GRAVETTE -- The Gravette Renaissance festival, now in its fourth year, just keeps getting bigger and better. An estimated 1,200 to 1,300 visitors attended this year's event, sponsored by the Gravette Library Commission.
Guests crossed a "drawbridge" and entered the lower part of Old Town Park through a castle backdrop constructed by the high school shop class and painted by GHS art students. Once in the park, they were offered a myriad of activities, entertainment options and shopping opportunities. Many of the visitors were in period dress, giving festival goers a feeling of stepping back in time.
Jingly Bits, a trio of minstrels performing English and Irish folk tunes, greeted guests as they approached the bridge. They also performed several shows throughout the day. Other entertainment included musical performances by another trio, Turtle and the Hair, belly dances by the Terra Nova Tribal troupe, and hand-to-hand jousting battles by members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
A pair of actors came all the way from Wisconsin to perform their Wonder Elixir of Life shows. These two and some vendors from Missouri and Kansas arrived on Friday afternoon and camped overnight in the park. Several falconers from Royal Gauntlet Birds of Prey, based in Coweta, Okla., brought birds. Their shows featured several rescued birds, including an American kestrel, a great horned owl, a Eurasian eagle owl and a Harris hawk.
Marie Long, of Gravette, and her daughter Mirielle Still brought their gypsy horses, originally bred to pull gypsy wagons, and an early-day farmer's market setup added to the village atmosphere. Vegetables, eggs, grains and small animals, including doves and young rabbits, were on display. Seamstresses worked on their needlecraft projects and musicians sang and played their instruments as they manned their booths.
Youngsters enjoyed jousting with play swords, making shields and other period crafts and playing in a bounce house shaped like a castle. Some were locked up briefly in the local jail for such crimes as "unlawful use of a sword at mealtime" and "showing too much of one's petticoat." Others were knighted by the princess after collecting a number of signatures from festival vendors. Pirates, lords and ladies, fairies and a storyteller wandered the park, to the delight of visitors, young and old.
Shoppers enjoyed browsing through several booths offering a variety of wares. They could select swords, shields, costumes, jewelry and headgear to add to their medieval wardrobes, or shop for stained glass items, pottery, books, pens, musical instruments and other gifts. A first aid booth operated by the Ozarks Community Hospital reported treating only one patient, a young boy with a bee sting.
Food choices were plentiful. Hungry festival goers could be seen strolling the grounds munching on giant turkey legs or cheesecake on a stick. Vendors offered Subway sandwiches, barbecue sandwiches and pulled pork sandwiches. Maw and Paw Kettle drove over from Miami, Okla., and their kettle corn was a popular snack item.
Library manager Kim Schneider, library staff members and library commissioners, especially commission chair Steve Oler, worked for months to ensure the festival's success.
Proceeds from the event will help finance the renovation of library buildings on Main Street. Remodeling is underway and a new metal ceiling and new windows have recently been installed. New floor coverings will soon go down. Commission member Nicole Morrow is painting murals to decorate the walls. Bookshelves, tables and chairs have been donated to furnish the library when renovation is complete.
Community on 11/18/2015