Family Festival: Medieval Play
GETTY CENTER
The Getty Center
This is a past event
Join us for a fun-filled festival inspired by medieval play and pastimes! Arrive in costume or create your own custom tunic and immerse yourself in a medieval village where you can learn a courtly dance, sing with wandering minstrels, and meet Angel, a medieval-breed pony. Play traditional games, try your hand at sword fighting, or storm the castle with foam swords and shields on the Getty’s expansive garden lawns. Whether you come for the finery or the fighting, it’s a good time for all!
Complements the exhibition Play and Pastimes in the Middle Ages, on view from May 16, 2023 in the North Pavilion.
Generous support provided by the Getty Patron Program.
ALL-DAY FUN
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Illuminated Manuscripts Demonstration & Coloring
Watch as modern-day scribes create illuminated manuscripts in front of you! Ask questions, learn about the art form, then color a page inspired by a medieval manuscript!
Make a Medieval Tunic with artist Maggie Green
Be the height of medieval fashion in a custom tunic! Craft it in your favorite colors or embellish it with a personal or family crest using paper, markers, scissors, and glue.
Medieval Bird Puppets with artist Ellen Schulze
Bring home a feathered friend! Designed to look like they flew right out of an illuminated manuscript and into your home, these puppets are fun for everyone.
Game Boards with artist Marianne Sadowski
Inspired by medieval board games, participants will make their own “Nine Men’s Morris” board game and learn how to use it.
Games with Wise Guys
Storm The Castle
Pool Noodle Jousting
Take Back Toe
Medieval Village
Be transported back in time at our Medieval Village! Explore a historically accurate tent, talk with townsfolk, play traditional games, and watch artisans use traditional methods to create fabric!
Conservation Ambassadors/Zoo to You
A medieval bird meet-and-greet.
The Historical Pastimes Society
Join in good ol’ (very ol’) fashioned fun! Try your hand at quoits, bowls, or nine pins like they used to in medieval Europe!
PERFORMANCES
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Storytime with Angel, the Pony
Love storytime? Now, what if your storytime came with its very own medieval-breed pony? Join us in the shade of Getty’s Central Garden for a very special hands-on storytime with Angel.
10:30 AM │ 2:15 PM
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum presents: St. George & the Dragon
Gather ‘round and enter a world of knights, princesses, and dragons through the story of St. George and the Dragon. Stick around after the show to learn swordplay techniques with Cavin Mohrhardt!
11:45 AM │ 3:15 PM
Companie of Merriment
Sprightly and entertaining tunes of the 14th and 15th century by The Unusual Consort will transport you to days past. Watch the performance then try your hand at some fun and simple medieval dance steps!
1:00 PM │ 4:30 PM
Birds of Prey with Conservation Ambassadors/Zoo to You
Learn about one of medieval nobility’s favorite pastimes, meet some new feathered friends, and get a chance to see a bird of prey in flight!
11:00 AM │ 12:15 PM │ 3:45 PM
Medieval Battle with Academy of Arms
Get ready for some fancy footwork as warriors duck, parry, dodge, and trap their way through a series of bouts that are sure to pack a wallop! Then join in the fun with a foam sword or take a moment to admire historically accurate recreations of a variety of medieval weapons and armor.
11:00 AM │ 12:45 PM │ 2:30 PM
Music by Ensemble Ciaramella
Ciaramella brings to life medieval and early Renaissance music from historical events and manuscripts. Founded on a core of traditional wind instruments, Ciaramella takes its name from a 15th-century song about a beautiful girl whose clothes are full of holes but when she opens her mouth, she knocks men flat. Its members believe that every composition conceals a rich story waiting to be unlocked through historical research and performance.