The Brant Historical Society (BHS) hosted their inaugural Shirefest at the Myrtleville House Museum on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
Over the course of the six-hour event, nearly 100 hundred people stopped by to explore the grounds and shop from the local and out-of-town vendors.
“The event is a kind of a historical and fantasy, renaissance faire-type of mashup,” said Esther Brouwer, Myrtleville’s Education Programmer. “We have some historical and fantasy vendors all over the property, we have demonstrations and tours of the house, blacksmithing, kids games and activities, and a little tea room area as well.”
Brouwer said the event was a soft launch to what she hopes will become an annual fundraiser event for the society.
“Last year, I personally attended my first renaissance faire and I had so much fun,” she said. “I realized it doesn’t take that much space to put on and we have five acres here at Myrtleville that we don’t really get to utilize it to its full potential. I figured if we could get something going this year, we could call it a success and then use this event as a great annual fundraiser for the museum.”
During the event, residents visited the homestead’s old workshop to check out the blacksmithing demonstrations, toured the historical Good family farmhouse with BHS volunteer Brian Moore, or sat for a picnic and freshly brewed tea at the Golden Dragon Tea Lawn.
For those looking to capture memories, there were also several photo opportunities spread out around the site including a large tree decorated with colourful ribbons inspired by Peter Jackson’s film, “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.”
Youngsters on site were also sure to visit the activities area to play a variety of family-friendly games with their siblings and friends, or pose for a photo with a dragon skull and sword.
For Graham Kitchen, a young visitor and a big fan of fantasy stories like “Dungeons and Dragons” and “The Hobbit” films, the youngster said he was enjoying the first ever Shirefest.
“I love it,” he said. “I really like the general design and all the decorations. When I heard about Shirefest I said ‘no way, I have to go do this,’ so I really hope they do it again next year.”
On top of all the activities, visitors also shopped from eight vendors including TK Fantasy Forge, Lisa the Lionheart, the White Raven Merchant, Delphinium Designs, Valkyrie Custom Wear, Longbottom’s Leaf, Jazzy Jewelry Art, and Beautiful Chaos Creations.
From 3D-printed dragon bookends to Middle-Earth inspired clothing and satchels, charcuterie boards, pipes and engraved wooden swords, there were plenty of items to browse and buy from the creators.
Overall, vendor Lisa Bojara said she was impressed with how the inaugural event was turning out.
“I think this is a fantastic and idyllic location, it really gives off that “Hobbiton” feel,” she said. “I’m just really happy with how things have turned out with the setup and I just can’t wait to see how it grows next year.”
When asked to describe why people are drawn to events like Shirefest, Marcin Bojara, Lisa’s husband and business partner said it was all about community.
“We used to go to a lot of renaissance faire events before we started vending and it’s the community that really makes it,” he said. “You see a lot of the same people over and over and you really end up becoming friends with them because everyone is just so nice and we all have the same interests.”
“It’s also a very inclusive community,” added Lisa. “We see a lot of people from all different walks of life coming out to enjoy themselves and they’re either fully dressed up in costumes and sometimes they’re not, but everyone is always enjoying themselves and just enjoying the vibes.”
