Medieval Festival at Fort Tyron Park

NYC is a happening city. There are so many civil societies and clubs here in NYC that there is always something going on at every weekend. The calender of social events is packed to the rafters.

The past Sunday is the Medieval Festival. I was actually on my way to the Cloisters - a famous museum in Fort Tyron Park when I stumbled upon the annual Medieval Festival. I flipped my weekend paper; the Medieval Festival is actually one of the most famous event in NY every year. Once a year, people dressed up as medieval people e.g. knights, maidens, farmers, Robin Hood and his merry men, blacksmiths and set up booths selling shield, swords, flagons and giant turkey legs.

Medieval Festival Time!

Pavilions set up along both sides of the road in the park selling plastic swords, shields to kids. In addition, also there are lots of face painting and henna tatooing.

Some guy actually dressed up as a blacksmith and started beating pans and horseshoes.

Belly dancers from medieval times? Perhaps a legacy from the Ottoman Empire when they conquered Constantinople.

Some guy actually brought a barrel on a cart to sell beer to people. Awesome.

There was this guy that I met in the subway. He was all dressed up in helmet and he even brought along a bow and arrows. You can see him here, speaking to the dog "You foul beast! Run for thy life before I skewer you from 200 yards with my trusty longbow! Aaarrgh."

My camera gave up around here. Here are some pictures who look smoky like here. Kids running everywhere wearing armour and fighting each other with plastic swords.

This woman was dressed like like Xeena in her leather armour. Too bad my phone camera didn't do her justice. She was really hot.

For US$7, you get a massive, massive turkey leg grilled to perfection. People were working around chewing a turkey leg and drinking from a mug of beer. Beautiful.

This kid was knighting the other kid! Ho ho. I knight you with a butter knife, Sir Dumbass.

People were walking around as maidens. Fatty maidens though. Maybe too much bread and mead.

More kids fighting under a tree.

There is even a joust!!!! People on horses trying to knock each other down at high speed with lances! Yeah!!!

Nobody got knocked off. Damn. Guess it was too dangerous for some guy in full armour to get knocked off at breakneck speed.

Each knight got four wooden lances which broke into splinters immediately upon impact. The combatants immediately drew their swords and tried to beat the hell out of each other.

They then have a living chess fight. Where Robin Hood and his merry men fought the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

The amazing thing is that everyone was absolutely serious and professional. Of course, the fights were all chereographed but everyone was trying their best. They even try to speak in old English. For example, before the joust, Sir Morgan was trying his best to insult the lineage of Lord Henry as was the old traditions.

Final picture of volunteers kicking hay around to make sure the knights don't break their necks in case they really got knocked off their horses.