The Sonora Celtic Faire is an annual event held at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, California. The Faire celebrates Irish, Scottish, Cornish, and Welsh cultures and includes such attractions as sword fighting, real, full-contact jousting, live traditional music, and whiskey tasting. And as the weekend forecast yet AGAIN was showing rain (which would prevent us from enjoying our otherwise planned activities of horseback riding, flying, and mountain biking), we saw this as an opportunity to try something new.
The first thing we saw as we walked in was the sword fighting. I must say, I was impressed! Well, to be honest, I don't really know anything about proper sword fighting technique, so I probably would be impressed by anything, but I still think this guys did quite a good job. The area was properly roped off so as to prevent any innocent passerby getting their head lobbed off by a careless swing of the sword, but one could still get quite close.
Two young sword fighters prepare to start their match.
After watching sword fighting for a bit, we wandered around through the shops. To there were all kinds of things you could buy - knives, capes, dresses, shields, beer mugs, jewelry… all sorts of fun things!
After wandering through the vendors and admiring their crafts, we made our way to one of the stages with live music. This particular stage stood in a large hall with other vendors and some hair braiders, where, for a few dollars, you could get your hair intricately braided and plaited in traditional Celtic fashion. The music was fun and lively, with booming drums and melodic bagpipes. The high level of energy inspired groups of people to dance, and the whole thing was full of a lively, buzzing energy which I can only imagine grew as the evening wore on.
There was food too, also of all types. We thought perhaps they would just have Celtic food available, but in addition to Celtic cuisine there were options of all the typical Fair food- funnel cakes, cinnamon rolls, popcorn, even Thai food.
We opted to just get a beer instead of a meal since we are cheap and that was a higher priority, so for a mere $8 apiece we each got a Black and Tan and made our way to the arena to check out the event we were must interested in: jousting!
I was quite impressed with the show the jousting participants and supporting actors put on. The costumes were detailed and vibrant, and the different acts they did were entertaining. There were three events which the horses and riders completed in. The first was a sort of drive by spear-target-throwing (that's definitely what it's called) which involved cantering down the roped off lane and throwing a javelin type thing at a target in the ground, with different point values assigned to each concentric ring. Then there was the watermelon cutting event where a poor (helmeted) man stood with a watermelon placed on top of his head, and each rider would take turns cantering past him and slicing said watermelon in progressively smaller slices.
Lastly, there was the actual jousting. Two riders would start at opposite ends of the roped lanes, turn, build speed, point their wooden spears at the target on their opponents armor, and hope to knock the opposing rider off his horse.
It was so fun to watch it all, but my favorite thing to watch was the expression on the horses’ faces as they barreled toward each other. These big, gentle draft horses had fire in their eyes! They loved it!
As first time visitors to this unique and colorful event, we weren't sure what exactly to expect, but I will say that it was everything we hoped it would be. From sword fighting to live music to real-life jousting, there was plenty of entertainment. But one thing that I thoroughly enjoyed (second only to the HORSES) was the PEOPLE WATCHING! It was INCREDIBLE! There were lots of people in full Celtic garb- some were actors playing their specific roles as royalty, bodyguards, or knights (and most taking their roles VERY seriously), as well as spectators dressed in their best Celtic gear. So as I wrap up on this short blurb about the Celtic Faire, I’m going to leave you with some images of the wonderful humans in their stunning Celtic outfits. Enjoy!
