WATCH: Renaissance Faire to return with new adventures starting in May

Victoria Heather, as Nadijh, left, and Emilie Boyett, as Pyra, speak at Hollywood Park on Tuesday. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Victoria Heather, as Nadijh, left, and Emilie Boyett, as Pyra, speak at Hollywood Park on Tuesday. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record

After being forced to sit out 2020 due to COVID-19, the Hot Springs Renaissance Faire is back in action this year with multiple events scheduled throughout the year.

The Faire launched in 2019 with an appearance at Arts & The Park and a full event at the Garland County Fairgrounds. Both will return this year, along with a new murder mystery and the inaugural Ouachita Highland Games.

Up first will be Arts Springs -- part of Arts & The Park -- on May 1 and 2. Travis Gates, creator and owner of the Faire, said that they were scheduled for last year's arts festival "but unfortunately, we were all stuck at home."

"Arts & The Park was our step out in public in 2019, and again, it's our premier first step this year," said Gates, who used to teach elementary students, adding that "when you're attacked by like 100 to 200 ... kids, it was a beautiful thing."

"We're going to have shows there this year, we're going to have some live fighting and some singing," Gates said. "It's going to be a fun time for kids, probably adults, too."

Another "fun time" for children and adults alike is being knighted by the queen. "Once you actually finish our game course that we have for you, then you can go back to our queen and she will knight you," he said. While aimed at children, Gates said that adults are welcome to participate.

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"We had this 85-year-old that came up there, and you just let adults do what they want to do anyway, and so the old guy was like 'Hey, I want to go and do this. I've always wanted to be knighted, it's one of my dreams in life to be knighted,'" Gates said. "He went up there and got knighted by our queen and was just crying like a baby because we actually fulfilled one of his dreams."

The murder mystery will take place May 21 and 22 at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.

"It is one of the unsolved murder mysteries of the 1560s that actually took place," Gates said. Not wanting to spoil the ending of the event, Gates remained vague on the nature of the mystery. "The sad thing is if I tell you any more about the characters, I'll give it away. People can actually look it up and go 'Ah there's the answer.'"

As with all of their events, Gates said that this mystery is "very family friendly." A murder mystery will be "kind of a stretch for us to kind of go out in this direction, but we wanted to give something to the side of the community that doesn't like going outside."

The Saturday, May 22, performance is already sold out. Friday, May 21, has "still got about 20 or so empty seats," Gates said.

The murder mystery will also include a meal, which Gates said is as "close to a period meal as we can get."

The Faire, as it was in 2019, will again be held at the Garland County Fairgrounds Nov. 5, 6 and 7.

"This is the second full Renaissance Faire that we will actually have in Hot Springs," Gates said, noting that "2020 kind of nipped us."

The 2019 Faire, Gates said, was a success. "It went awesome. We roughly had ... 5-7,000 people actually showed up." Gates said that he needed at least 750 people in attendance "to pay the bills."

"We're anticipating roughly 7,000 to 10,000 people," Gates said, noting that capacity is around 15,000.

"My cast is so ready to get one going that they are just biting at the bit to actually have one. It was really hard for us to just not do anything during COVID," he said.

The cast includes around 80 members, and Gates said he hopes to add 20 more. "If anyone wants to help us, either in the acting or background stuff such as selling our waters and helping set up ... we're looking for almost anybody," he said.

Gates said that attendees are encouraged to dress up.

"We absolutely love when people dress up," he said, noting that at the 2019 one they had everything from period cosplay to "Star Trek" and "Batman."

"Any event we do, we encourage people to come, dress up and do your thing," Gates said.

"Oh, it's so much fun and you meet so many wonderful people," said Cherry Ogburn, a Faire cast member who portrays Mary Buchet. Ogburn said that at the 2019 Faire, she met a man and his 10-year-old daughter who said: "This is the best father/daughter day we've ever had."

Anna Galbraith, who is portraying Tasarla Lovell, said that she looks forward to being in her first Faire, "and my daughter will be in it, too."

Two returning cast members this year are Emilie Boyett, who portrays Pyra, and Victoria Heather.

"I am a fire fairy, quite literally," Boyett said, noting that she performs fire acts such as fire-eating. She said that her husband is also a cast member.

Heather, who portrays Nadijh, joined the group at Arts & The Park in 2019 as a stand-in, "and instantly I'm hooked."

While the Faire is months out, Gates said that they are still planning around the pandemic.

"We're still going to do COVID situation kind of stuff," he said, noting that they will have signs encouraging social distancing, and that they will stretch out the vendor spots.

The pandemic, or "dreaded plague" as Gates called it, allowed the group more time to prepare for this year's Faire. "We built some new ticket booths, some new interior designs stuff for parts of the Faire. We're redoing our award-winning pirate boat this year," he said, noting, "If you've built stuff with a mask on, it's challenging."

Hot Springs Renaissance Faire participants, shown in costume Tuesday at Hollywood Park, are front, from left, Emilie Boyett (Pyra), Travis Gates, and Cherry Ogburn (Mary Buchet), with Anna Galbraith (Tasarla Lovell), back, left, and Victoria Heather (Nadijh). - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Hot Springs Renaissance Faire participants, shown in costume Tuesday at Hollywood Park, are front, from left, Emilie Boyett (Pyra), Travis Gates, and Cherry Ogburn (Mary Buchet), with Anna Galbraith (Tasarla Lovell), back, left, and Victoria Heather (Nadijh). - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record

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