Pure Appiness: Ren Fest 2012

It had been 8 years since I set foot on the grounds of Charlotte's Renaissance Festival. An elephant ride and juicy turkey legs were lodged in my brain since those were my only memories from the one time I had gone. I was excited to spend the day with some of my closest friends as we stepped back in time and enjoyed the sunshine, food, and comedy acts that the Renaissance Festival had to offer.

The Ren Fest sure is another experience. I couldn't help but think of the movie "Role Model's" while I was there. It was fun to see people in their element and enjoy dressing up from this era. Not really my thing, but you could tell that this was something people of all sorts look forward to every year. You can't help but smile and just be in the moment.

The day was packed with shows from the Tortuga Twins, the Barley Balanced Acrobats, a hypnotist, and a grand finale of a joust to the death. Oh, and my favorite part of the day...riding a camel :)

We started out the afternoon with a show about Little Red Riding Hood from the unpredictable and comical Tortuga Twins. I had no idea that it was an audience participation show so I sat in my seat, holding my breath, hoping that they wouldn't pick me to go on stage. Thankfully I was invisible to them and enjoyed the show as an audience member only :)

Next we stumbled upon the Barley Balanced Acrobats. This was my favorite show, by far, as this group of three completed some tough balancing stunts all while making it look effortless and cracking jokes at the same time. My goal in life is to get abs like the girl in the group.

We finally came across what I had been anticipating all day. CAMEL RIDES! We may have been the oldest ones in line but I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty excited. The wait (and smell) was worth it.

I'm pretty sure we were also the oldest without children in the petting zoo. What can I say...goats and sheep are my weakness. Actually, any animal is my weakness. I couldn't help myself.

The Hypnotist caught our attention as he had at least ten people mesmerized on stage. He had a man give birth, a guy thinking he was Elvis, and he had each and every one of them blaming each other for farting. It was pretty hilarious.

We then stopped for a snack and waited for the finale of the evening, the Joust to the Death! Again, my thoughts went to a movie, A Knights Tale, and all I could think about was Prince William :) This joust was theatrical and entertaining, nonetheless, as they battled with jousting, swords, fire, and a lot of fake blood.