My lovely family (+Caroline) in front of Camlann's entrance
Me and the Momma
Our first stop once we entered the village was to watch a highly entertaining performance by the village trickster. He entertained the kids with his sleight of hand, made all of the adults laugh. Then, after requesting a lamb's bladder from the audience and being met with crickets, he settled for choosing a young lady volunteer to demonstrate his "famous lamb's bladder spectacle.
His victim is selected
He explained the trick to everyone, and prepped his volunteer, then the next thing we knew he was poised with a sword to the young girl's neck!
Scary!
The kids were blown away when he pushed the sword quickly through the young girl's neck, and then the blade came out clean and she was completely unharmed. It was pretty amazing. The kids just ate it up.
We continued to wander the village and talk to the various villagers - the woman in the clothing shop (you could rent fabulous costumes for the day) and the couple who worked at the village eatery.
Bathroom for Fair Maidens
The Village Inn and Pub
Bathroom for Young Gents
Our next stop was to watch the village blacksmith at work. It was pretty sobering to realize what a labor-intensive job working with metal used to be. The blacksmith had his young son's there to help him out - they were clearly thrilled to be spending their summer break fanning the fire for Dad.
The Blacksmith hard at work
I posed with a guy in a fabulous costume - he didn't even work there...
We moseyed on over to the village choir - three women singing folk songs that had some lovely harmonies. They worked hard to stay in character, but there were a few amusing moments when they lost it.
The Adorable Miss Caroline
The ladies of the choir
Continuing on our way, we passed a booth with medieval flags and a woman sitting spinning wool. We also passed a candle maker and Dad was talked into walking around and around in a circle to dip a string into a tub of wax to create a candle (I have no idea why I didn't take a picture of this) and the rest of us learned a few traditional dances - it was so goofy and fun!
Medieval banners
Spinning and dying wool
My photo documentation of this outing was not ideal - I should have a few more pictures of our activities. After we finished out dancing lessons it was time to wander toward the exit. We bypassed an archery demonstration because we were a bit pressed for time - Caroline had a plane to catch.
Near the exit of the village
The modest accommodations of the the time
It was a brief little visit, and I think my family probably never needs to do it again (it was deliciously kitschy). It was very appropriate for Duvall/Carnation, and I'm glad we checked it out! I am loving having the motivation to do things that are out of the ordinary!
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