Medieval merriment at Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire; CCnews Photo Gallery

Written by Emily Hammer
July 11, 2015
Aaron Stokes plays at the Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2015 | Photo by Emily Hammer, St. George News

CEDAR CITY — The 33rd annual Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire came to Cedar City this weekend, featuring entertainment from belly dancers to parrots, and interactive activities from inflatable slides and sword fighting to rope making and Renaissance games.

Attendees braved both high winds and the hot sun, some in full Renaissance garb, to enjoy the vendors, shows and food.

The 33rd annual Utah Midsummer Renaissance Festival, July 11, 2015, Cedar City | Photo by Emily Hammer, St. George News
Eric Wise of Nine Tails Armory Chainmail and Scalemail at the 33rd annual Utah Midsummer Renaissance Festival, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2015 | Photo by Emily Hammer, St. George News

There were dozens of vendors and booths all over Main Street Park during the faire. Some vendors have been selling their goods at the event for years.

Harpist Aaron Stokes has been playing at the faire for about five years. Based out of Brigham City, Stokes said he plays all over the Western United States. Cedar City is one of his favorite places to perform.

“I always look forward to this one,” Stokes said. “It’s a really neat venue.”

Between the Enchanted Forest and the food vendors was a roped-off area occupied by the Dominion of Capella. Inside their grouping of tents were members of the Empire of Chivalry and Steel. They hosted sword fights as well as leather crafting, wire weaving and more.

Emlyn (persona name) said she has been weaving on looms for 22 years, ever since she joined the club.

The Dominion of Capella at the 33rd annual Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2015 | Photo by Emily Hammer, St. George News
The Dominion of Capella at the 33rd annual Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2015 | Photo by Emily Hammer, St. George News

She said Dominion of Capella has been at the Renaissance Faire since 2007. Their Cedar City chapter has about 35 members.

Emlyn weaves on several different kinds of looms, including card weaving looms, viking looms and inkle looms. Though the looms she uses are modern, the style of weaving is authentic to the Renaissance time period.

Some of her simpler pieces take around 25 hours to finish, but more complex ones, Emyln said, can take from 75-80 hours with an additional 30 hours to set up the loom itself.

“I learn something every time I do a new piece,” Emlyn said.

This year’s medieval merriment has come to a close, but the faire will return next year for more Renaissance magic.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Elizabeth Hammer was raised in Riverton, Utah, and moved to Cedar City in 2012. She writes novels in her free time and aspires to be a full-time author. She was a copy-editor at Southern Utah University before she started at St. George News. When she's not busy working or writing, Emily does archery and spends time with her husband and their hedgehog and cat.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.