An annual pilgrimage of sorts used to happen for me when I lived in Texas:  attending the fall Renaissance Festival. Billed as the world’s largest such event (both in size and permanence, at least back then), it was always a glorious day of escape into world of visual (and culinary) delights.

I haven’t been to a RenFest since moving to Ohio in 2005, despite having two within a few hours drive. Not sure why I haven’t upheld this fall ritual, perhaps because I feared the local versions would not live up to the legend that was the Texas Renaissance Festival.

This past Sunday I finally made the journey to the Ohio Renaissance Festival and thoroughly enjoyed myself. With wenches and dragons and knights and fools aplenty, it was a most enjoyable step back in time to wander and shed the worries of modern life. This weekend’s theme was “Fantasy” mixed historical expectations but still delighted. Enough chatter! A picture feast awaits you below…Huzzah!

All photos as shot, unretouched, and ©Gary Varner, 2018.