A Break With Reality

When I was a senior in high school I took an elective sociology class (which subject I majored in at college).  One of the assignments in the class was for each student to have a "Cultural Experience" and then to report to the class.  I lived in Virginia at the time and came out to Utah to look at schools and audition for scholarships with my trombone.  Did you know I played the trombone for 13 years?  Pretty impressive, huh?

Well, anyway-- I went to a dance at BYU.  This was my cultural experience.  It may not seem very "cultural" to you here in Utah, but a dance at BYU is definitely a different world to non-LDS high school students in Virginia.

That was NOTHING compared to the cultural experience I had today.  I'm not quite sure where to begin.  Perhaps with a picture...

I took the kids to the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire today.

Wow!! And I don't mean that in a good way.  The very real (frighteningly real) jousting was the high point.  More on this a bit later. 

The kids went last year with a fellow home schooling family in our neighborhood and they had a marvelous time.  They were very excited to take me with them this year, but shortly before the festival opened, the location changed due to flooding in the regular place.  Consequently, the festival was smaller and some of the more "educational" aspects weren't there (i.e. the blacksmith, and wool carder).  Instead, it seemed to me to be more akin to a carny-ridden, gathering of people who have completely broken with reality, selling their wares to innocent children.  That's harsh, but so was being subjected to scantily clad 40-year-old dancing gypsy women.

The Roman Gladiator seemed a bit out of place-- uh... weren't they well before the Renaissance and they weren't fantasy--they were real.

This "gentleman" was very cute with Cannon-- talking to him about being a knight-- right before he conned me out of $5 for a sword for Cannon.

Do you see the person with long hair in the kimono with the parasol?  Yeah, that was a man. 
What's up with a kimono at the Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Fair???
I try not to be too judgmental of people.  I appreciate that it takes all kinds to make the world go round, but this was too much for me today.  When I saw children being a part of their gypsy parents' traveling show-- my heart went out to them.  I got lots of heebeegeebees today. 

Back to the jousting.  My kiddos tried to tell me what it was like from last year, but I suppose I just couldn't wrap my mind around how intense it would be.  YIKES!  My mommy-danger-warning-sensors were going bezerk!  Huge charging horses, long lances, flying shattering wood pieces, knights being knocked off horses onto the ground.  What kind of insurance must these people have to have?

Now these were very respectable young people.  This is part of the group of kids that performed Much Ado About Nothing this morning at the Festival.  Clark is on the far left. 
These young people appreciate Shakespeare, but none of them actually think they live in the 16th century.  See that's the big difference.

They can enjoy playing a part---temporarily. 

Shortly after we arrived the kids asked me what I thought of the festival.  I could only answer that it was very interesting.  By the end, I couldn't WAIT to get into my car and get home.  After today, I can see why someone would not like Halloween.  As Elinor said a while back when wondering about the Easter Bunny, "It's fun to believe in what is real."

Amen, Sister.