Birds of prey awe at Medieval Festival
Matthew Morgan from the Canadian Raptor Conservancy is shown with Sasquatch, a 30-year-old golden eagle. The pair were part of the Birds of Prey demonstration at Upper Canada Village’s Medieval Festival. Morgan also showed a harris hawk, vulture and great horned owl. The golden eagle however has been used for falconry since the very beginning of the hunting sport. The eagle’s size makes for a skilled hunter able to take down animals up to the size of some wolves. Sawyer Helmer photo
Four knights competed in the final joust competition on Sat., June 9 at the Medieval Festival. Horses and riders readied themselves before charging full speed at one another with their jousting polls. Sawyer Helmer photo
Kalynn Sawyer Helmer
Record Staff
MORRISBURG – The Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival delighted crowds over the weekend. Entertainers commandeered the grounds, dressed in their medieval attire, teaching visitors just what it would have been like to live in Medieval times.
While there were plenty of vendors and artisans to see, each half hour brought with it a new demonstration for crowds to enjoy. Of the most popular were Kobbler Jay, the weapons and combat demonstrations and of course, the most exciting, jousting competition.
For both of the latter events, knights dressed in hundreds of pounds of armour and fought in non-choreographed battles with swords, spears and jousting polls. During Saturday’s final joust match, knights were thrown from their horses from the force of the blows and one even had to forfeit after a particularly hard hit. The level of commitment from the reenactors was impressive and had the crowds pulled into Medieval life.
