Ye Olde Reenactment

by Jeanne chinard ••• I’ve never been a fan of Star Trek Conventions or Civil War reenactments, so when we saw the notice for the 26^th Annual Medieval Fair at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park, my first instinct was to run screaming in the opposite direction. But since being open to other things is one of the things we do, we thought we should give it a chance. (Sans embroidered gown and wimple.) ••• On a crisp, sunny October day the park was magical, and as soon as we walked in we encountered a beautiful white unicorn. We continued down the path, surrounded by a curious collection of jesters, jousters, knights, kings, queens, wizards, merry men and merry women - some dressed in accurate medieval garb and others who were just in a Halloween mood. ••• We expected to see live demonstrations of medieval weaving, weapon making and musical instruments - and we did - but many of the booths were taken up by food and drink, including one for Dunkin Donuts. (I had no idea that the jelly donut originated in the Middle Ages.) At least, Master Bunting’s House of Ye Olde Fried Dough was historically accurate. No, really. ••• We watched an enthusiastic game of Harry Potter’s Quidditch, which has become a wildly popular (and serious) sport for thousands of high school and college students around the world. We also got a chance to mingle with Lord of the Rings devotees, listen to Gregorian Chants and watch a performance of The Canterbury Tales. The highlight for us was listening to the band Karpathos perform haunting Sephardic and Ladino ballads from the 13th & 14th century. That was closely followed by the thrill I got standing six inches away from two fiercely proud falcons. ••• Some of the fair offerings were delightful and authentic, while some, such as the Earl of Sandwich food wraps, were…oh well.  But the children were obviously having great fun, as were most of the adults. ••• And I guess that’s the point. Once I let go of my cynicism, I could see that the festival was fulfilling a basic human need.  Because the truth is, in spite of our abundant cyber-social connections, people still need to meet face to face, in the real, not virtual, world. Finding a group of like-minded people who share your interests and passions and then joining them in a celebration can be truly rewarding. Quirky is fun. Being able to let your inner quirk fly with people you trust, even better.