Build A Castle, and They Will Come

[Rani Zemirah]

I actually took a look at the website, and it looks like it would be fascinating for both of us!  She's 9 1/2, so it's something that she would really get a lot out of, particularly if I sprang for the Child's Interactive Ticket, which, for $28 includes:

• General Admission
• Guided Tour
• Grain to hand-feed our sheep
• Stone Carving with one of our Stone Masons
• Clay turning with our Potter
• Bracelet making at the Fiber Cottage
• Medieval Pouch filled with surprises at the Gift Shop

And next year they're supposed to have catapults!  She's all about the weapons, particularly the ones that can do lots of damage with one shot, and I'm pretty sure she'll be garbing full on Mercenary by the time she's 12...  She'll have her first real sword next summer, and she already wants to join the SCA's fight guild.  She's definitely not just in it for the Faerie wings, that's for sure!    At Faire the first thing she looks for is the archery range, then the forges, and then the joust... and she loves to learn about how things were made, or built, or planned.  Well, the "cool" stuff, anyway... she wasn't so keen on the inkle weaving demo I wanted to watch at King's Champion MF, but she was all over the crossbow field, where she got to shoot a live (although armored) target, and the only thing she asked for the whole weekend was the wooden sword...  She's settling for Pirate garb right now, but I just know she'll be eying the leather armor as soon as we get through the gates of TRF this year!  

I think this would definitely be a visit that would stay with her for life, and I'm sure she would also want to visit periodically through the coming years to see the progress, as well.  

(oh, forgot to mention she bought her very own mini catapult last year, with her own money, and frequently drives me nuts hurling things across the living room...)  

[Merlin the Elder]

That's really great that she's so into it, Rani. That would be a pretty long trip to Lead Hill, though, from the OKC area (isn't that your home base?)

They had a trebuchet up there...but it didn't look like it was in working order. I also found a couple of zinc-plated I-bolts on it, so somebody cheated   

With it being a teaching facility, it may be a while before it really, really gets interesting and has enough to warrant a long trip to visit, if that's your only reason to go. If it were eventually to become the cornerstone of a Ren Faire, I would be absolutely ecstatic! But I don't think that's what they have in mind....

[Rani Zemirah]

I was reading the website the other day, and it looks like they're planning to incorporate a few different styles of working siege engine into the experience by sometime next year, so it may have been still in the building/development stages when you saw it.  If we go it will be as a side trip from one of the Faires up in N. OK or S. MO., so it wouldn't be the main reason for the journey, although any drive through the Ozarks is lovely...

[DonaCatalina]

Build A Castle, and They Will Come

If you want to see how this looks on Google Earth, the coordinates are 47.583611, 3.155556

[DonaCatalina]

The Ozark Medieval Fortress project actual construction is only a couple years in. (http://www.ozarkmedievalfortress.com) We visited the site this summer. I would recommend visiting during a cooler period! The rendering the website shows for 2010 is far more advanced than they actually were in July.

It really is an amazing project.  It's in Lead Hill, AR, not too far from Branson (a much more familiar landmark). If they don't finish until 2030, I don't know if we'll still be able to visit! We'll be near 80 years old!

If you do want to visit, make sure you check their schedule...at this point in construction, they shut down during the winter months.

Their website gives map coordinates of 36.436, -93.062, but google earth doesn't show anything yet. The photos on the website look interesting. They seem to be going for French Norman construction, not surprising with Michel Guyot in the lead. I think I'd like to visit this if we can manage the time.

[Rani Zemirah]

We should all caravan!  Wouldn't it be fun to invade in garb?!?  Can't you just imagine the faces of the workers?    LOL

[Woodland Artisan]

A couple of their kids-area trebs ....

http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/images/OzarksCastle/DSC_5031.JPG

...  I think only one of them was in working order during my visit, though.  Not that I tried playing with them. ha!

And the only other siege weapon that I saw there was this ~15' tall one ...

http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/images/OzarksCastle/DSC_5097.JPG

... It, also, wasn't in working order and really just seemed like a test-run at one they might try to build in the (I'm guessing distant) future.

I didn't see any catapults, onagers, etc. out there.  Maybe they have plans (like I've said before ... their website information be damned) but when the carpenters and I talked about the treb mechanics/details, those other weapons never came up in the discussion.

Make no mistake ... Renfaire and anything smelling of it didn't seem like anything they were remotely interested in.

[Rani Zemirah]

No, it does seem to be a pretty strictly historical education enterprise, with a focus toward eventually sustaining itself through tourism, and I can't see them wanting to play host to hoards of garb-wearing fun-seekers, but I can imagine it would be fun for US to enjoy all the activities on the Interactive Ticket list, even if we're NOT under 16...  heheh

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a real medieval castle, grounds and village as the backdrop for a Faire?