History comes to life in Riverfront Park

Forget big motorcycles and historic airplanes. For some, Saturday was all about swashbuckling.

Though organizers of the Royal Fireworks Festival and Concert say competition from the Orange County Choppers and the Skyfest air show may have hurt this year’s turnout at the annual Renaissance festival, the approximately 200 people gathered in the Lilac Bowl at Riverfront Park on Saturday evening didn’t seem to notice.

“I think the magic of it all is enticing,” said Spokane resident George Webb. “It’s stimulating – very stimulating. The color. The pageantry.”

All day Saturday and today, the Lilac Bowl is transformed into the fictional village of Riverdell.

Men, women and children dressed in traditional 18th-century clothing roamed the grassy area covered in lawn chairs, picnic baskets and families Saturday, as Gary Williams of Black Swan Academy taught interested audience members – 12 and older only, please – the ins and outs of fighting with a “quarterstaff,” a long stick used as a weapon in medieval England and during the Baroque period. Magic, juggling and Shakespearean performances followed, topped by a fireworks show.

Today’s events include a human chess match, music and other performances from the Baroque period, generally said to be from 1600 to 1750.

“You can read a lot in class, but until you actually see it there’s no way to understand it,” said Chris Engeldinger, of Clayton, who was sitting with Webb watching the swashbuckling lesson.

Participants call it a real-life history lesson. And for some, it’s a family affair.

Floyd Garner, of Spokane, and his wife, Anya, consider themselves part of the medieval re-enactment community and participate in festivals with their son Jesse, 14, and daughter Cassandra, 17.

Garner said the thrill children get from his performances is the highlight of the gig. He said he visits schools sometimes dressed in full medieval wear and gives an England-oriented history festival.

“It’s good for them because they kind of see that learning is not all drudgery,” Garner said.

Linda Franklin, of Spokane, brought her three children to the show after they saw workers setting up the stage Friday and asked what was going on.

“I think it’s going to be most fun for him,” Franklin said, pointing at her 3-year-old son, Phelan.

Kids were the reason Lisa Funkhouser and her family showed up. Between a neighbor’s children and their own, Funkhouser and her sister had five kids in tow.

“As you can tell, they’re sword obsessed,” she said as she went with them to buy inflatable swords at a nearby booth.

Funkhouser was familiar with medieval festivals and historical re-enactments, having moved here recently from Las Vegas, where she said they’re very common.

But for some, the show was an entirely new experience.

“I’ve heard of the fireworks, but I’d never heard of the festival,” said Spokane resident Kristina Ralls, who brought her daughter to the show. She called the re-enactment community “interesting.”

“I never knew it existed,” Ralls said.

Samantha Williams, 13, and her sister Emily, 10, said they can see the Skyfest airplanes from their home in Medical Lake, but it isn’t every day that a magic show and fireworks come to town.

“I want to see the fireworks so bad!” exclaimed Emily.

They were at the show with their grandmother, Barbara.

“She liked the movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ We thought it’d be along the same lines,” Barbara Williams said.

“It wasn’t really,” Samantha added.

Sandy Crawford discovered the show Saturday morning while feeding ducks in the Spokane River with her three granddaughters, 11-year-old stepsisters Kaylee and Ashley, and 7-year-old Jaymin.

“My granddaughters love this kind of thing,” she said. “They don’t really go to many things, but they seem to like this one.

“They make you a part of it,” she added.

Then, as if on cue, a woman dressed in 18th-century English clothing strolled by, offering a “Good day, m’ladies” to Crawford and her granddaughters.