Article:
A Trip To Fitttlesworth: The Bay Area Renaissance Festival 2010

Photos curtosey of Rouge Scribe

Knights joust, wenches sing and the luck of old Ireland is around every corner at The Bay Area Renaissance festival in Tampa Florida, and while the world outside the village of Fittlesworth maybe 2010, inside the front gates, it's good old King Henry VIII that makes the rules.

A tradition of the Tampa Area for more than thirty years, The Bay Area Renaissance Festival (often shortened to the lovely anagram BARF) is still going strong. Some years ago it switched locations, moving right next to Tampa's very own Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) where it has remained to this day. While some faires feature gorgeous permanent structures and winding woodland trails, The Bay Area Renaissance Festival is little more than a vacant lot of dust and woodchips. Yet don't let it's simplicity turn you away, what this faire lacks in appearance it makes up for in entertainment.

Some of the best stage shows around perform during the seven weekend faire, it's location providing the perfect weather for the time of year, while northern faires have to close down. Yes there is a Mud Show, but there is also a full fledged pirate ship turned stage that features unique musical acts, and even a pirate themed pub (okay so the “pub” is really a beverage tent, but hey with girls in corsets serving up ale, you better believe your timbers will shiver).

What makes Fittleworth more than a flea market however, are the street performers. An evil baron roams the lanes looking to cause trouble, while bumbling knights play at keeping law and order in the town, as fairies, pixes, and pirates of course, make mischief and merriment for ticket holders of all ages.