Huzzah — jesters, knights and everything nice: The Senses Block Party welcomed the Renaissance faire to Old Town Newhall on Thursday.
Eager residents attended the sixth event of the 2023 lineup with friends and family, while many dressed for the occasion. Flower crowns were passed out for attendees to continue accessorizing, as well.
Strolling through the block, residents of all ages could find something to do. Whether it was a chess game, archery practice, jousting competitions or ax throwing, there were ample activities to relish in the Renaissance.
Adults who were parched could even indulge in a Latin-named alcoholic beverage at the bar hosted by Eighth & Rail, where the menu consisted of: “The Wench,” “The Squire,” “Fare Thee Well,” “Huzzah” and “The Constable.”
Ale House Throwing performed covers of hits such as “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” by The Proclaimers, and “Back Home in Derry,” by Christy Moore, while “clown-tortionist” Scarlett Checkers — who wore both checkers and scarlett — wowed the crowd with her flexibility.
The opening act was juggler and performer, Mr. Nebula, who has been performing for over 20 years around the world.
“I [now] work at Six Flags. I originally learned how to juggle and then it became my profession. [Now] it’s my favorite thing to do.”
Brittany Pascual and her husband Cody were properly dressed for the occasion with an essential accessory: elf ears.
“Surprisingly, this is our first time dressing up. I saw that it was the Ren fair today, and then I decided to dress up, so my husband went on a manhunt for some elf ears from A Chorus Line,” Brittany said. “We have a lot of friends that go to the fair every year, and we’ve always wanted to go. I’ve been to the Ren faire in L.A. twice — this is my first time at this one. It’s such a fun theme.”
Cody had gone to the fair once before, and while he does not recall specific memories, he was content with the event:
“I went to Ren fair as a child with my dad, but this is super fun. We’ve got ax throwing, night battles.”
Adelia Palma, and her younger brother, Thomas, were excited to attend Senses after its hiatus due to COVID. They made sure to take advantage of most of the activities present.
“We played some chess. I did some ax throwing. We both did archery — I almost hit the bullseye. We guessed how many dragons were in a jar. I got these cute, little [flower crowns],” Adelia said. “I’ve actually been to a bunch of the Senses events before COVID, and I didn’t know they actually brought these back. I was really excited to hear about this, especially since it’s Renaissance-fair themed.”
Adelia’s only regret? “I wish I dressed up more.”
Thomas was feeling anticipation ahead of the event, partially due to not knowing how to dress for the occasion:
“I was in my closet looking at all my things. [Nothing] was medieval,” Thomas said.
However, nerves eventually turned to excitement, as the community and environment eased him in.
“Archery was my [favorite thing here], but I was too nervous for the ax throwing,” Thomas said. I think [overall] I felt like a nice crowd. I think there are a lot of nice people who were helping us out with finding things.”
While ax throwing wasn’t everyone’s favorite choice, it was an overall hit. April Ordway claimed to have lucked out when hitting bullseye. In fact, it was a bit too coincidental.
“My last name is Welsh, and it means both ‘pointy object’ and ‘war.’”
