark on a journey to the medieval past where knights are jousting, beggars begging and the Court Jester entertains us all!

King Richard’s Faire started running weekends September 3rd and as I work weekends I usually miss it. But I do get one chance and that is on the long holiday weekend of Columbus Day. The Faire is open on that Monday. I have been several times over the years and always enjoy myself but I’m not as dedicated as some folks are.

The Renaissance themes are popular all over the country. In Boston we have a year round restaurant called Medieval Manor. If you enjoy eating in a rowdy atmosphere with your hands you can have a great time watching the actors and performers…just don’t leave for the restroom without asking the King for permission…just a hint.

 Almost every place I’ve visited has a Faire or a Restaurant or some other attraction. It seems that jousting and medieval hijinks doth capture the mind of the masses. 🙂

Florida has one that I’ve been curious about for quite awhile called Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, Orlando Castle. Maybe I should include that on my next trip to Orlando. But today I am still in the northeast, in Massachusetts, just down the road from Carver, Ma.

Me thinks I’m about ready to step into my time machine and go back….back….back…….

Stay tuned for the next installment of Back to the Dark Ages