My Day at King Richard's Faire

My name is Stacey Polishook and I am a marketing intern at PST. That's me in the pirate hat :-) From time to time I would like to share with you interesting puppet facts, puppets sighting’s in the community and other puppet fun! So without much ado...My first Puppet Post:

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the last day of King Richard's Faire in western MA. For those of you who don't know, King Richard's is a Renaissance Faire, i.e. a crazy place where

people dress up in renaissance and medieval garb and engage in sword fights, perform juggling acts, sell bodices, potions, and a variety if other medieval wares. Of course another thing your are likely to find at King Richard's is the errant puppet or two, and this year's faire did not disappoint. I saw quite a few people who had brought puppets into their costumes or performances but there were two of note that I wanted to share.

The first was an amusing bit done by a few "doctors" who were carting around an ailing woman and offering "plague shots" to protect against the affliction that had taken down the unfortunate lady.

One arm was a fake and was doctored to look as if it was decaying. Meanwhile, a crow puppet ( activated by her real hand concealed under a blanket) surreptitiously snacked on the the decayed "flesh."The effect was very subtle and extremely effective! (photo right)

The next puppet of note was an amazing

monster/ creature. The operator wrote a costume of fur over his entire body. To enable him to see, the puppeteer's face was slightly exposed with a fencer's mask. This mesh mask was barely visible however due to the long beard and neck of his creature which came up over his back. Controls were hidden under his massive fur costume. The illusion was fantastic. The neck moved very naturally and the mouth of the creature had the ability to open and close.

So there you have it. King Richards Faire is unfortunately closed for the year but will reopen next September. If you missed out this year, here is a video! Enjoy!