Knights, pirates and jesters, oh my!... Upon entry to the Robertsdale Ren Faire on November 23-24, greeters gave attendees red stickers to place on themselves to ensure entry if they decided to leave. The Ren Faire kept its doors open from 10 AM to 6 PM, with a schedule full of events on various stages, ranging from the Joust Stage to 18+ Castle/Tavern Stage.

Knights, pirates and jesters, oh my!… Upon entry to the Robertsdale Ren Faire on November 23-24, greeters gave attendees red stickers to place on themselves to ensure entry if they decided to leave. The Ren Faire kept its doors open from 10 AM to 6 PM, with a schedule full of events on various stages, ranging from the Joust Stage to 18+ Castle/Tavern Stage.

Robertsdale hosts Gulf Coast Renaissance Faire

Byline photo of Jillian Surla

Jillian Surla, editor-in-chief

December 2, 2024

Prize time… Attendee Isabella Janke, dressed in western attire, writes down her information on a raffle ticket. Once participants put their stickers on themselves, greeters gave them a slip of paper and instructed them to write their names and numbers, then place the paper into a bucket held by a fake skeleton next to the entrance. (Jillian Surla)

What a surprise!… Vendor of handmade wands, daggers and more speaks to an attendee she met at another Ren Faire. Like many others at the event, she wore a costume and spoke with a fantastical accent. “Everyone was dressed up and really into it,” Janke said. “Supporting the mall businesses there and buying handmade stuff was also selling the experience as a whole.” (Jillian Surla)

More goodies… Ren Faire guest haggles the price for an item at a handmade chainmail accessory booth. The booth ranged from colorful bracelets to full chainmail shirts. (Jillian Surla)

Bullseye!… Attendee Lillian Walley learns how to shoot a bow from a weapons instructor. Despite missing two of her three shots, she left with her head held high from being able to experience medieval archery. “It was really awesome to get the opportunity to shoot a bow,” Walley said. “The woman running the station was very helpful and patient.” (Jillian Surla)

Ka-Kaw… Master Falconer Lord Michael of Clan Morrison speaks to attendees and lets them take pictures with his bird. Falconry, or the ancient art of hunting small game using birds of prey, intrigued onlookers and inspired them to ask questions. (Jillian Surla)

Maddest of hatters… Guests look at the assortment of hats from a handmade felts and pelts booth. They laughed with each other while they tried on the mushroom and flower hats, then tested the feel of the animal tails. (Jillian Surla)

En-guard!… Attendees search among the pins and weapons at the weaponry shop. Two picked up swords and fought, one eventually slashed the other, bemusedly watching as her friend monologues until her eventual death.

Hit the mark… An entertainer instructs Janke to throw a flip flop at “Bad Mouthing Brad,” or the only male mannequin head out of the four he set out for participants to hit. To intrigue onlookers, he appealed to people’s experiences of their mothers throwing random objects at them as punishment, then said that the game would act as some form of revenge.

It’s getting hot… Smelters perform for onlookers, showing them how metal objects are forged while making quick-witted jokes. Though they succeeded in most creations, they said one particular object flopped over incorrectly and formed a horseshoe instead of a dagger. (Jillian Surla)

The Grinch stole Ren Faire… Attendees take pictures with the Grinch of Santa Rosa County, one of the many random unorthodox characters that made an appearance at the Ren Faire. Attendees enjoyed moments with the Grinch, Shrek, Gori the Gorilla, Guts from Berserk, the Lucky Dragon and more. (Jillian Surla)

Kanga-who?… The Ren Faire offered kangaroo encounters, camel rides and clydesdale horse rides. For a fee, attendees could hold and pet the joey for as long as they wanted, granted no one else lined up. “I sat with that kangaroo for nearly 15 minutes,” Janke said. “Not sure there were camels in Camelot, though….” (Jillian Surla)

Let there be fire!… The Exodus Fire Show captures the audience’s attention, swinging fiery blades and spears at each other in a dance. To ensure safety, Faire organizers placed orange cones around the show and made certain no one crossed them. (Jillian Surla)

It’s horseplay… Swedish and English jousters perform a show for the stands during the Knights ERRANT Jousting show, and after a few rounds, broken lances and one unfair simulated fistfight Sweden takes the win. Throughout the entire event, laughter and cheers erupted from the attendees, rooting for their favorite jouster. “The Ren Faire was really cool,” Walley said. “Everyone had so much fun. The best part was the joust—the actors were fantastic. It was great to see everybody dressed up and enjoying that performance.” (Jillian Surla)