Elite Experience – Game Of Elites @ Renaissance Festival

Who said that Unilocal is all about food. No way Jose!!! Unilocal and team give us the opportunity to join the Renaissance Fest and what a great time we wife and I. Between the shows and obviously the food was a very pleasant experience. Our favorite part was the live jousting this one of the things that I been wanted to see for a while. The customs and the food were just crazy amazing my favorites were the corn and the turkey leg just to say a few things we eat lol. Thanks Blue and team to always think out of the box and we cant wait till next year

We’ve been wanting to go to this event for quite a while, so today was the day, thanks to Unilocal.Although the Renaissance has never been my favorite period in history, the festivals we’ve attended before were a great diversion. I’ve been wanting to see how this one stacked up against the CO festival that we attended for so many years.
Needless to say, there were a lot of similarities. It was fun to see all the costumes and the different entertainment features. Most of them were the same as we had seen before. You’ve really go to give credit to the actors for being able to survive in those hot costumes and keep the image of the festival going with their amazing command of archaic English! I did, however, miss Dead Bob from the Larkspur festival. I’d try to explain, but he’s just one of those «had to be there» things.
Naturally, we go pretty much everywhere for the food. I tried a meat pie, which had pretty good flavor but was dry and lacked salt. The doughnuts, however, were a different story. The mini doughnuts were good (we had the pumpkin) but the Argentine doughnuts from a little booth way in the back were amazing. Fresh from the cooker, they were doused in what they called honey. Actually it was sorghum (you can’t fool a girl with a southern heritage), but it was sooo much better than honey. I could have just stayed there and eaten all afternoon. The biggest «miss» from fairs of olde, were the popovers, hot out of the big black oven. I really wanted to try the «liquor on a stick», but by the time we were ready for it, we couldn’t find the wandering vendor.
Overall, it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. :)

Thought I’d never go to one of these, but a Game of Thrones theme and complimentary tickets is one way to buy me in. My first renaissance festival and I certainly enjoyed my time. It’s really hard to believe people dress up in these layered and heavy costumes with the sun beating down on them, but I thank them because it made my experience enjoyable.
First show we saw was Broon and he kicked off our day with laughs. He was more of an adult humor comedian than a magician. Still, I liked how he got the kids involved and all around was a good show for both young and old. Also saw a bit of the Washing Well Wenches, another funny show, but I was definitely glad I wasn’t any if the men on the stage getting violated by the wenches. The last show we caught was the Mud Show which was just okay, not as funny as I was hoping but very messy.
An afternoon here can get pretty expensive if your not careful. The shows are free but they expect you to tip afterwards. Food and drinks are plentiful but the price for questionable food handling might not be worth it. All other activities charged something.
A fun afternoon overall, and a great first experience that I won’t forget. Last but not least I leave you with this:
«PICKLE PICKLE PICKLE»

Hear ye, hear ye!
Thank thee mighty Lord Blue for gifting thou Unilocal community with the wondrous gift of free entry to realm of Renaissance Festival!
Ok, I shall stop my failed fair talk right here. *cough cough*
Anyway, this is my 2^nd visit to the fair in 5 years, and things are pretty much still the same, in a good way!
What can you expect when you come here? People dress up knights and bandits, hunters and archers, lords and beggars, fairies and wizards, merchants and wenches… basically anything medieval or dungeon and dragons. Smells of hot beer, food and incense permeates the premise. Loud cheers and laughter of the drunks. And a large variety of medieval rides and activities that runs off pure physics, without any electricity.
It’s like being in another realm, or a tv show.
A lot of the activities requires you to pay (on top of the $ 20 entrance fee) However There are some free shows provided by the fair.
Broon is still there, making uncomfortable, sarcastic jokes about the audience. Funny as ever! However you should sit far far away from him if you don’t want to be picked on. DO NOT bring your kids, as they will be scarred for life.
The Mud sling show is a hilarious mess. It’s funny, crazy and. just don’t sit in the front rows unless want to get mud all over you.
The falcon/​hawk demonstration provided a lot of insight to how people hunt back then.
The Pirates is another exciting show. Booming cannon fires from mini cannons can be hear through out the park… I missed it completely as I make my way through the sea of people. and they only do 2 shows in a day. sigh. The «little girl» mermaid looked grumpy for some reason. Looks like she didn’t get rescued.
Jousting is THE fair highlight. and only 1 show per day. Get there early or you won’t be able to ever see it. It is far from the blood splattering carnage in the movies, but it is exciting and momentarily take you back into the past. The little kids in the front of me were all into it. Cheering for the white knight while booing the black evil knight. Jumping up and down in huge excitement as the good triumph the evil. So much fun!
All in all, this is a GREAT place to be for a 1 day get away. Between the free shows, you can actually spend all your times here. Highly recommended!

A pleasant day of watching the actors.
Not being a fan of the Renaissance era, the day was a pleasant diversion with cool breezes and shade from the big trees.
The staff/​actors did a great job of creating the feeling of having traveled through time and many of the guests were rather elaborately costumed, as well. I even found myself talking to the king as we waited to enter the land of long ago. He wished us a «Good day» and noted we could all be executed if we didn’t comply. So, just to be on the safe side, we did have a «Good day»!
The food ran from pretty good (the fresh doughnuts) to «wish I had ordered something else» (the chicken gyro). Hard to beat the unmistakable flavor of fresh doughnuts, especially with sorghum (labeled honey) and the pumpkin pie doughnuts at another stand.
The chicken gyro that I had was folded into a very dense pita bread and I ended up tearing most of it away and tossing it. The chicken was OK. The taziki sauce (yes, I know it probably isn’t spelled right but I am tired of searching for the correct spelling… and you know what the sauce is anyway) was much milder than the «t» sauce I have had on gyros in the past. Oh well, what does it matter… It’s in the past (in more ways than one.)
Thank you Blue for the opportunity to flash back and rekindle an appreciation for what we have now. Gotta love indoor plumbing, right?

This was such a fun day with my fellow Unilocalers! Let me first state that this was actually my second visit here in the past month; we previously visited a few weeks ago for a UYE. It was pretty exciting to be able to return, this time for free!
Since it was my second visit, I got to see things I missed on my first go-​around… the highlight being Broon’s show. He was a fantastic, entertaining performer! We got some photos with the King (sadly, I wasn’t dressed up this time… where was he on my last visit?!). I also got to try the much-​hyped kettle corn, and my goodness, that stuff is addicting. I don’t even care much for popcorn, but the folks at the Renaissance Festival certainly know what they’re doing.
Yes, the place does nickel-​and-​dime you. Every single performer will say toward the end of their act that, «believe it or not, this is how we make a living!» then run back to the exit with a basket so you can tip them. Of course, it’s not required, but after forking over $ 20 just to get in, the wallet can take a hit pretty quickly. It’s something I will definitely keep in mind for future visits… and it’s why I’m all the more glad we got to come here for free, thanks to Unilocal BPB :)

This was my first Elite Experience. It was a lot different than most events where you show up and they offer food/​drinks. This was all about dressing up and having a little fun outdoors with your fellow elite Unilocalers. I did not dress up but Ashley and Greska did and they looked great! I loved seeing everyone in their costumes and many people even stayed in character throughout the day. Ren Fest can be a lot of fun. There are several different types of shows to see, a few of my favorites were the mud show, wenches, and Broon. They also offer many types of medieval games like archery, knife throwing and sword fighting. I especially love the live glass blowing and new this year the craft pottery demonstration.
This only real downside to the Renaissance Festival is that things can get pretty expensive fast. Everything cost something including the entertainment. A few dollars at each show tends to add up. You add in food, drinks and specialty items to buy and you could end up spending a lot more than you expected. If you have kids it can really get expensive with all the added rides and kid stuff etc. Overall though it truly is a great experience and if you haven’t been to the Renaissance Festival its worth the trip. The kettle corn alone is worth the trip in my opinion! The food is mostly carnival type, fried everything with a couple optional choices but I skipped the food and stuck to the drinks and popcorn, LOL!

There’s one thing I can credit Unilocal for and that is getting to try new things. Usually that means trying new restaurants and new food, but this past Sunday it meant getting to experience a renaissance festival. Would I have ever ventured into a renaissance festival had I not received comp tickets from Unilocal?Questionable.
We entered the festival and people watched for a good 20 minutes at the first beer station we stumbled across. Lots of cool and elaborate costumes. A lot of Khaleesi costumes because of the Game of Thrones theme. Everywhere we walked, I thought to myself. I want a pair of elf ears… I want a corset… I want fairy wings… I want a katana… Followed then by the thought of: what the heck would I do with any and all of the above.
Beer, wine and frozen drinks (non-​alcoholic lemonade and alcoholic) were available. If you weren’t under the shade of a tent, the sun was beating down and so I purchased a frozen lemonade. It was sure refreshing!
Food options were plenty as well. A lot of fair food, but also a lot of questionable food handling. I opted for the Mediterranean booth with a long enough line signifying it was hopefully safe. The meat was good, can’t complain.
The shows we were able to catch were entertaining. Broon was a mixture of comedy and variety (fire eating, whip cracking, juggling, magic). The washing well wenches we caught the end of, but were over-​the-​top silly and know how to humiliate a few poor audience members.
It is a shame that every game, ride, and show requires payment/​tipping. It makes it a little harder to enjoy the show when the performers get to the part that they are practically begging for tips. But hey, a wench and a magician have to make their living, right?
My favorite memory of the day? The pickle guy with a parrot on his shoulder. «PICKLE PICKLE PICKLE. EVERYONE LOVES A BIG OLE PICKLE» followed by serving pickles into the mouths of females.
Thanks Unilocal BPB for my first renaissance festival experience, but um where was Blue in costume?

I see the appeal that attracts many and completely respect and understand their excitement but it’s like an over the top carnival with one major exception… EVERYTHING equated into dollars… Just too much EXPECTED TIPPING ! ! !
Paying to enter Quiet Waters Park at $ 1.50 each is fair since that’s the same any weekend and then to enter the festival is $ 20 each person…
Then it’s welcome to the «NICKEL AND DIME SHOW»
You kinda got the feeling it was going to be a «GIVE ME YOUR MONEY» kinda day when you approach the entrance gates and there’s a company selling Impact Glass for your home and another vendor selling Bathroom Remodeling… As if we entered an outdoor Home Depot…
Archery, Darts, Axes, Chinese Stars, Weapons of mass destruction… 2 – 4 dollars each turn… and no prizes… literally pay 2 dollars, throw three axes at a wood target and walk away
Characters walk around in fantastic outfits, making friendly conversation, offering to take pictures with guests… THIS WAS NICE ! ! ! but then they put their hands out for donations… It makes you stand offish to make any conversation.
Tons of stuff to buy… bags, jewelry, weapons, journals, silly stuff… Just more money.
There is a Crafts Village with glass blowing, pottery and weaving… cool to watch (and FREE) but of course they aren’t shy to ask (almost to the point of begging) for you to buy stuff
The Performances are FREE and some were interesting and funny… especially BROON who managed to keep my short attention span quite intrigued… but of course they want you to tip… I feel for the actors but should I really be expected to tip every cast member?
There was plenty of food options but passed for the most part for two reasons… as expected, food was expensive but it’s just like any fair, festival or theme park…
And the other reason (sorry to say) is they live on the road, sleeping in campground tents and RV’s… I just don’t know what the food cleanliness and storage situation is and I’m afraid to end up with salmonella or something similar.
Of course the rides aren’t free either… even the simple kiddie rides for the tiny tikes are a few bucks each.
And no worries if you run out of money… they have ATM’s all over the place.
I really hope my opinion does not offend those that love the Renaissance Festival.
It’s not all bad but the expected tipping and fees for everything killed the joy.
Appreciative for the free ticket to experience the Renaissance Festival for the first time but now I know it’s just not for me… LIVE AND LEARN !