Spring Family Festival: Medieval Fair
Sunday, May 5 | 1 pmFree
From knights and ladies to scribes, artisans, and jokers, medieval life included many different people. Step back in time at the NCMA between 1 and 4 pm and enjoy medieval craft demonstrations, historic reenactors, strolling minstrels, jugglers, and more. Visit an artist guild to make some art to take home.
Artist Guilds
Scriptorium - Learn the art of calligraphy and illumination and make a bookmark
Bookmakers Guild - Make a manuscript or handmade book
Hatmakers Guild - Make a medieval hat or headdress to wear for the day
Potters Guild - Watch pottery wheel demonstrations and make a fancy pendant
Feltmakers Guild - Learn the art of felting and make a felted keepsake
Jugglers Guild - Learn how to “poi” juggle using soft, weighted equipment made by family participants
Heraldry - Make a coat of arms
Medieval Quest
You won’t want to miss this interactive family tour that challenges you to search for hidden treasures in the Museum’s permanent collection.
While you’re at the Museum, visit Object of Devotion in East Building to see medieval English sculptures made from alabaster. Tickets $5; free for children 6 and under; free for members.
Medieval Life and Times
In the Middle Ages, wandering minstrels were traveling entertainers who sang ballads, played instruments, recited poems, and performed acrobatics at religious feasts and community festivals. Local favorites Thunder and Spice roam the Museum, stopping to perform sing-alongs, sea chanteys, and pirate songs that tell stories from distant shores.
A scriptorium is a candlelit room, often inside a medieval monastery, where scribes copied, wrote, and decorated books and records. The Triangle Calligraphers Guild demonstrates calligraphy (the art of writing) and illumination (the art of decorating letters and pages in books with precious metal and pigment). Families can make their own fancy bookmarks using “uncial” script.
In the Middle Ages, wool was used to make clothing, hats, and accessories. Feltmaking (also known as “felting” or “fulling”) is the process of compressing wool fibers into a dense fabric; many cultures have legends that explain its origin. Legend has it that during the Middle Ages St. Clement, a wandering monk, stuffed his sandals with wool to prevent blisters; by the end of day, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks! Join local artist Cynthia Mollenkopf in the Feltmakers Guild for demonstrations and a hands-on exploration of this colorful art form.
This program is supported, in part, with funds from the List Family Endowment. The Raleigh presentation of Object of Devotion is supported by the Ron and Jeanette Doggett Fund.
Pictured at right: Thunder and Spice
See more in this series:
Family Films & Festivals
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Kids & Families Free
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May 5, 2013
