You have questions? We have answers!
What are we doing?
We’re spending the day at Cook’s Creek Medieval Festival, which is hosted at the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church, which lies about 20 minutes northwest of Winnipeg.
What is Cooks Creek Medieval Festival?
It’s a semi-annual festival complete with jousting, vendors, and a beer garden. Basically, it’s Manitoba’s own ren faire.
https://cookscreekmedievalfest.ca/ Will give you more info
Wait, a ren faire? Do I have to dress up?
Not only are we encouraging you to dress up, we’ve got a theme! Dress up in your favourite celestial phenomena, with a medieval or fantasy twist. Think shooting stars, eclipses, rainbows. If it happens in the sky, base your outfit on it.
Not feeling up to all that? Feel free to dress up for a general ren faire, or simply in clothes you’re comfortable being in outside in July.
Got tips for that?
Do
- Dress comfortably: you’re outside in the sun. Polyester looks great, but you get no breathability. Think cotton, linen, and other materials that wick away sweat.
- Prepare to walk: Shoes should be comfortable and appropriate for being in a field with walking.
- Consider the bathroom! A super ornate costume looks great, but when it’s time to visit ye olde watercloset, you don’t want to have to fight with your own clothes.
Do not
- Worry too hard about the modern parts of your outfit you can’t leave behind. Keep your glasses, your shoes. We’d rather you be comfortable than period accurate.
- Choose form over function. We want you to look good, but not at the expense of your enjoyment of the day!
- Worry about it not being “good enough”. Wanna dress up without the expense of your wallet? That’s cool! A maxi dress and a belt with a thin scarf can make a quick awesome outfit. Pair kahki shorts with a natural colour button up shirt and you’re well on your way.
Is there food?
What’s a historic festival without a feast? The tourney grounds will have food trucks, and of course there is the beer garden. However, in years past there haven’t always been very many, and with so many of us having specific dietary needs, we’re planning to bring a picnic for the ages for everyone. Simply let us know your needs or preferences, and we’ll make sure there’s enough victuals for us all.
Will there be a cost?
Alas, as much as we’d like to be able to cover all our friends’ entry fees, that’s not something we can do. As we’re doing prep for a good many of you, we’ll buy tickets for everyone who RSVPs by April 1, and let you know what your total is after.
The event often sells out, so getting our tickets early is just being sensible. If you can’t make it, just let us know.
I don’t drive! How can I get out there?
Where we’re going we don’t need cars! Wait…
Regardless, it’s no biggie! Many of us do drive, so we’ll be ensuring everyone has a carpool buddy. Worst case, we’ll rent a couple of vans and go out in the clown car fashion we all know we truly deserve.