THE TEEN SCENE
by Sarah Lounges
MERRY OL' ENGLAND...
Imagine this: You’re walking down a dirt
path looking at shops full of
jewelry, swords, armor, and other assorted items. You suddenly hear shouts
in the distance and you run to investigate. You see two armor-clad knights
battling with swords to a bloody finish. The people around you continue
their business as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Then Queen
Elizabeth herself strolls past you with her Royal Guards by her side.
Where are you? Have you traveled back in time? Not exactly.
You’re at
The Bristol Renaissance Faire!
I went there last month and had a blast! So I
wanted to recommend it as
a road trip for high schoolers looking to have one more summer adventure
before (yuck!) school begins!
The Faire is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin on 25 acres replicating
16th
century Elizabethan England. The fair has 16 stages of live action
performances and gate costs are – $16.50 (adults), $15.50 (seniors/students),
$7.50 (kids ages 5-12). The faire runs until Aug 26th on Saturdays and
Sundays (10am -7pm). It’s open rain or shine.
It features 1,000 costumed performers and actors –
jugglers, musicians,
swordsmen, comedians, magicians and others!
There is Queen Elizabeth’s grand procession (including
knights, horses,
pages and others), which takes place at different times and places around the
town. And you have to visit Wycham Field where there are daily jousting
battles between knights on horseback. If you enjoy that kind of thing,
then
also check out the sword fights of Dirk & Guido. If violence turns you
off,
then check out the juggling and rope-walking acts of Moonie The Magnificent.
If you like comedy, then check out the Sturdy Beggars Mud Show. I thought
beggars were hysterical, but I’ve gotta warn you... there’s a lot of sexual
innuendos tossed out.
While there – go rock climbing, have your fortune told, ride an
elephant.
If you have little siblings with you, they can go on pony rides and there is
a whole section of “human-powered” kid rides (hey is is the 16th Century you
know!)
There’s also an archery range, a paint ball target range, knife
throwing
and much more.
While there, you will see a lot of people in costumes – patrons and
actors
alike. If you wish to dress up, you can buy or rent one for the day. Costs
range on what you choose.
Over 30 Artisan Shops are there, each one individually-owned.
Everything
in those shops is handmade and have some relation to the Renaissance era.
There is hand-blown glass, jewelry, handspun clothing, hammered pewter, hand
dipped candles (along with soaps and scented oils), hand carved wooden toys,
hand tooled armor, swords, chain-maille vests and much more.
Over 20 food booths have everything from traditional
Renaissance food
staples as turkey legs, garlic mushrooms, apple dumplings, grilled duckling
quarters and Shepherd’s Pye (a beef and lamb au jus poured over whipped
potatoes), to more modern food like pizza, snowcones, corn dogs,
chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick, espressos and lattes.
So if you wish to see the sights of Merry Ol’ England,
visit the Bristol
Renaissance Faire. Fight a knight, eat a turkey leg, charm a damsel, or
just
plain have fun!
FRESH GARBAGE...
One of my favorite bands... Garbage has announced that
their third
studio album, Beautiful Garbage, will hit stores next month. Songs include
–“Androgyny”, “Silence Is Golden”, “Nobody Loves You” and more.
I can’t
wait!
YOUR THOUGHTS...
Last month I received a letter from a reader who felt
that my comment on
Mariah Carey in last month’s column was hypocritical. The writer said I
should not criticize Carey for retreading the same melody song after song
while at the same time praising some of the boy-bands, whom the reader feels
are all cookie-cut replicas. They also seemed to think that I cater too
much
to the pop music market.
Perhaps I do write a good deal on boy-bands, but that
is because I write
a “teen column” and a large percent of teens today are listening to acts
like N* Sync, BSB, Britney Spears and others. I realize not all teens find
favor with those types of acts – for instance I personally listen more to
Sarah McLachlan, Garbage, No Doubt, The Beatles and others – but my job is to
write on what’s popular with the majority. I do write on different
styles
from time to time, as when a few months ago I did a whole column on a local
ska band. Boy bands remain a hot topic to most of my column readers
judging
from the feedback I receive.
Anyway, I’ve digressed here. The point I was trying to make
about Mariah
Carey is that while she may be a talented singer, her music shows a lack of
creativity. Every song sounds hauntingly the same save for different words.
I realize many boy-bands sound similar, but at least each song has a
different melody. Carey seems content to keep remaking the same record.
In closing, I invite feedback from those who read this
column. If you
have news on teen-related topics, local shows, bands, etc., then please send
it my way. I appreciated that the reader who disagreed with me on
Mariah
Carey took the time to write, even though her opinion and mine differed.
When the topic is “the arts,” there is no right and wrong, only opinion and
personal taste.
That’s all for this month, but be sure to check out my
column next month
where I will be telling you all about – Suburban Root. What is that you
ask?
You will just have to read next month to find out! C-ya !