Ren Faire has come to RVA
For decades, Richmonders would have to make the long drive to Crownsville, Maryland to experience the magic of a Renaissance faire. That is, until the folks of Virago Alley decided to take matters into their own hands.
This past First Friday, Jackson Ward was transformed into a magical bazaar for Virago Alley’s Richmond Ren Faire. The streets were packed with locals, dressed to the nines in everything from historically accurate garb to elaborate fantasy cosplays complete with elf ears or dragon heads. The first thing I saw entering the faire was a woman on a stage from Spooky Hollow Storytellers, regaling a rapt crowd with an old ghost story. There were so many artisans and merchants to explore, from fairy hair to tarot card readers to hand-carved wooden tankards. Attendees could watch a blacksmith from Join or Die forge a sword from start to finish, trade trinkets with folks from the Richmond Faerie Federation, watch swords clash at historical fencing demonstrations, and see real-life fire-bending from the Party Liberation Fund. What Virago Alley was able to accomplish was really incredible—more so when you realize they planned it all in just two months.
“We planned it in two months, but we’ve been having conversations about it for years,” says Amanda Robinson, founder of Virago Alley and founding director of Gallery5. “The gallery had an opening in March for an exhibition and I saw it as a great opportunity for Virago Alley to curate an exhibition involving historic artisans.”
Virago Alley aims to provide an accessible and inclusive platform for the education and preservation of artisan trades and historic martial arts. It’s this passion that brings the board together. Robinson enjoys archery and herbalism herself, hobbies she picked up during the pandemic. Her husband and Virago Alley Vice President Bizhan Khodabandeh has a love of fencing and historical Persian martial arts. He’s used to going along with Robinson’s many ideas.
“It usually begins with a big sigh because I know the amount of work I’m going to be volunteered to do,” Khodabandeh says. “He’s been involved in 20 years of ideas,” Robinson adds. “Once they come, I can’t shut them up—I have to do it.” Also a skilled graphic designer, Khodabandeh created the logo for the ren faire, and then it was off to the races. The reaction to the first few posts was intense and enthusiastic, and it bolstered the team in their efforts to bring their idea to life.
Virago Alley and Gallery5 were natural partners, not just because of Robinson’s connection with both, but the overlap in audiences. “It made logical sense. People who are attending ren faires are typically very creative people. There’s a lot of overlap between artisans and fine artists,” says Khodabandeh. “People are making their own costumes, they’re making their own jewelry, they’re building their own armor.” Jack Ryan Loredo, the board’s Treasurer chimed in: “We actually got to be pretty bare bones in decorating Jackson Ward. We didn’t have to do that much because what makes a ren faire is the creative people that show up.”
Now this recent event wasn’t even the first official Richmond Ren Faire. That, Robinson told me, will take at least a year and a half to plan and will be a multi-day event. Falconry, archery, equestrian demonstrations along with historical storytelling from the All Saints Theatre are all being discussed as potential elements of next year’s faire. “We want to emphasize collaborating with local artists and organizations,” says Ash Moore, board secretary of both Virago Alley and Gallery5. “We can use this to uplift our own community.”
First Friday’s event was meant to gauge interest, and I think it’s easy to suss out that Richmond is very interested in a ren faire. “Next year is going to be everything you saw, dialed up to ten,” says Ben “BD” Madlinger, another board member. “There’s so many ways to be into it, whether you like history or love fantasy. We want to make sure everyone gets something out of it.”
I, for one, can’t wait. ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗