Dakota Miller gives a presentation about creating a medieval combat at a past event. He and his group will be a part of Eclipsing the Renaissance April 8.
Republic file photo
Columbus Municipal Airport Director Brian Payne clearly understands flight.
And the upcoming free Eclipsing the Renaissance festival unfolding at Columbus AirPark from noon to 4:30 p.m. April 8 shows that he understands flights of fancy and history.
The gathering is being billed as perhaps the single largest local event linked to the total solar eclipse scheduled to unfold at about 3 p.m. that day. Organizers are guessing they could attract up to 20,000 people for the rain-or-shine gathering if the weather cooperates.
Payne seems the perfect choice to put together a Renaissance festival. He and his family have attended such events not only in this country but in Europe as well. He and his organizing team seem to understand the mission for the airport’s 12-acre grounds for the event.
The motto of the festival featuring everything from jousting to Celtic music to (what else?) turkey leg delicacies: “Prepare thyself for a magical day.”
There also will be ax throwing (with a small fee), a falconer, hoverboard archery for the youngsters and more.
Plus, ZwanzigZ Production Brewery is serving craft beer.
“We’re excited because this is something that Columbus has never done before,” Payne said. “We really hope that people understand that this something where the whole family can come out.”
Organizers have been planning the schedule and booking acts, some of them from the nearby Ohio Renaissance Festival, for the past eight months.
“It has been a lot of work just to get to this point,” Payne said, acknowledging that it also has been enjoyable.
Columbus resident Dakota Miller will bring his 30-person Vernon Vanguard Armored Combat group to the festival for a full-contact tournament throughout the day with complete armor, real swords, real shields, you name it — all for a realistic, period touch, my lord. Medals will be presented to the winners.
“We usually draw a pretty large crowd because of how loud it all is and how exciting the actual fighting is,” Miller said of their previous Renaissance festival experience.
The proceedings will occur within a 30-foot by 30-foot wooden ring built for this event.
“The plan (in the future) is for us to have more exposure for more shows,” Miller said.
There also will be a Viking reenactment group, a blacksmith, the popular, local Teiko drummers, a stone carver, and more than 20 merchants, ranging from woodworkers to jewelers to clothing vendors.
Plus, in keeping with the moon-and-sun moment, organizers are distributing free eclipse glasses to the first 10,000 attendees.
And one last thing: Payne wants people to know that linking the eclipse with the time of the Renaissance was hardly just something he and his team wildly grabbed out of the sky. He discovered that one element frequently surfaced in Renaissance art.
Eclipses.
About the event
What: The free Eclipsing the Renaissance festival.
When: Noon to 4:30 p.m. April 8.
Where: Columbus AirPark, 4770 Ray Boll Boulevard.
Information and schedule: Facebook page for Eclipsing the Renaissance.
