In the year of our Lord 2023, armoured knights will descend upon Kryal Castle in Ballarat to vie for the ultimate prize – the honour of being crowned jousting champion on the 50th anniversary of jousting in Australia – at the annual Victorian Medieval Festival.
Held over two days on the weekend of 18-19 November, this year’s Festival promises to be the most spectacular yet, featuring Viking battles, jousting knights, a living history village showing how people lived in the Middle Ages, a medieval catapult, night-time food market and tavern and loads of fun activities for the kids.
Coinciding with the celebration of 50 years of jousting in Australia, thousands of people are expected to attend the event in the Central Highlands of Victoria, just one hour out of Melbourne. General Manager Bart Hamilton said the festival will be a fitting celebration for the 50th anniversary of jousting in Australia as it both celebrates and recreates life as it was in the Middle Ages.
“This year’s Victorian Medieval Festival will be a brilliant family experience as an amazing educational opportunity that’s also thoroughly entertaining,” Mr Hamilton said.
Resident Kryal Castle knight, Phil Leitch, said this year’s jousting tournament will be the biggest Australia has seen.
“It was 1973 when Australia saw the first public joust featuring the Australian Harris Brothers and a tour by the British Jousting Society, heralding the birth of the medieval sport of jousting in this country. Since then we’ve have had three Australian World Champions and countless Australian team victories over teams in Europe, America and the Pacific,” he said.
Aussie jousting is still going strong, with more than 30 jousting competitors nationally. The doughtiest of these will charge on their mighty steeds, smashing their lances on their opponents shield in a brutal and stunning tribute to the history of jousting in this country at the upcoming Victorian Medieval Festival.
“Of the 12 jousters competing, we have three former world champions, Australian representatives and heaps of upcoming talent. It will be a hard-fought competition and an honour to celebrate half a century of jousting in this country,” Leitch said.
The family-friendly Victorian Medieval Festival boasts a range of activities for all ages, including:
• Spectacular jousting knights
• Authentic medieval merchants
• Traditional birds of prey show
• Full VIP experience tickets available (limited)
• A living medieval village filled with more than 150 historical re-enactors
• Night food market and tavern
• A trebuchet (medieval catapult)
• Kids’ activities including knight’s school, archery, demonstrations, displays and a range of hands-on learning experiences
Victorian Medieval Festival tickets are all-inclusive and on sale now. Numbers are limited and are prepurchase only, no tickets will be available at the gate. Get your tickets here.
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