MONROE — Nestled between the Skykomish River and gnarled pine trees, the village of Merriwick springs to life each summer for the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
This is the faire’s second year at Sky Meadows Park near Monroe.
Nearly 12,500 patrons entered the town’s gates last weekend. The faire will continue through the third weekend of August. Shana Casey, marketing director for Wandering & Time Productions, expects the next three weekends to be busy. At the faire, visitors can play games, devour giant turkey legs and watch musical and comedy acts. However, it’s the “chance encounters” with fellow faire-goers and cast members that make Merriwick magical, Casey said.
Festival workers blow bubbles during the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe on Sunday. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
I first discovered the village in 2021 when it was held in Bonney Lake. After work, I had just enough time to change, drive from Seattle and catch two shows before closing. My outfit was wrinkled and smelled like an Amazon bubble mailer.
“Is this your first faire?” asked an older man with a beard as we walked toward the exit.
He held a small square of tin foil, one side smooth and the other marked with tiny indents he claimed were hammered by gnomes.
As faire-goers took their final stroll through Merriwick, he gently folded the foil.
One of the beautiful things about the Renaissance faire, he said, is that everyday objects can become magical and he handed me a silver rose.
I was hooked.
However, I’m moving to Idaho in August, so this may be my last Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Everett Herald web producer Kate Erickson poses for a photo at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe on Sunday. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
As I entered the town gates in my homemade mushroom hat, cotton dress and the same corset from my first faire this past misty Sunday morning, I was greeted by a young peasant boy. Orion Muhic, 2, serenaded the pikemen with his flute as they guarded the queen.
“Orion has decided as of yesterday that he is a court musician,” his mother Lauren Mikov said.
Mikov, a lady-in-waiting and servant to the queen, was dressed in more formal garb. She was tending to the nobles. But her son, Orion, stayed a more comfortable humble peasant. This is his third Renaissance faire.
Mikov fell in love with Renaissance faires in 2008 after attending the Two Rivers Medieval Faire in Cashmere. She now works for Goode’s Company of Foot, an Elizabethan pike and shot reenactment group — one of the many guild performance groups that bring the faire to life.
“The opportunity to share history is wonderful, but the community is what keeps us coming back,” she said as we watched Orion play with the pikemen. “Just a group of friends that get the opportunity to dress up and do what they love.”
Among the guild tents and merchant booths, stages scattered around Merriwick hosted comedy acts, puppet shows, live Dungeons and Dragons role play, knife throwers, fire breathers and musicians. Cheers from the royal arena could be heard from almost anywhere in town.
At the arena, raptors flew, knights dueled on horseback, and Equestrian Chaos, a female-fronted stunt group, shot bows and arrows.
Attendees gather to meet a horse at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
It was enough to impress 8-year-old Liam Schweigert, of Marysville.
“That was crazy! I’ve never seen anyone do that before,” Liam said.
Liam and his little brother Maverick have different tastes in entertainment. Liam described the joust as “eh”— he was expecting real fighting rather than a scripted battle — while Maverick cheered for the knights from the confines of his stroller.
Feeling “underdressed” in his Pokémon shirt and flip-flops, Liam plans to dress as an assassin next year. He has retired his camouflage fanny pack for a jewel-encrusted black leather assassin’s pouch that holds his phone and diabetic candies.
People cheer during the joust at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe on Sunday. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The costumes and community hooked Scarlett Delestrez, 22, of Lake Stevens.
At the faire, Delestrez can become whoever she wants. The original characters she creates come to life outside her sketchbook. On Saturday, she was Thalia, a confident sea elf raised by sailors. On Sunday, she was a sea witch with a pet dinosaur.
Delestrez attended her first faire two years ago and decided this year to join the magic as a care team volunteer for merchants and vendors.
“I didn’t think I’d have a place to fit in because I’m shy and I’m not really a performer. But here, I can be in my element,” Delestrez said.
Scarlett Delestrez poses for a photo at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe on Sunday. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Faire is constantly evolving, Casey said.
“We did have some growing pains last year. When the faire finishes, we’re already planning for next year. We’ve spent the last year getting the site ready, we put a lot of infrastructure this year,” Casey said. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears goes into building Merriwick every year, and trying to make it a better experience in the last year.”
For example, two members of the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire community approached the event’s producers about including interpreters, leading to the faire’s first official American Sign Language weekend this year with six interpreters.
Next year, the faire hopes to expand accessibility by offering more weekends and shows with ASL interpretation, Casey said.
An American Sign Language interpreter translates a falcon show at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire near Monroe on Sunday. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Becky Zaklan, from Graham, began learning ASL after her son exhibited signs of hearing loss in elementary school.
When they started attending the faire with her mom, her son, now 23, didn’t have the access he needed to immerse himself, so Zaklan interpreted for him.
Her family fell in love with faire culture. This season, all three generations are involved in Merriwick’s magic. Zaklan worked as a hair braider in previous years and is now a member of the Swedish Court and an interpreter. Her mom volunteers on the care team and sews all of her costumes. And her 17-year-old daughter got her first paycheck last week working at the doughnut stand.
Although her son now lives in Texas, Zaklan continues to interpret to ensure others who rely on ASL can enjoy the faire community she and her family cherish.
For Zaklan, dressing up is exciting, but what truly keeps her coming back is the magic of connecting with people and family.
“The chaos of the world isn’t here right now,” she said. “We can forget everything outside these gates for the weekend and just enjoy the weekend and interact with people.”
Kate Erickson: kate@k8oclock.com; Twitter: @katerickson_.
Want to attend?
The faire is located at 18601 Sky Meadows Lane.
General admission tickets cost $39.95 for adults, $25.95 for children, and are valid from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Get tickets at https://washingtonfaire.com/.
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