A knight to remember

Toledo’s Glastonbury Faire kicks the summer into high gear

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

Hear ye, hear ye! Dost thou enjoy the art of sword fighting, bosoms clad in corsets and vendors selling wares of the realm? Then make haste to Toledo’s Waterfront Park this Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26, for the Glastonbury Faire hath returnest.

The event features Ye Merry Greenwood Players, who teach through “living history.”

“When these types of groups do a fair, they are trying to be as accurate to the time as possible,” said Carol Susa, assistant director of the Glastonbury Faire. “But there’s actually some improvement over the actual time period, as even the nobles weren’t very cleanly and the castles didn’t smell as good as you would like to think.”

Locals with good memories might recall that these channelers of the Renaissance era have reveled here before.

“There was a period when Ye Merry Greenwood Players, who are primarily based in Washington, had to move locations and all the energy had to go to that,” Susa said. “Then, we were getting ready to start back up two years ago, and you know what happened with that. So, with everything, it’s taken us about eight years to get the fair back to Toledo. The players have lost another location in Washington and all their energy will be going to this one, so it’s going to be really good.”

Part of the fun, for both the guests and the presenters, is immersing oneself into the period.

“There is a whole persona that you have to fall into, including the dialect,” Susa said. “Like we have someone play Queen Liz, and she has to remain in that character the whole time. Everything you do is trying to put into context what it would have been like at the time. Nothing is ever perfect of course, but we do our best.”

Rousing entertainment will also be provided by the clashing swords and well-timed kicks of the Seattle Knights, the “Pacific Northwest's premiere sword fighting and jousting theatrical troupe.”

With high-octane, choreographed stage combat using real weapons, the Seattle Knights seek to bring out the best of Medieval history and fantasy. They also occasionally appear at events in their alternate personas, the Pirates of Puget Sound, and offer combat and jousting classes.

“The knights are amazing and really help create the feeling of the time, especially with the sounds of the swords clanging together,” Susa said. “We will also have jugglers and performers doing skits and plays throughout the day. And hopefully, we’ll have belly dancers.”

The many and varied vendors that will be set up both days of the event are also held to a certain standard.

“We have vendors that are really on-spot historically,” Susa said. “But you can only ask so much. We just try to have fun with it. Once we had a vendor that sneaked in some brightly tie-dyed clothing, and we called it ‘the war of the dyes.’”

Participating players will be descending from many areas and are eager to be getting back to anachronistic antics.

“When I get into the garb it feels like coming home,” Susa said. “We’ll be coming into Toledo on Thursday and some people might already be getting into character, so as we start marking everything out and the tents and performance areas start filling in, people will start wondering what’s going on. We encourage anyone to come and chat to anyone who doesn’t look too busy. We love new energy and have been having more and more young people get involved, which is great. There are many other fairs coming up in the summer and fall all over the Pacific Northwest and this one can be a great start if you’ve ever wanted to make the jump from observer to participant.”

So, whether you come clad in costume, purchase character-creating supplies at the fair, or just come to watch, you’ll be leaving in a fair-y good mood.

The Glastonbury Faire will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $9 for adults, $6 for seniors and children ages 5 through 12 and free for children younger than five. Waterfront Park is located at 151 NW A Street in Toledo. For more information, go to yemerriegreenwoodfaire.org.