Lady Lisa and Lord Todd.
Lisa Martineau and Todd McCooeye will be legally married in medieval garb on July 9, during the Osgoode Medieval Festival on the village square.
Photo submitted
Lords and ladies, maidens and princes, knights and even commoners are invited to the fourth annual medieval festival in Osgoode this July – complete with a real wedding, an enormous feast and the chance of a royal assassination.
Beginning Friday, July 8 with an education day for kids and families, the festival runs the gamut of medieval activities from sword fighting, dancing and jousting to eating an entire feast with a single utensil.
“Last year some people snuck in cutlery, and we told the king and queen on them and they were brought to justice,” explained festival organizer Judy Carey, who said real medieval feasters usually just used a knife to stab their food. This year only spoons are allowed.
The Knights of Valour, a troupe of professional jousters will be a highlight as they entertain the crowds with several competitions throughout the weekend.
“This is not pretend; whatever happens happens,” she said, noting they use lances as weapons but aim for their opponent’s armour.
She said the jousting competitions have changed greatly since twelfth century Europe.
“In the olden days, if you lost a joust you lost your lance, your land, your horse and your armour. They were a big deal,” she said.
For $5, visitors can enjoy the many spectacles set up beside the Osgoode village square across from the community centre. Puppet shows, merchant displays, blacksmith demonstrations, displays of armour, shields and weapons and children’s games will keep the family entertained on July 9 and 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. each day. At 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, King Tracey Howe and his wife Queen Gainer – well-known community members chosen to rule the Kingdom of Osgoode this year – will provide courtly entertainment with a story teller and medieval music at the community centre before the royal feast begins.
Although Tracey and Gainer Howe now live in the Kingdom of Chesterville, they lived in Osgoode until recently, and Carey said the Osgoode Kingdom won Chesterville in battle anyway.
Unfortunately for the royal couple, Carey said each of the four annual festivals has been marred by a royal assassination, usually after the special knighting ceremony that honours a special community member on Sunday.
Last year, the king was murdered by a female assassin who thanked him for his efforts but couldn’t allow him to live since he brought in the HST, Carey explained.
Tickets for the royal feast are $45 in advance or $50 at the door for adults, and $30 in advance and $35 at the door for children.
Of course, a medieval festival is not complete without a traditional wedding, and Lady Lisa Martineau and Lord Todd McCooeye will oblige on Saturday as they wed in full medieval garb.
For the past two years, the couple has been participating in a traditional handfasting ceremony that legally marries them for a year and a day. On July 9, they will marry for good in the spirit of the theme that brought them together in the first place.
More than a decade ago, Martineau moved to Ottawa from Montreal and joined a local Dungeons and Dragons group, which McCooeye was a part. The rest is history.
“Both Todd and I love it, and I’ve always been interested in the medieval time period. That’s from my childhood, from books and movies.”
Festival goers on the grounds can watch the wedding take place, although the couple will also have their own guests seated for the ceremony.
For more information about the festival and how to purchase tickets, visit www.osgoodemedievalfestival.com.