A Fair to Remember

Avalon Medieval Festival brings history to life

Story by Jen Calhoun

Gelene Grim-Marquez wants to make one thing clear: She feels no desire to travel back to the days of King Arthur, even if she does love attending medieval fairs in the 21st century. “The first thing I always say about that time period is that it was terrible,” she says of the Dark Ages. “For one thing, it smelled horrible, and you had to be a very tough, resilient person.”

But that’s definitely not the case with the Avalon Medieval Festival in Kilgore. The event, which takes place every weekend in April, offers a fun — and sanitary — way to take the whole family back to the days of knights and kings, jesters and serfs. “It’s an opportunity to escape the real world and pretend to be someone else,” says Grim-Marquez, a medieval fair enthusiast and volunteer with the event.

Guests can visit a fairy garden, watch jousters and jugglers and participate in a king’s feast. They’ll see tents in the style of the period, experience mead tastings and watch a demonstration of birds of prey. Face painting and crafting sessions will also take place. In addition, vendors of every kind will be on hand, as well as costumed characters dressed in period clothing. “We encourage everyone to dress up, but they don’t have to,” Grim-Marquez says.

Love of Fairs

Avalon Medieval Festival started in 2015 with a group of medieval enthusiasts wanting to start their own fair. They found a champion in Adi DiShion, who offered up her land in Kilgore as the backdrop for the event. That’s when Avalon Faire, the venue, and Avalon Medieval Festival, the event, were born.

Since starting, the festival has continued to grow. Last year, Grim-Marquez estimates around 10,000 people attended throughout the month — up more than 3,000 from the previous year. “Our attendance has been humongous,” she says. “I think it’s that people need that escape. I also think people were cooped up for COVID so long, and it made them want to get out and find different experiences.”

Making History

DiShion began attending Renaissance and medieval fairs when she was working as a nurse. “I started going for the escape and to immerse myself in a time period I always enjoyed as far as learning about history went,” she says. “I would head out of the of fice on a Friday evening and go to the fair where I could live a different life for a whole weekend.”

Now retired, she still enjoys the excitement and spending time with likeminded people. But it’s the history that really makes the experience interesting for her. “I’ve always been a history buff my whole life,” DiShion says. “Anything about history — especially medieval times — was always my favorite pastime. Many of the people involved in these fairs are all history buffs and have researched the time period.”

Sometimes known as the Middle Ages or Dark Ages, the medieval time period was an era of struggle and fear. The majority of people lived as peasants, working for the nobility. It spanned hundreds of years, starting in the late fifth century not long after the fall of the Roman Empire. It lasted until about the 1400s, when the Renaissance — a time of political, cultural and economic rebirth — took hold in Europe.

“It was a time when people had to be self-reliant,” DiShion says. “It was about being hardcore, being able to depend on yourself and no one else. It was pretty brutal. That struggle of human existence is what drew me to it.”

But those hard times brought about folk tales of conquering heroes, supernatural events and fantastical beasts that live on today. And just like today, fairs were a welcome distraction from the daily grind. They offered a place for people to gather and sell their wares, says DiShion, who sees the necessity and the beauty of a festive gathering in any era. “Back then, everyone would take their trades to the main village closest to them, and that’s what we’ve re-created,” she says. “It comes from that tradition.”

Turn Back Time

Avalon Medieval Festival will take place every weekend throughout the month of April on the grounds of Avalon Faire at 1076 FM 1252 West in Kilgore.

Tickets are free for children 3 and under, $6 for children ages 4 through 12, $10 for students and $15 for adults. Individual season passes are $120, and a family pass for up to 2 adults and 3 children is $300.

The family-friendly festival offers activities and performances for all ages, including the King’s Feast, a daily joust, vendors, belly dancers, an aerial silk show, crafting activities, a fairy garden and much more. For a full schedule of events, ticket information and tickets to the King’s Feast, visit the Avalon Faire website.