Where fantasy becomes a reality

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Fantasy and reality will meet in St. Clair Shores at this year’s Michigan Fantasy FestIval.

Aubrey Meade, an organizer, said she has an entertainment background including opera and stilt walking. She said she loves outdoor events such as Renaissance festivals and concerts which inspired her to create her own event.

“I think the performance aspect and how fun these events are and how I guess how many performances there kind of are around the grounds and things, that was really interesting to me, and I’ve always wanted to organize bigger events,” Meade said.

Miranda Marshall, another organizer, also has a background in performance and theatrical displays. She said she has done performances with Meade and that they have been friends for a long while. She has also worked at many different pop culture conventions and has taken part in game design.

“Both of us really just loved fantasy in general and so while working on another project we had mentioned like this would be something that would be perfect for both of us to do, that we’re both really into, that would utilize both our skillsets,” Marshall said. “And we’ve been having a lot of fun.”

Many different vendors, performers and food options will be at the festival. A few notable performances include mermaids swimming in a tank, a stilt walker and stage performers. Meade said they have over 100 merchants with different items for sale including jewelry, body care, henna, face-painting and wands.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 14 and June 15. It will be held at the Cpl. Walter F. Bruce VFW Post 1146, located at 28404 Jefferson Avenue. There will be food available for purchase. Admission is $10 for those 12 and older and $5 for those younger than 12. Parking is available at the post, but there is an overflow parking lot on Saturday at Lakeshore Presbyterian Church, located at 27801 Jefferson Avenue.

Eventgoers can dress up in cosplay or Renaissance and fantasy-inspired garb, Meade said, but it is not required to attend the event. There will also be merchants there who will be selling clothing items inspired by the Renaissance and fantasy.

Performers will wander the festival, Meade said, interacting with guests and taking photos with them.

This event is family friendly with things available for both adults and children.

“If you have kids, you don’t have to be worried about coming in because all the programming is designed to be kid friendly but it’s also a space for adults that just want to come in and enjoy some time, too,” Meade said.

No real weapons are allowed inside the event.

“At the Renaissance faire, some people will try to bring swords and stuff like that. Obviously, we’re not encouraging that,” Meade said.

She does encourage people to bring sunglasses and sunscreen. Marshall said the rules are the same as any other public space.

“Just being respectful to other people,” Marshall said. “As people in the community say cosplay isn’t consent so stop and ask people if they’d like to take a picture with you so that they’re able to kind of pose and you both get a good picture.”

Outside alcohol is not allowed inside the event, but there will be adult beverages at the post for people to buy on Saturday. 

Both Meade and Marshall are excited about the festival.

“Miranda and I have talked about doing an event like this forever and we’ve done so many other theatrical events. I think this is the first time we really focused on making it a marketplace, too,” Meade said.

She said she’s also happy that the event is held in St. Clair Shores.

“When we talked about it, we were like, ‘What kind of area doesn’t have that experience yet that’s local?’” Meade said. “Because not everybody can go to Holly to go to a huge festival, but they want to do something kind of close by, and so St. Clair Shores really is the perfect place for it.”

Marshall added that they’ve had this date set for over a year.

“It has been quite a journey, so we’re really excited to see it come to fruition,” Marshall said.

Tickets can be purchased at shorturl.at/qLOzQ or at the door. They take cash and cards, but there is a surcharge for any credit card transactions for tickets.