AUTHOR’S NOTE: I first visited the Ashville Viking Festival in 2011. You can read that experience here: https://ohiofestivals.net/9-ashville-viking-festival-april-30-2011/
This post documents my experience on April 28, 2018.
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In Ashville, Ohio, home to the World’s Oldest Traffic Light…
…the vikings returned, set anchor…
…and set up camp at the annual Viking Festival.
As always, they brought some friends with them…
…including pirates…
…Scottish clans
…medieval and Middle Ages folk…
…and a soldier from Ancient Rome (for more personalities that usually attend the festival, check out my 2011 Review).
Through this motley crew of characters, there was plenty of entertainment to be had…
…including living history encampments…
…where there were educational displays and discussion…
…historical entertainment…
…filled with combat demonstrations and jousting (Combatant’s Keep)…
…and a large number of staged performances…
…which included instrumental music…
…singing…
…and even fire eating (The Daring Douglasses).
Vendor booths filled a pavilion…
…and shaped out a Saxon Market…
…where they offered such items as jewelry…
…wood carvings…
…fine pottery (Hearthstone Arts)…
…pipes (Danny Boy Pipes)…
…and cutting tools.
Clothing alone was plentiful, made of cloth (right – Greentree Weaving)…
…leather…
…chain mail (Pendragon Chainmail)…
…and a touch of fantasy.
Whether you were wandering around the festival…
…or waiting for your kids to finish a bounce house or face painting session…
…it was easy to get a bite from the traveling Pickles and Jerky cart.
Otherwise, festival goers could either try out a food truck…
…or simply head to Thor’s Feast Hall…
…where turkey legs topped the menu…
…hearty soup bread bowls were perfect for a chilly day…
…and freshly made pork rinds made every festival complete…
…at least for me.