 "Photo: Ken Muir")
Young princesses, gypsies and knights alike gathered at the Museum of Texas Tech Saturday to celebrate Lubbock’s first Renaissance Festival.
Participants could enjoy a turkey leg from Ye Olde Dragon Wings, watch fencing demonstrations, observe Tech engineering students demonstrate the power of the trebuchet and even partake in a pedestal joust in which the goal is to knock one’s opponent to the ground.
“Learning about the past helps us understand the present and future,” Natalie Bari, assistant curator of education said. “And people are fascinated with the Renaissance Era.”
The Museum of Texas Tech is home to a sword exhibit which houses weaponry from several eras, and several from the Renaissance, Bari said. The festival was a chance to gain awareness for the exhibit and share its contents with the community.
“This is also the first Renaissance Festival open to the public in Lubbock, even West Texas,” Bari said. “We are very pleased with the turnout.”
Performers and demonstrators present included the Society for Creative Anachronism, Hub Performing Arts School, Double T Fencing Club, Amtgard, the Tech Engineering Department and Texas Tech Collegium Musicum.
Amid a chattering crowd, a tent stood sheltering two medieval musicians. One was dressed as a gypsy and was surrounded by several instruments such as a doumbek — a small drum, a bowed psaltry — a string instrument played with one or two bows, and a mandolin.
“I like to teach the children the different ways to play medieval instruments,” Mary Andrews said, a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism who has been playing the role of a gypsy for 30 years.
Andrews has received rewards for her research on the gypsy lifestyle and enjoys sharing her knowledge with the community, she said. It is important for the public, especially children, to learn about different cultures and time periods.
“We need to appreciate the diversity we have,” Andrews said. “It would be a shame to limit ourselves because there is much out there, (and learning about it) makes us better.”
Just around the corner from the music tent was a man dressed in a tan tunic, whose “society name” was Toshiro Koi.
Koi, whose real name is Jesse Cavazos, is also a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism, and said the society’s members create an alternate persona for themselves and attempt to live out their character to the best of their ability.
“To create your persona, first you pick a country that interests you, like mine is Japan,” Cavazos said. “You research it, find an era you like, and create a person that could live in that time period, and then become that person.”
Cavazos said he enjoyed the Renaissance Festival because he know the importance of learning about history.
“It teaches our kids about history, honor, chivalry and respect,” he said. “I like coming out here because of the camaraderie shown by the other demonstrators. It’s like we are all friends.”
The festival was presented by the Tech museum but required volunteers to help the day run smoothly; members of the community and Tech students rode to the occasion.
Alex Newsom, a sophomore English and political science major from Big Spring helped at the information desk.
“I love the museum, and I think the Renaissance stuff is cool,” Newsom said. “And I wanted to wear a cool dress.”
An abundance of volunteers came to help at the event, she said, so many that there were not enough places for everyone. The turnout was more than she expected.
“I think this is awesome,” Newsom said. “There are a lot of Renaissance fairs in bigger areas, so it’s cool we finally have something like that in Lubbock.”
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