My Barossa Medieval Fair Experience
What: Barossa Medieval Fair 2022
When: 20 - 21 August 2022
Where: Lyndoch Barossa Valley
Visit: www.facebook.com/BarossaMedievalFair/
The Annual Barossa Medieval Fair at Lyndoch, Barossa Valley is a trip back in time to medieval Europe. Cheer on your favourite knights, as they battle it out in the combat arena to be crowned champion, or why not learn about medieval archery whilst digging into a mouth watering pig on a spit. Our volunteer Taylor Alland had the opportunity to join in all the medieval festivities on the 20 - 21 August 2022
Some of the organisations involved that are listed on SAcommunity include:
Ironclad Academy of the Sword
Society of Creative Anachronism - Barony of Innilgard
New Varangian Guard: Magnaura
Adelaide Sword Academy
Experiencing the Barossa Medieval Fair in 2022
Last Sunday (August 21st), I made my way up to Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley for the 2022 Medieval Fair!
After a 40 minute drive filled with karaoke and laughs, my friends and I stepped out of the car to the welcome of a cool country-side breeze and a clear sunny sky. Even though it was the second (and final) day of the Fair, there were still plenty of people roaming the streets dressed as wizards, witches, knights and more. It felt as though we had just driven 40 minutes in The DeLorean.
While we had been lucky with the weather, the rain from the day before had left the Fair looking like a muddy medieval battleground (which honestly, made the day more immersive). My initial feeling of being in the Fair was that of comfort and awe. It was surreal seeing such a large collective of people varying in ages and backgrounds all so passionate about medieval times and fantasy stories. Within the first 10 minutes of being at the fair, I bumped into a group of very cute and very friendly Highland Cows. This is Boudica of Mac-Ladanae, and she's only 2 years old.
After meeting my new cow-friend-for-life, I linked up with some more of my friends and we went to watch some of the sword fighting tournament. The combatants were dressed in chainmail and armed with various weapons including long and short swords, spears, knives, and halberds. It was fascinating seeing people with proper fencing technique, duke it out while surrounded by cheering fans.
Watching people getting hit by big metal swords, inspired me to join the masses. My friends and I wandered through the markets and I found myself a medieval longsword that spoke out to me. After a quick barter, I was on my way with my very own sword. Having the heavy blade strapped by my side, I felt as though my makeshift outfit was now complete.
As the day was coming to an end, our group partook in the archery session, as well as the axe holding competition. My friends can be quite competitive amongst each other, so we took both challenges very seriously. Axe holding entails standing upright while holding an axe from the end of the hilt at a 90 degree angle from your body while being timed. Going in to the competition I had my expectations set quite low as to how well I would perform. Although the axe itself wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be, the fatigue quickly kicked in. Fuelled purely by my competitive nature, I managed to hold the axe for longer than my friends and I expected. While I did well within my friend-group, I was nowhere near Sir Paul, who held the Fair's longest time at 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
The 2022 Medieval Fair in Barossa was a blast, and i'll definitely be returning next year with my newly acquired sword. Perhaps I'll even see you there!
