Take a step back in time with the Windy Castle Medieval Faire, July 29 and 30 at the Coyote Flats Pioneer Village, just outside of Picture Butte.

 The Faire was inspired by Michelle Couper’s visit to the Brook Medieval Faire. She soon recruited  Juanita DeVos to help organize  a medieval Faire near Lethbridge.

“She went there for a day and said she’d love to build a hay bale maze. And as soon as she said she wanted to do a Medieval Faire, I said ‘count me in,’” DeVos said, adding ironically, the hay bale maze will be pretty much the only  attraction not happening at the faire due to  the bales they wanted to borrow for it being in too poor quality to move twice.

“ If you shoot for the moon, you will at least reach the clouds. Some ideas have been derailed. Not all of our ideas have come to fruition,” DeVos said.

So there will be a variety of  attractions for  all ages, including bouncy castles for age 6-11, 12-18 and another for grownups, a medieval feast including jousting from jousting organization Tilt and Lance, medieval sword fighting demonstrations and lessons, games,  an adventure filled carriage ride in the coulee, bards, storytellers, the Lethbridge object manipulators, jugglers,  crafts, plenty of people in medieval costumes, vendors and artisans of all sorts. There will even be a tavern featuring a special brew created by Coulee Brew for the event, plus mead and a singing bartender.

“We might even have archery depending on the wind,” she said.
“We even have a psychic. She knows how many people will be there, but she won’t tell us, which is unfair,” DeVos chuckled.

 There will be a treasure hunt as well, where participants, will be given a program and a list of clues for them to follow. In addition there will be a photo contest and photo booth
“Michelle said the number one rule was it has to be fun for everyone including the volunteers. I was reading a book about Walt Disney, who said  your staff is your most important  asset. If they’re happy,  everybody else will be.’ The volunteers only have to work four hours and then they can enjoy the faire,” DeVos said, adding they still need more volunteers.

“We can’t do an event like this without volunteers,” she said.

She noted they have received a lot of support from the community including Kapow Comics, who have been selling tickets and the Lethbridge Medieval Club, who will be a big part of the Faire, holding martial arts and medieval combat demonstrations as well as teaching some of the simpler techniques to those interested.

Lethbridge girls have been learning how to rock for the past five years with a little help from Lethbridge Girls Rock Camp.

 For a week girls aged 17 and under are put together in bands, learn an instrument, learn how to write songs, create merch , rehearse and perform together at the end of the week.

 The fifth annual camp takes place at the Gate, July 24-28  with the band showcase on July 29.

 This year’s camp is the biggest yet, which comes as a pleasant surprise to organizer Silvana Campus.
“This year is our biggest ever, we have 31 campers. In previous years we have had around 20,” enthused Campus.

“This year we are getting sisters whose big sisters have been here in previous years,“ she continued, adding more campers means they will be able to form eight different bands, who will be guided by around 20 volunteers helping throughout the week in various capacities from instructing to helping haul gear.

“Some will be volunteering a full day , others will be volunteering for a half day,” she said,noting volunteers include some familiar faces from local bands including Aaron Trozzo, Rebecca McHugh and Hope Madison of local band Wint, Bailey Horton from new local band the Sad Mango, Jackson Tiefenbach of the Ruby Plumes and J Blissette and Bente Hansen, who, among many other projects, performs with New West Theatre.

After last week’s slower week punctuated by  South Country Fair, July 21-23, things pick up steam in a big way early this week with the Wide Skies Music Festival at Southminster United Church.

A variety of bands  (5:15:Shaela Miller; 5:50: 24th Street Wailers; 7:55: Ryland Moranz; 8:50: Deep Dark Woods; 8:15: Mariel Buckley; 9 :15: Alex Cuba) play a free outdoor show on Wednesday.

While the Wednesday event is free, festival  passes cost $60, which include preferred seating for Thursday night, swag as well as a transit pass. Organizer Mike Spencer noted there will be a suggested donation of $10 for Wednesday night to help cover expenses.

 The next night, Thursday, is a paid concert inside Southminster United Church featuring roots and blues duo Dave and Phil Alvin. Lindi Ortega opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $60.

After that, there is a big indie rock show at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Thursday, July 27 featuring Toronto based singer songwriter Charlotte Cornfield and the Provincial Archive, Edmonton indie rock band Jesse and the Dandelions and local Indie rock band the Utilities.
The Owl Acoustic lounge also brings back Montreal singer songwriter Bobby Dove, Friday, July 28 with special guest Joey Only.