The second annual New Mexico Renaissance Celtic Festival was held this past weekend, March 24 to 26, at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood NM. The event, which also hosted a variety of Celtic, medieval, viking and pirate-themed celebrations, included vendors, performers, cosplayers and more.
Eric Vigil, who also produces the annual Pirate and Viking Summer Bash, created this event in part to celebrate the Scottish clans of those who live in New Mexico. This year’s Celtic celebrations included local dance performances from the McTeggart Irish Dancers and Highland Dancers of Albuquerque, as well as music performances by Albuquerque-based artists.
Festival attendees also enjoyed viking-themed performances from local singer SAVII and The Brothers Saga. Interest in Scandinavian arts and culture was a draw for Connor Gonzales, a blacksmith and festival vendor operating under the name “Storm Seer Forge.” His work is inspired by his Scandinavian ancestry.
“This (knife) is based off of the indigenous tribes of Scandinavia. They’re called the Sámi people. This is based off of their puukko design, basically their utility knives or everyday carries,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales vended at the 2022 NMRCF as well as the Pirate and Viking Summer Bash.
“Being a vendor is pretty good. We’re treated pretty well … it’s definitely a way for us to get our business out there,” Gonzales said.
As for games, a group of UNM graduate students organized a tomato toss, which involved throwing tomatoes at a person. The Pirate Cove Stage hosted performances from Sabastian the Singing Pirate, the Brethren of the Sunken Skull, and the Punch and Judy Puppet Show. The Order of Epona, a jousting troupe from Fort Collins, Colorado traveled to Edgewood to put on a two-day jousting tournament as a part of the festival.
The festival also featured the Albuquerque Jackals, an armored combat team.The Jackals travel to different Renaissance fairs around the Southwest to perform choreographed fights in addition to fighting in national competitions. Team member Andrew Gober joined in October 2020.
“We definitely enjoy the crowd. Fighting in front of loud music is a whole different adrenaline rush because you feel more empowered. Like, yes, we’re going to hit like no other. But instead of fighting in silence and being like, ‘Okay, I’m kind of exhausted,’ you get all this cheering and encouragement,” Gober said.
Paddy Spei-Johnson, the vendor behind “The Magpie’s Shiny Thangs,” spoke to how the festival created a space for Pagan art as well as a space welcome to young LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent crowds.
“Everyone deserves something sparkly and shiny in their life. I was sitting there, creating little fae pet rocks, and people are like, ‘How are you gonna make money off of that?’ There is something you can strive for without having to fit into what society or your family or a certain religion or whatever is trying to tell you to be,” Spei-Johnson said.
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Spei-Johnson compared the NM RCF to other past events they’ve attended in New Mexico.
“I’m a nerdy neurodivergent queer and heard ‘Renaissance fair’ and was like, ‘Yay.’ It’s a lot more relaxed for us, honestly. We tend to feel like we need to be on guard at a lot of events because of who we are,” Spei-Johnson said.
Henry Hammel is a freelance photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @hhfreestone.
