Mutton and Mead: No Need to Put On Your Tights

Last year I decided I had to wear a costume, so I visited a thrift shop and found a gown that sort of looked like something a monk might wear. Then I grabbed my son in law’s big gold cross, and my outfit was complete.

I was ready to step back in time to the 1200s England, for Mutton and Mead Medieval Festival that takes place at the Turners Falls Rod and Gun Club 210 Turners Falls Rd., Montague this Saturday and Sunday.

But it turns out I really didn’t need to be in costume…and I felt silly wearing an old lady’s moo-moo trying to pretend I was a man of the cloth. No, you can enjoy this spectacle without having to don tights, or even wear a beer stein on your belt. That’s what the performers do, and they stay in character.

Greg Thompson as Friar Tuck at Mutton and Mead 2011

The story is about Robin Hood, and the sheriff, and Maid Marian. They all play a day-long drama that culminates with a trial and many fights and antics.

It’s also fun to stroll through the woods and see the man shooting arrows, the vendors who sell leather goods and big honkin’ turkey legs, and relax with some of Garth’s mead. And the best part is when the jousting begins and gigantic men fall to the earth from their steeds wearing heavy plates of armor.

Find out more at the festival website.

View a photo gallery of last year’s Mutton and Mead