Green Hill Medieval Faire
and Highland Games!
September 26-27, 2009
at Roanoke County's Green Hill Park
Saturday: 10am to 6pm, Masquerade Ball - 7pm
Sunday: 10am to 5pm
NOTE: The Faire will continue rain or shine!
Clans are welcome to attend
Admission just $5, kids under 5 Free
Visit the Faire's website for more information!
Find out more about the Highland Games by clicking here.
Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park will once again be the site for a spectacular reenactment of medieval times. We continue this tradition with a wide variety of activities, entertainment and events and as always the quality remains unsurpassed. This yearly event allows spectators and participants to experience adventure, pageantry, magic and romance. The knights, knaves, damsels, and magicians along with many other interesting characters transform Green Hill Park into a spectacular display of history. You can explore the village yourself as the past comes to life with historic figures, entertainment, eccentric characters, jousting, swordplay, music, handcrafted arts and crafts, vendors, merchants and hearty food and drink. 
This annual event heldthe last weekend in September has been a huge success boasting attendance of over 2,000. It is indeed a popular weekend stop and an event unlike any other held in the Roanoke Valley. This year the Highland Games athletic competition has been expanded to both Saturday and Sunday. You can witness incredible feats of strength and endurance by some of the best athletes around. Athletes will compete in seven different categories, plus a new component entitled "The Highland Challenge". Also on Saturday at 5 PM there will be a lively and festive masquerade ball. Join us and learn the refined art of hand kissing, engage in the wooing contest and perhaps even play some medieval musical chairs.
With the help of Medieval Fantasies Company, Roanoke County’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism will bring back to life the people and times of a medieval culture. As before all faire patrons will have the opportunity to interact with the performers and learn about the history of this exciting age.
The Green Hill Medieval Faire is sponsored by Roanoke County Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism and Virginia Prosthetics, Inc.
For more information about this year's Medieval Faire and Highland Games at Green Hill Park, call (540) 387-6455. Clans are welcome and encouraged to attend. Download an application or call(540) 387-6078 x251.
Highland Games Competition & Gathering of the Clans
Sponsored by Virginia Prosthetics
The Highland Challenge is a new component of the Highland Games and will be held on Sunday September 27. This competition is a hybrid between a strongman competition and Highland Games competition. It will consist of at least 4 events, and possibly a fifth.
The 1st event will be a challenge caber which will be at least 50lbs heavier than most games use in competition. The competitors will get 3 attempts to get their best score.
The 2nd event is a Replica Dinnie Stone Hold. The stone is over 400lbs and has a ring handle set into the top, the athletes will get one attempt to lift and hold the stone with both hands for as long as possible.
The 3rd event will be a headstone carry, athletes will lift the stone from a barrel and cradle it in their arms and carry it for as far as they can in 90 second. The stone will weigh 222lbs and is a former headstone cut down for athletic competition.
The 4th event will be a replica of the Unspunnen stone toss, adapted from the Unspunnen festival held in Switzerland every 7 years. The stone will weigh at least 130lbs, possibly 180lbs and the athletes will have to lift it from the ground to chest height and run up to the foot board and throw it as far as they can without stepping over the foot board. They will get 3 attempts to make their best mark.
A possible 5th event will be a farmer's walk where the athletes will have to lift two separate weighted cylinders’ and carry them as far as they can within 90 seconds.
Registration for Competitors:
Registration for Highland Games begins July 1, 2009. Date of games is Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27, 2009 Register by emailing our Athletic Director Billy Shrader at washrader@hotmail.com NO registrations will be accepted before the July 1 date. Fields will be limited to a total of 32 athletes...15 in Class A and 15 in Class B, and 15 in the masters category. Registration opens that day at 8 AM and games begin at 10 AM.