8e Elf Fantasy Fair - Celts & Creatures


Niet minder dan 25 000 bezoekers lokte de Elf Fantasy Fair vorig jaar naar Kasteel de Haar wat van deze conventie het grootste fantasyevenement van het Europa maakt.
Gedurende één weekend veranderen kasteel en landgoed in het magische land Elfië, vol orc's, tovenaars, draken, ridders, vampieren, elfen en eenoorns. Voor deze 8e editie werd de conventieoppervlakte met de helft vergroot om plaats te bieden aan geheimzinnige locaties met welluidende namen als: Celtic Woods, Field of Honour, Manga Square, Gothic Romance, Witches Circle, Classic Fantasy en Medieval Road.
"Het wordt spannender en groter dan ooit," meldt hoofdorganisator Stefan Struik opgewonden, "stel je voor: een elf op een eenhoorn naast een Keltische boudicca die een 120 man sterk leger aanoert tegen orken en monsters. Voor het eerst organiseren we een online verkiezing van de koning en koningin van Elfië. Ter ere van hen wordt er een Fantasy Parade gehouden met de 100 mooiste kostuums van het evenement."
Een echt internationaal allure krijgt de conventie dankzij hoog bezoek van kunstenaars, acteurs en schrijvers. Zo maken alvast de volgende namen hun opwachting: Ian Whyte ( "Aliens vs Predator"), Shane Rangi ( "Narnia", "LotR"), Robin Hobb ( "Farseer"), Peter Pracownik ( Dragon Art), Julie Bell en twee kunstenaars wiens namen we beter niet vermelden om te voorkomen dat onze fotograaf de ganse dag naast hen doorbrengt: Chris Achilleos en enige echte Boris Vallejo.
Een kort overzicht van activiteiten & bezienswaardigheden:
* Een werkende trebuchet (katapult die werd gebruikt tijdeens middeleeuwse belegeringen)
* Een Stone Circle van 3m50 hoog
* Toneelstuk uit Terry Pratchett's Dicworld-reeks genaamd: Maskerade
* Tentoonstelling & demonstratie van Aziatische krijgskunsten & wapens op de Manga Square
* Show met de dieren (roofvogels, honden,...) die door Anderwelt werden getrainded voor films
* De eenhoornmerrie Silver en de paardenfluisterende pixie geven interactieve optredens & lezingen
* Achter de kapel en bovenop de oude crypte is de begraafplaats van Gothic Romance te vinden
* Concerten in de stijl van middeleeuws, folk, keltisch en trad. Onder de vele muzikanten vinden we ondermeer de Bretoense harpiste Cécile Corbel, het Duitse Schelmisch en onze eigen Belgische balfolkgroep EmBRUN die net zoals hun Nederlandse tegenhangers van Lirio voor een weide vol dansenden zullen zorgen.
* Fantasy slavenmarkt... eens kijken wat we ons kunnen aanschaffen. Een paar redactie-elfjes zouden handig zijn.
* Kinderriddertoernooi met houden wapens en in een echt kasteel
* Kampementen van larp'ers & reënacters met demonstraties, initiaties en uiteraard shoppingmogelijkheden
* Voor de 3e keer wordt de grote larp veldslag georganiseerd. Dit jaar vechten Romeinen, Saksen, Picten en Kelten het onderling uit.
* Midden-Aarde-kampement door de Duitse groep Fellow-Ship. 13 tenten, alle rassen en verschillende personages uit de Lord of the Rings-boeken & -films.
* Plaats voor spiritualiteit dmv fora, lezingen en stands voor geïnteresseerden in Natuurreligie (Hekserij, Wicca, Paganisme, Druïden)
* Vele duizenden bezoekers in prachtige kostuums en cosplays.
Overload... critical overload...
het is inderdaad verschrikkelijk veel om te zien, horen, voelen, ruiken en beleven...
Open: 10u-19u
Locatie: Kasteel de Haar, Haarzuilens (Utrecht), Nederland
Dagtickets: 9€75 (kind 3-11 jaar), 19€50 (volwassene)
(kortingen bij voorverkoop)

Reacties

Een reactie posten

Populaire posts van deze blog

Steampunk Legends - trailer

Afbeelding
Steampunk x Fantasy x Alchemistic Magic... In this alternative world steampunk machinery and technologies are heavily intertwined with alchemical spells. People have learned to control elemental spirits, and use them as a power source, intermingling divine powers with gears and mechanisms, creating gigantic ships and enormous trains. But the spirits were to break out, if the alchemical chains were to be corrupted or mechanisms happened to be destroyed. This gave birth to the whole new way of leading combat and developing battle tactics. More Steampunk Legends artwork by Russian artist ArseniXc The videotrailer: spl trailer from ArseniXC on Vimeo .
Meer lezen

Event - O-Parade Genk (2024)

Afbeelding
Every May 1st, a national holiday in Belgium, Genk becomes a city of colour, of fantasy and of cheering people. 55000 cheering people in 2024 to be exact. Because that many people lined the road for the O-parade. Luckily at the same time it's kermis ( carnival fair ), jaarmarkt ( market ), fireworks, and hundreds of stalls to drink & eat.. a grand total of 130000 visitors for 1 day is a lot for a city with only 63000 inhabitants. These are some impressions from the editions in 2022 & 2023 .  Eventhough 2024 has had an extremely rainy, stormy and dreary Spring, the weather shifted for a few days and the parade enjoyed the sun and a decent 26°Fahrenheit. The day after it rained again and was 14 degrees colder. So a big thanks to all the witches who made sure Beltane would be a great day . . . Let's provide you a few links: ▷ All photos can always be found on/downloaded from my Flickr and here ! ▷ A " How to download stills from Flickr " tutoria
Meer lezen

Event - Les fêtes médiévales de Binche (2024)

Afbeelding
Let's be really quick and dirty about this event: ▼ There was was an ice-cold wind, but most of the day it was dry, △ Each time the sun showed itself it was wonderful and we all smiled, △ Got a superb medieval cape that really helped against the wind, △ Great food ( including pancakes! ) and too much mead to taste, △ Überfriendly people ( visitors, reenactors, larpers & vendors.. sorry, I didn't run into anyone of the organisation, n or crew ) △ Excellent location: high upon the ramparts of the old city, △ Parked by accident right behind the corner of the event, △ Free parking, free toilets, and a fountain that will be useful during a future hot edition , △ Music by Skayrish , cannon fire, birds of prey, throwing things ( a bad combination with mead ),.. △ A fun afternoon eventhough it was tiny. . .   Let's provide you a few links: ▷ All photos can always be found on/downloaded from my Flickr and here ! ▷ A " How to download stills from Flickr &
Meer lezen

Collab - Verbeke Foundation cosplay day 2024

Afbeelding
A few weeks ahead of the first cosplay shoot day of 2024 in the Verbeke Foundation I had wisely estimated that I would run into & make pictures of 10% of all cosplayers. That was a gross misestimation.. I think it's closer to 5%. Every edition organizer Geert seems to double the number of participants. I still don't know how he manages, but kudos for gathering somewhere around 240 participants. Let's start with a few links: ▷ All photos can always be found on/downloaded from my Flickr and here ! ▷ A " How to download stills from Flickr " tutorial was posted here . ▷ Some highlights might go to Clapper & to Instagram or even Threads . ▷ Buy Red Cathedral a whisky on Ko-Fi ▷ Updates are on THE Facebook . ▷ Give a follow to this young creative foundation: Deep Red Noise vzw . . Here's the image gallery : ( Click on the arrows on the side to scroll ) UPDATE: 100% is processed & uploaded That Sunday I was in a very looking t
Meer lezen

Event - Elftopia 2021

Afbeelding
The 1st costume event in.. nearly 2 years? You can't believe the ecstasy of opening those tickets in the mail, getting that CovidSafePass in time and hearing that it would not get cancelled as feared ( unlike Castlefest ). Preparing the cameras. Getting ideas for shots. Actually smiling. Thank you Elftopia . However there was a little hick-up. I could blame it on traffic jams making us arrive extremely late.. but it wasn't that. It was exactly as feared and predicted in this post : I didn't dare to make photos. Have I gotten scared of walking up to people for a picture? Have I lost so much self-confidence? Did I stop trusting my technical instincts? Did I start doubting my gear? Haven't I talked to live strangers for that long? Is this what people call a panic attack or anxiety? I guess a bit of all of those. Meade helped a bit. Spending some time on the event finally got me clicking again.. but by that time the fair was closing its gates. So I returned home with on
Meer lezen

Infinite Crisis: scorch your enemies with flames of Rao, as Arcane Supergirl!

Afbeelding
Infinite Crisis TM : scorch your enemies with flames of Rao, as Arcane Supergirl! Take a look at  Arcane   Supergirl , a powerful blaster and the latest champion from  Infinite Crisis™  – the free-to-play MOBA from Turbine based in the DC Universe! On  Wednesday, 26 th November,  players can burn down their enemies when Arcane Supergirl goes live in the game! On the day Kara Zor-El was to be inducted into the ranks of Heralds of Rao, her life was shattered. A traitor revealed the location of the Shrouded Realm of Krypton to the Black, and servants of that evil realm poured into Krypton. The Hidden Lords of Krypton and the Kryptonians fought back bravely, but the forces of the Black were limitless. When all hope seemed lost, Alura, Kara's mother and leader of the Heralds, commanded her Flamebird mount to snatch Kara away. Unable to escape the beast's talons, Kara watched helplessly as her mother was struck down. The servants of the Black closed in on her as the beast telepo
Meer lezen

Age of Zombies for PSP/PS3

Afbeelding
TRY THE ZOMBIE-BLASTING ACTION OF BARRY STEAKFRIES FOR FREE! Age of Zombies is the latest App Store release from Halfbrick, creators of the best-selling iPhone games Fruit Ninja and Monster Dash. Now you can try it today for free with Age of Zombies Lite! Lock and load through the history of time as a tough-as-nails commando named Barry Steakfries, who is looking for nothing more than to shoot some zombies and make it back in time for a hearty dinner! The evil Professor Brains has sent hordes of undead to the furthest reaches of time to destroy mankind, but Steakfries won’t be taking that lying down. He’ll take it with a gun, a Zombie T-Rex and a whole repetoire of cheesy one-liners! Age of Zombies Lite features the full first chapter of the game in Prehistoric times, where you can even meet the legendary Zombie T-Rex! Best of all, you can even unlock the first map for Survival mode, upload scores to online leaderboards and even earn Achievements! AOZ Lite also features a wide ars
Meer lezen

Event - Manga & Cosplay festival 2022

Afbeelding
Let's start with the links first and then some random thoughts? There will be several sample images added to this post as the processing advances. Once finished ALL the pictures can be found here on Flickr . For updates of the progress & next events you can check the Facebook page . Some videoreels will follow on Clapper and on Instagram . It was during a warm November month in the Osaka -region that I finally started appreciating Autumn and the warmth of it's colours .  This year the extreme drought is giving September the first hint of those same colours. A perfect opportunity to visit the famous Japanese garden of Hasselt and reminisce about those days in Nara with the deer strolling through the parks and streets.. except in Hasselt it weren't deer posing for the cameras but cosplayers.  Yes; this was my weekend number 5 in a row with a costume event. The last one of this series because next weekend the events for work start again ( The Sanicole Airshow is t
Meer lezen

Event - Trolls et Légendes 2024

Afbeelding
Strange, do you sometimes have the feeling you nearly didn't make any photos during an event because you were spending so much time talking, but then after a long winding road you finally return home, and you suddenly discover a mountainload of shots on your cameras? Let's start with a few links: ▷ All photos can always be found on/downloaded from my Flickr and here ! ▷ A " How to download stills from Flickr " tutorial was posted here . ▷ Some highlights might go to Clapper & to Instagram or even Threads . ▷ Buy Red Cathedral a whisky on Ko-Fi ▷ Updates are on THE Facebook . ▷ Give a follow to this young creative foundation: Deep Red Noise vzw   . . Was it fun? Every edition Trolls et Légendes is becoming more like Castlefest in the sense of: ▷ It's the place where you run into lovingly people you know, ▷ You meet all kinds of new nice humanesque creatures, ▷ The food, the booze & the music make you smile. A short video on Clapper .
Meer lezen