Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire is coming this February to the Austin Area!

Since hearing about Sherwood Forest Faire from my dad several months back, I've kept a steady eye on its progress. We've been going to the Texas Renaissance Festival every year for about 5 years now and, honestly, having one in our backyard (it's about 35 miles down the road) is a very welcome addition. This year's pilgrimage to TRF left a little to be desired. For some reason it seemed to be way more crowded than usual, and the abundance of rednecks was slightly overwhelming (it is East Texas, after all). That's just a joke. Mostly.

Sherwood Forest Faire has quite an extensive website, and if you read founder Ryngypsy's blog, I think you'll agree that they are going above and beyond to make this faire a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable experience. My friend Andy, my son Ethan, and I visited the grounds on a weekend about a month ago for the consecration of Maid Marian's Chapel and I can testify that these folks are putting nothing but quality and hard work into the construction of the grounds. So if you live in the area, check out the Sherwood Forest Faire when it opens its gates for the first time this February. I'm quite sure you won't be disappointed.

Thanks to co-founder George Appling for providing the ad copy below.

Come one, come all to the Sherwood Forest Faire, a major renaissance festival  running Saturdays and Sundays from February 27th through April 4th of 2010 on highway 290 near McDade, Texas, only half an hour from Austin. [or insert: 90 minutes from San Antonio or an hour and 45 minutes from Houston]

Come help Robin Hood and Maid Marian rescue their captured friend Will the Bowman and thwart the dastardly Sheriff of Notthingham!

Sherwood Forest will feature well over 100 vendors selling hand made crafts from medieval and renaissance clothing to swords, pottery, jewelry, leather works and more.

Eight stages throughout Sherwood Forest will provide continuous entertainment throughout the day with magicians, musical acts, sword fighting, comedy and of course the ever popular Joust!

So harken to Robin and his Merry Men on Saturdays and Sundays, February 27th through April 4th, 2010 on highway 290 near McDade, Texas only 35 miles east of Austin [only 90 minutes from San Antonio or an hour and 45 minutes from Houston]

Budweiser is a proud sponsor of Sherwood Forest Faire

Visit us at www.sherwoodforestfaire.com

Kirk outeth!

Historical Dramas in 2010: A Preview

Robin Hood, the latest take on the legendary English hero starring Russell Crowe in the title role and Ridley Scott as director, is due out in theaters on May 14th, 2010. If Scott and Crowe can recapture some of the magic that made Gladiator such a great film, then certainly this newest incarnation of Robin Hood will be worth seeing.

Note to director Ridley Scott: more Gladiator less Kingdom of Heaven, if you please.

Check out the trailer below. I think you'll be impressed.



I only just heard about Ironclad over at The Speculative Scotsman, but I'm pretty excited with what I've seen. With an unbelievable all-star cast including James Purefoy, Paul Giamatti, Richard Attenborough, Robert Carlyle, Bob Hoskins, Pete Postlethwaite, and Brian Cox, Ironclad could be a very welcome surprise this year.


Here is a short trailer to pique your interest.





Also on the 2010 horizon are Black Death, a supernatural film set in England during the first outbreak of the bubonic plague, and Eagle of the Ninth, an adaptation of the classic novel by Rosemary Sutcliff about a Roman legion that disappeared into the mists of the Scottish Highlands. Also adapting the story of the legendary ninth legion is Centurion, starring Dominic West, Michael Fassbender, and Olga Kurylenko.

Black Death is carried by Sean Bean, who plays a warrior priest on the trail of a necromancer in medieval England. There isn't a lot of information out concerning this film yet, but I have high hopes for it. And being a big Sean Bean fan, this film already has one big thing going for it.

Eagle of the Ninth stars Channing Tatum, Mark Strong, and Donald Sutherland in this adaptation, and I'm not real sure about the casting decisions at this point. If Strong is utilized properly and not squandered in a typical bad guy role, I'll be happy. But Tatum and Sutherland I'm not so sure about. I think the story is a great one to be adapted, but time will tell if this film does it justice.

Centurion, follows the same storyline as Eagle of the Ninth, but I actually have more hope for this version from what I've seen so far. We shall see.

I only hope that  these three films get a significant release in the US. At this point there are no hard release dates set.

Please share your thoughts below.

Kirk out.