From knights to fairies, the Thornshire Renaissance Faire blends history and fantasy

RIGBY, Idaho – A knight astride his noble steed, a princess daintily perched on her unicorn, a court jester, magicians, fire spinners, dragons, fairies and turkey legs. It's just another day at the Thornshire Renaissance Faire in Rigby.

The annual festival features two seasons this summer. The first season, dubbed "King Edward's Last Crusaders," happened in July, and the second season, "Challengers of the Round Table," will run Aug. 14 to Aug. 29 at Krupp Scout Hollow, located at 688 North Scout Lane in Rigby.

Thornshire also hosts a King's Feast where guests are treated to a meal and a program featuring a court jester, a magician, a storyteller, and fire spinners. The VIP experience also includes a commemorative, handmade mug for each guest. The next King's Feast will be Saturday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m. Admission to the King's Feast is $75 (which includes admission to the festival) and should be purchased in advance here.

Renaissance Faire and King's Feast attendee Nicole Bates, a Brigham Young University-Idaho student who enjoyed the festivities on a Saturday in July, introduced herself as "Kapheira Awen: Goddess of Chaos and Imagination, Lady of Mayhem, Mistress of Mischief." She said it was her fourth year attending the festival and had planned her outfit weeks in advance. This year, Bates donned purple overalls with yellow stars and a metallic purple skirt, with large attached dragon wings. She said she enjoyed knighting little kids at the faire with the words, "I dub thee a minion of mischief. Go cause chaos."

Bates said she loved the fantasy and whimsy of the Renaissance Faire, and the chance to escape normal life for a bit.

"Because the real world is hard, and I'm just like, 'Let's go pretend to be a dragon for a day,'" she said. "Nicole is stressed and tired because Nicole just finished a 10-page paper. The character, Kapheira, is just here and having fun."

Lest one think the Renaissance Faire is all about fantasy and whimsy, there's another side that appeals to those interested more in historically grounded recreations of a bygone time. The event features a variety of vendors and presenters sharing their skills, knowledge, and unique wares. Many of them travel from event to event through the summer.

Horsemaster Steve Genetti and his crew bring decades of experience to the faire, where they enact realistic battle scenes atop trained horses and medieval-style saddles.

"We do a lot of ground-to-mounted stuff, where he's literally charging at me," says Stephen Howard, who participates in the events with Genetti and his team. "We have an engagement activity where I invite kids and adults out with some foam weapons, and they come out and attack us. We don't attack them. They just whack us as hard as they can."

The Thornshire Renaissance Faire of Idaho features a variety of food and merchandise vendors, ranging from historically inspired to fantastical, as well as performers and educators. Leather and wood workers, a blacksmith, storytellers, fire-breathers, musicians and more are featured daily at the event.

Festival hours are Fridays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular admission is $16 for ages 13+, $10 for under 13, and ages 3 and under are free. Veterans of the U.S. Military and uniformed adolescent members of the Scouts of America also receive free admission, and family passes are available for $42. Tickets are sold at the event entrance.

For more information, visit the Thornshire Renaissance Faire of Idaho website here.

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