Please note this page is not yet updated to reflect the our Next season.
2019 Entertainment
Step back into the Middle Ages to the time of daring knights on horseback, fair maidens, mischievous sprites, and jolly jesters! Meet Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men! But don't let the Sheriff of Nottingham see you!
Click on the cover above to see the 2019 Program!
What Entertainment, Spectacles and other amusements shall thee encounter within our gates? Prithee read on!
In addition to Demonstrations, Activities and Shopping, Mutton and Mead is graced with the sounds, sights, and amazing entertainments of many many, many talented performers! Here are a few acts you will not want to miss ...
Joust - Knights on horseback! Chariots! Fierce swordplay!
Cu Dubh - thunderous drums and stirring bagpipes!
Wheel of Death - one brave man on a Giant Spinning Wheel!
Vixens En Garde - fierce witty women, swords, & Shakespeare!
Harmless Danger - madcap comedy show with serious consequences!
Blades of Death - with luck, no bloodshed on St. Bonaduce’s Day!
Birds of Prey - see falcons and hawks, up close!
Robin & Marion - the ceremony, celebration, and happily ever after!
And these are just some of the highlights, see the full list below! The Mutton and Mead Medieval Festival features over 50 shows and spectacles for your enjoyment! To see our (nearly) complete list read on. Have children, check out our Children's Path suggestions. Want to see some video samples, visit us on facebook here!
2019 Performers list:
AYRECRAFT brings music of the Late English Tudor, Jacobean courts and traditional music of Scotland and continental music of the early Baroque to your ears using instruments that are close replicas of the period.
BILLY SHAKES presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Shakespeare’s most beloved comedy. Lost in the woods, four lovers fight for their preferred partner’s affections while mischievous faeries interfere, venture into our enchanted forest to catch select scenes from the show!
BLADES OF DEATH is a comedy knife-throwing show featuring Ichabod Wainwright and his assistant Samantha Stagewonder. Together they will perform feats of balance on a 16-foot high chair stack! Juggling knives, and maybe a little magic for good measure. The Blades of Death show is the only touring show in the world to feature knife throwing at a human target from a slack rope! Simply a must-see!
CARAVAN DANCERS return yet another year, from the farthest lands of the realm! They showcase performances inspired by music from long ago and far, far away. Live musical accompaniment by Diabolic in Musica, Cu Dubh, Ensemble Davuli, Carmine and Friends. Performing: Blue Moon Caravan, Davuli Dance Company, Ki Ra Luna, BodyWave Bellydance and Friends.
CU DUBH (Coo DOO) mixing eastern instrumentation and dance rhythms played on thundering Turkish war drums with dark original compositions played on Highland Bagpipes, they have carved a unique sound that calls back to ancient Celt brethren.
DIABOLIS IN MUSICA blends medieval melodies and instrumentation with modern and international flavors, with a multicultural repertoire that draws from ancient tunes from Europe and the Middle East. Their name is drawn from 6th century’s Pope Gregory’s declarations outlawing of certain musical harmonies as “diabolis in musica” -- the devil’s music. It was... the Rock & Roll of the Dark Ages!
EARLY MUSIC SING featuring singers from the Shire with wondrous harmonies and song!
ED THE WIZARD pulls magic from the air while wandering the Shire streets. Experience the mystical ministrations!
ENCHANTED FOREST is a place to venture and stroll along the path into a magical place! Meet faeries, sprites, trolls, pixies, and other mysterious dwellers of these majestic woods. Come to the Enchanted Gathering! Be on the lookout! There might even be a Parade bringing the faeries out of hiding and through the entire Shire!
FAERIE TALES & STORIE TYME invites Shire children to a storytime gathering with a twist -- your children help write their story with the faeries! Interactive storytime with Raven Moon or Kay Lyons. Hear tales of giants, faeries, and more!
FLIGHTS OF FANTASY -- Ladies Serenity and Modesty tell stories and sing songs about brave heroes and heroines, and misunderstood dragons.
HARMLESS THE DANGER JUGGLER performs a madcap comedy show that is equal parts outrageous silliness and dangerous stunts. Featuring audience participation and more surprises than you can shake a baby at, it’s a funny juggling show with serious consequences.
HARPER’S HALL may be found strolling the streets filling the air with sweet music and at their Harper’s Hall. Piper the Pied Harpist pauses in her strolling to welcome students of all ages to explore the Celtic Harp, with miniature harps circulated for the young harpers-in-training! Embrace the Harper inside you, explore different harps, learn some string theory, and dress the part for a portrait! Come find us in the Enchanted Forest!
JOLLY JESTERS will amaze you! This is a Medieval Circus that will delight all manner of folks with their feats of dexterity, juggling, balancing, tumbling and acrobatics, spiced with buffoonery. Partake in their on-the-fly juggling lessons!
JOUST! Witness sword fighting, death defying stunts, trick riding, two-horse chariot, ladies in majestic gowns, the grandeur of warhorses, and all the pomp and pageantry you expect in a Royal Joust. Step back in time and be part of an event fit for kings, queens, and commoners alike! By DeBracey Productions.
THE KING’S BUSKETEERS This trio of traveling troubadours will charm you with their rousing drinking songs, love and murder ballads, and roguish humor.
L.I.A.R.S. The Ladies of Integrity, Aristocracy, Repute, and Society are a troupe of reformed wenches with delusions of standing. Pop by any of their stage shows, or find them while busking, and let the Ladies serenade you with their lovely harmonies, or raise your spirits as they merrily sing traditional folk music!
LORD POMMEROI’S MINSTRELS are seven skilled and slightly scurrilous songsmiths who wander this faire in the service of serenading Lord Pommeroi, to compound his consequence. You may also enjoy a touch of ribaldry at one or both performances of BB Bach’s Bawdy Ball.
MELA are two folk-faeries that have traveled the world and can be found in our Enchanted Forest. Their name is a Sanskrit word meaning “gathering of people” or “festival,” and their spiritual and musical energies bring humans together through their songs, playfulness, Earth-magic, harmonies, and world instruments.
MISFITS OF AVALON features Brian Weiland on the ancient and enchanting hammered dulcimer and mandolin, his son Aiden Weiland on fiddle, and Max Cohen on guitar and vocals. Be delighted by the beautiful and uplifting sounds of traditional contemporary Celtic music.
MUSICAL NOMADS Vibrant music that crosses boundaries and borders, borrowing from European, Middle Eastern, and South American traditions. Let the melodies and rhythms of distant lands take you on a magic carpet ride around the world and back! Multi-instrumentalists Levi Ali and Nathaniel Johnstone create a magical soundscape using violin, guitar, and percussion.
MORRIS DANCING in a variety of styles will be performed throughout the day by various groups in the area.
PAST TIMES PRESENT is a duo of singer, songwriter, storyteller historian musicians who bring the past to life through interactive encounters of a living musical history kind. Their ditties will tickle you as their wit charms you.
POGGIO BRACCIOLINI–world class tumbler and somnambulist. This wandering clown will draw you in sight unseen. Behold his expert backward tumble. He may even perform an encore.
ROBIE BONES performs on instruments including cow rib bones, pipe and tabor, wooden whistles and bodhrans. Be drawn in ... try your hand at some music yourself!
ROOTED REALMS in the Enchanted Forest is a New England-based collaborative project featuring local dancers, actors, acrobats, artists, and musicians.
SKELETON CREW THEATER brings magical and monstrous beings to life - meet Trolls, Fates, and a living, speaking Tree.
VIXENS EN GARDE has beautiful women armed to the teeth who bring Shakespeare to life! This fast-paced interactive swordfighting comedy show will keep you on the edge of your seat as only the Vixens En Garde can!
THE WANDERING WARBLERS flit through the faire, filling the air with their sweet chirping melodies and songs about love and birds. Featuring the lovely Lizzie Lark on lute, joined by Nesta Nightingale, Wilhemena Wren, and Winifred Whipporwill (in other realms known as Kathy Fey, Michelle Chaikin, Emily Samuels, and Pamela Smith).
WHEEL OF DEATH is a high-flying acrobatic stunt show featuring the world’s only Wooden Wheel of Death and the Master of Momentum himself, Ichabod Wainwright! Ichabod will run, jump, flip, and juggle flaming axes all while running around his 30-foot tall Wheel of Death!