Our family has a few traditions that we try to do every year. One of our favorites is the Maryland Renaissance Festival. My wife and I have attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival almost every year since shortly after we got married (22 years since we got married; 18 years for the Festival) and our son began attending the Festival with us as soon as he was old enough to enjoy it—I believe he was about 3 months old the first time we took him.
The Festival is one of the best places for photography that I have ever seen. The dappled light coming through the leaves on the trees that surround the Festival grounds is gorgeous.
The costumes are deeply colored and beautiful. The people are expressive in their revelry and actually enjoy having their pictures taken. And there are things happening at the Festival that you just don't see very often: jousting, people on stilts, wandering minstrels, puppeteers, steak-on-a-stake, and loads of other visual delights.
This year we went for two days. On the first day my wife and son both dressed as pirates. The second day my wife chose a noblewoman's outfit while my son decided to go as a pirate again—not the brightest choice since the day before we had spent the entire day at the Festival in temperatures pushing 100 degrees and his costume was providing evidence of that fact.
I'm not sure what makes us like the Festival as much as we do. It may be the fact that it's a family event and we are able to spend all our time, free from distractions, with each other. It may be that we get to dress up and pretend we're someone (someones?) other than ourselves. It may be that we enjoy the occasional relief of being a few hundred miles away from the pressures of daily life.
Whatever the reason—we love the Maryland Renaissance Festival. We even love it when it's so hot that the wool costumes are actually uncomfortable (imagine that!). This year's 90+ degree temperatures was not the reason that we chose to go in October instead of in August.
So next year, when you're planning your family outings, consider the Maryland Renaissance Festival—even if you don't live anywhere near Annapolis, Maryland.
Leave your laptop, your iPod, and your cell phone at home.
Grab the kids, jump in the car, drive to Maryland, and, as the sign over the front gate at the Maryland Renaissance Festival says, "Prepare thyself for merriment." You won't regret it.
Nice pics.
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