Doctor Who at Medieval and Renaissance Faires

Doctor Who costumes and props fit in nicely at medieval and renaissance faires.

There is an episode of the animated comedy show Home Movies called ‘Renaissance‘ in which a medieval faire is invaded by attendees of a nearby science fiction convention and the two camps battle for the glory of their implied mutually exclusive geekdoms. (You can view it on Adult Swim‘s site here.) But while science fiction cosplay has been happening at medieval and renaissance conventions for quite some time — and while some people are annoyed by this — the episode is not exactly representative of real life. There is a long history of an overlap of these two interests and it is becoming increasingly acceptable to blur the lines at gatherings for one or the other.

For example, according to a recent article from The Tampa Tribune, the Bay Area Renaissance Festival has become quite the welcoming place for science fiction fans, particularly Whovians. The article was coincidentally published the same day as our article ‘Localized Doctor Who Fandoms Continue to Flourish.’ Here are a few excerpts from The Tampa Tribune:

"“Over the past few years we’ve seen a growing interest from science fiction niche groups,” says Kim Heidger, marketing director with the Renaissance Festival. “And there is a large ‘Doctor Who’ fan base in Tampa that came out last year unofficially, so this year we’re having our first official Doctor Who costume contest.”. . .The Doctor’s time traveling police call box spaceship, The Tardis, will be an attraction on the Time Travelers weekend of Feb. 27-28, which also features a Steampunk Invasion and costume contest.. . .More from Doctor WhoNcuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who Christmas special is a “complete reinvention”Ncuti Gatwa is “so nervous” to take on Doctor Who roleThe Doctor and Donna are better than ever in “Wild Blue Yonder”Take the Black: House of the Dragon season 2 trailer hints, the Fallout show, and moreJodie Whittaker didn’t pick up on any of the hate for her version of the DoctorDoctor Who, an alien Time Lord, fits into the Renaissance Festival because he’s traveled back to the period several times since the series started in 1963, says Tampa resident Leo Martin, founder of the Central Florida-based Whovian Order, “a group of hard-core fans.”"

Indeed, the Doctor and other characters from the Whoniverse fit in quite nicely in medieval and renaissance times… or any time period, really. The freedom to go virtually wherever, whenever gives them more wibbly wobbly timey wimey freedom than characters of any other science fiction franchise.

For more information on The Whovian Order, go to their facebook group. If you are interested in attending the Timey Wimey Invasion on February 27th, 2016, there is a facebook event page.

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Next: Doctor Who: On Writing for a Fan Site

Is Doctor Who represented at medieval and renaissance faires that you attend? Tell us about it in the comments.