Renaissance Faire

Big Bear, August 13th and 21st, 2005

August 13, 2005 (Index, Fast) (1186 images)
August 21, 2005 (Index, Fast) (989 images)

Official Web Site

The Big Bear faire's small size and somewhat remote location belays it's special qualities and a certain unique style. It's a fun little faire, with quite a few shows, some great music and good quality jousting and sword fighting displays. I didn't expect to enjoy myself as much as I did.

This is Mae, one of the Belles of Bedlam. She's even more gorgeous in person.

As usual for most Renaissance faires, the plays and shows are what, in my opinion, make the difference between a good faire and a great faire (I haven't found a bad faire yet). Big Bear lined up a nice selection of some of the very best acts, which truly made for an enjoyable experience.

Big Bear set aside one stage for NC-17 acts: those with a more adult orientation. This is virtually unheard of among the smaller faires, but it allowed some of the very best, funniest and most entertaining skits to be viewed. To the right is one of the ladies from the Belles of Bedlam. They have a very funny act, with good signing: excellent entertainment.

The stages were all very small, but this didn't seem to matter as once the hay bales were filled, people just seemed to sit or stand anywhere they could. That's always a good sign of great quality entertainment.

I love this picture. It's a beautiful bird, and very tame.

They also had not just a petting zoo (which was obviously very enjoyable for the younger patrons) but a selection of wild animals. These included a raccoon, a falcon and a very small hawk.

Throughout the day, these animals were carried around and shown to visitors, many of which, I am sure, have never seen this kind of thing before.

I found the little falcon, to the left, very much to my liking. A beautiful predator, this gorgeous creature was very tame and, to me, it almost seemed to relish the attention from all of the guests. I got the impression that he (or she) posed for my picture, with a thought like "aren't I the most beautiful bird you've every seen?"

They also had an owl, small enough to fit in your hand, a raccoon, and a number of other animals.

His act is awesomely funny and he's a great juggler as well!

I love juggling acts, especially when they are combined with a little comedy. This guy had an incredibly funny and skilful act, which frequently brought him into the audience.

His knife juggling was very well done, and I found myself laughing throughout the show. It was amusing watching him clown around with the ladies in the audience - and they loved it.

He juggled balls, knives and bowling pins, all very skillfully.

I thought this lady was very pretty and she did an excellent belly dance.

Of course, what would a Renaissance Faire be without belly dancers? Big Bear had several of them, all very skillful and with interesting routines.

I had some trouble finding their stage, as it was stuffed in an out-of-the-way corner in the very back of the faire (behind the wild animals). I was happy I took the time to look, however, as the dancers were quite good.

Kimi is one of the Merry Wives of Windsor. Cute, isn't she?

I was very happy to see one of my very favorite acts at the Faire: the Merry Wives of Windsor. These ladies (and gents) have a wonderful routine which is absolutely hilarious. Not only that, but all of them (well, the girls anyway) are beautiful!