Brant Historical Society (BHS) hosted its second annual Shirefest event at the Myrtleville House Museum on Saturday, September 13, 2025.
Throughout the six-hour event, around 70 people stopped in to explore the grounds, take part in different activities and shop from the various on-site vendors.
“This year’s event is very much a vendor fair, but it’s still maintaining that sort of historical renaissance-fair vibe where people are dressed up and enjoying themselves,” said Esther Brouwer, Myrtleville’s Education Programmer.
Brouwer said that while the event was very much all about having fun, buying interesting things and meeting people with similar interests, the event also serves as a fundraiser for the BHS.
“Because this is a fundraiser for us, instead of charging vendor fees, we’ve organized it so that each vendor has contributed an item for a prize draw,” she said. “Visitors can enter to win, and all proceeds from that will go to the Brant Historical Society. This is just our second year running the event and we’re hoping it will continue to grow so we can continue to carry it on and make it bigger and better every year.”
During the event, residents and out-of-town visitors had the opportunity to tour the historical Good family farmhouse with BHS volunteer Brian Moore, pop into the homestead’s old workshop to check out the blacksmithing demonstrations with Keith Cripps and Matthew Vaandering or try their at some live-action role-play games members of either Mystfall LARP or Bellhollow LARP.
For the youngsters in attendance, there were several kids activities set up along the tree line and in the drive shed. Both children and adults alike could be seen sporting face paint designs or posing for a photo with a dragon skull and sword.
Aside from all the various activities, visitors also shopped from nine different vendors including Delphinium Designs, Encyclopaedia of Tea, Thomas A. Knight, Mazy Way Indigenous Designs, Lisa the Lionheart, Halcyon Handworks, Thomas A. Knight, Lady of the Lathe, Whitestag Workshop and West River Soap Co.
From leather-made belts and bags to jewellery, Middle-Earth pins, fantasy inspired cutting boards, books, embroidery hoops, knit hats, crochet creations, slate coasters, artisan soaps and much more, there were plenty of ways to support the on-site small businesses.
Vendors, Kris Brooks and Marilyn Summers of Lady of the Lathe, said they were overall impressed with the event.
“I was surprised actually,” said Brooks. “We’ve done a number of newer events like this this year, some were better than others and I have to say this was one of the better ones.”
The two agreed that the best part about being vendors in events like Shirefest, is the community aspect.
“Everything at these sort of renaissance, medieval-type festivals tends to be more family oriented,” continued Brooks. “They don’t care how much you sell or anything like that, they just want to connect with like-minded people and have fun.”
London resident, Brendan Williams, said it was his first time attending Shirefest and that he was blown away with what the BHS had put together.
“The inner nerd in me is extremely happy seeing all the amazing stuff that they have at all the booths. I’m really enjoying getting to talk to everyone here and it’s just a lot of fun… I wish I could have gotten here sooner,” he said. “Personally, I’m a really huge Tolkien fan, so it’s nice to see a strong Tolkien presence at the event, but it’s also really nice to see such a diverse range of the fantasy genre coming together like this and sharing their passion.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
