What do you get when you cram one thousand years of history into one big weekend?
Forsooth – you get a festival of the ages, for the ages!
Abbey Medieval Festival is held annually at the village of Abbeystowe near Caboolture, north of Brisbane – and you’d be hard-pressed to find a livelier or more colourful celebration.
Catapulted into Queensland’s event calendar more than 30 years ago, the first festival had a mere 200 people and 30 re-enactors.
Since then, it’s grown to include around 1,000 re-enactors from 40 different re-enactment groups – and attracts more than 30,000 visitors over the two days.
Whether it’s peasant rags or pointy princess hat, dressing up is a big part of the fun – with many festival-goers donning costumes to get into the spirit.
At the markets, upgrade your sword and armour, choose a new ‘ye olde’ outfit or restock your home bar with a bottle of traditional Mead.
There’s more mead (and plenty of food) flowing at the Stag Inn – where merry minstrels take to the stage to serenade the crowds.
Highlights of the weekend’s packed events program include the daily Grand Parade from the Castle; firing of the flaming Trebuchet; and – of course – all the action of The Joust.
If you’ve caught festival fever, why not head to the It’s Live in Queensland website for a full calendar of events, celebrations, carnivals and sporting showdowns in amazing Queensland destinations!
