Ren Fest costly but pretty cool

This Saturday, I saw a man make a sandwich... with his feet.

While this may seem a tad arbitrary, take a second and look at your feet. Really look at them. Now imagine how you would open a pickle jar or spread mayonnaise with only those 10 toes. Not an easy feat (pun definitely intended) by any means.

Even better, though, I also saw a girl eat said sandwich.

And so went my first visit to a renaissance festival.

This year, the Ohio Renaissance Festival celebrates 20 years of merriment, maidens and all things medieval. The fest is located in Harveysburg, right outside Dayton, which isn’t too bad of a drive from Cincinnati. (Plus, I got to enjoy all the fall leaves, which were absolutely gorgeous.)

As it says on its Web site, renfestival.com, the Ren Fest has something for everyone. With 11 stages and hundreds of performers, they had virtually every kind of medieval entertainment. My problem was being able to find them (I’m a bit directionally challenged). It would have been helpful to have a map or a more coherent schedule of events.

The events I did manage to stumble upon, however, were entrancing. Jousting was easily the best, and was held in the Arena of Champions. The audience was split into two groups, each with their own knight to cheer on. The enthusiasm was contagious, even for my normally apathetic roommate Anna. We cheered on our champion with the other hundred people as he rode around the ring on his valiant steed.

The joust featured three events: a rings and spear throw, spinning quintain and a full-on joust. Naturally, the last event was the most exciting and reminiscent of jousts in movies like “A Knight’s Tale.” In the last round, both knights were knocked off their horses, which was really, really cool.

And, going back to the feet sandwiches, it turns out this guy was kind of a big deal. Rob Williams has performed his trick on TV more than once, and talk show host Jay Leno and Donny Osmond have both taken a bite out of the unusually-prepared sandwiches.

I was a little disappointed in the lack of people dressed in costume. From what I’d heard about the Ren Fest, I expected the majority of people to be dressed up. The staff was well-dressed and most had some variation of a British accent, which was usually amusing.

The visitors who made themselves up ranged from pathetic attempts to quite cool. It was easy to slip into the imaginary world with dingy pirates and elegant ladies in waiting walking along the paths and a minstrel strumming away under a tree. My friends and I wore homemade pirate costumes, which gave us a chance to be part of the magic without spending a dime. Many of the costumes were homemade, but most people just wore modern street clothes.

If you happen to get hungry while at the festival, there’s plenty to munch on, but it’s going to cost you a pretty penny. The best bargain was a gourmet caramel apple for $4, which I got covered in heath bar crumbs. And in true renaissance fashion, turkey legs are available, but looked decidedly inedible.

The biggest let-down was the realization that even after purchasing a ticket, visitors still have to pay for almost everything. Most of the entertainment, including the joust, was free, but food was expensive and games looked rather half-baked for the price of tokens. My friends and I were tempted by the maze, but the $3 price tag and my conviction that I would get permanently lost kept us away.

But there was still plenty to see and do. The streets are lined with village merchants, peddling everything from renaissance-style clothing and swords to jewelry and artwork. The vendors were also performing their craft. Watching the glassblowing was pretty cool.

Sure, the whole thing was a little campy. Yeah, it got a little pricey. But all in all, the Ren Fest was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

The Ohio Renaissance Festival will be held until Oct. 25 on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online for $16.99, a $3 discount

For pictures from Ren Fest and more adventures, visit Ariel’s blog at www.anarielview.com.

Want to go medieval on Ariel’s column? E-mail her at living.newsrecord@gmail.com and give her a piece of your mind.