The Traveling Wheelchair

235 Main Street
Carver, MA 02330
Phone: 508-866-5391
http://kingrichardsfaire.net/

Yesterday my mom, Ric, Justin and I headed to King Richard’s Faire to do a wheelchair accessibility review and have some fun. It is an annual Faire that is in Carver every year from August 30 to October 19. The Faire is only open on Saturday and Sundays from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM plus on Labor Day and Columbus Day Mondays. I’ve been coming here for the past 15 years and love the fun and exciting experience of spending a day in an Enchanted English 16th Century Village that is set n 80 acres in the Forest.

This review is a lengthy because there are many areas of the Faire to review all the accessibility.

Parking is FREE. There are two rows of handicap parking spaces right up front. The terrain is very difficult to wheel your wheelchair on for it consists of wood chips, crushed stone or dirt with many tree stumps sticking out of the ground. I highly recommend that you either bring a Power Wheelchair or a strong friend who can help to push your manual wheelchair through the Faire grounds. My  Quantum 600 Tilt and Space Power Wheelchair died so I am temporarily using my manual wheelchair until a new Power Chair is ordered and delivered and we in wheelchairs know how long that takes! Parents pushing strollers may also find the terrain difficult.

Tickets for Admission are for sale in front at the Gate House. The ticket sale’s windows are all too high for me to reach in my wheelchair so my mom purchased the tickets for me and my friends. Cost of the tickets is Adults $25, Children 5-12 $14 and Children under 5 Free. They only accept CASH and do not accept credit or debit cards so make sure you bring some cash. Two ATM machines are located inside the Faire but not outside.

My mom asked if there is a discount for persons in wheelchairs and was told there is NO DISCOUNT for persons in wheelchairs. My mom asked to speak to the manager about the need for a discount for persons in wheelchairs. The manager told my mom, friends and me that they have never considered offering a discount for persons in wheelchairs but he would speak with Bonnie Shapiro, the owner about the possibility. We explained that a discount is offered at similar places where not everything is accessible and the terrain is so difficult to maneuver a wheelchair on. My mom treated me for the price of the ticket is a little pricey for my budget.

After purchasing our tickets we went through the front gates to enter the Faire. My mom had a bottle of Poland Springs water that she hadn’t even opened yet but was told that she couldn’t bring it in because no food or drinks are allowed to be brought into the Faire. All drinks and food must be purchased inside!

We were immediately greeted by Lady Shannon who was very kind and nice. She is one of the members of King Richard X’s Royal Court. Other members of the Royal Court are at the entrance to greet visitors and answer any of your questions. Many of his Majesty’s merchant shops are throughout the Faire. The shops are all wheelchair accessible for the ones who have steps also have a wheelchair accessible ramp. The shops sell many unique handmade items such as blown glass, candles, pottery, swords, toys, puppets, floral head pieces, hand painted fairies and dragons. There are a few Henna artists as well.

Many visitors wear 16th Century attire. There is a merchant shop where you can either purchase or rent a costume. We met one nice couple who wore mechanical Fairy Wings that could open and close. They told us that if we were interested in purchasing these mechanical Fairy Wings we could do so on their website at www.OKpyramids.com. All the visitors and actors we met were are friendly and kind.

There are many Stages at the Faire where shows take place such as Cottage Stage, Boars Head, Music Stage, Puppet Stage, Hell’s Mouth, Mud Pit, Dance Stage, King’s Stage, Tiger Stage and Kid’s Cove. All have benches set in front of the stage with an aisle in the middle. I sat in the aisle right next to the bench my mom and friends sat at. The center aisle was wide enough at all Stages so I didn’t block access for anyone else.

Next we went to the Tournament Field where there is Jousting at 12 Noon, 2:30 PM and 5PM. This is the ‘Challenge of Champions – Joust to the Death’ and it is performed in a large field with King Richard X and Lady Costere looking on. We sat up close to the fence where I could see the jousting very well. Many visitors sat close to the fence or up on a grassy hill. Maidens were along the fence and encouraging all in the audience to cheer for a side. One side was to cheer for Sir Lincoln and the other side for Sir Joseph. It was a lot of fun and my friends and I had a lot of fun cheering for Sir Lincoln to win.

We then headed to check out the Restrooms. The restrooms are located in the right rear part of the Faire next to the Tournament Field. These are the only restrooms in the Faire so if you are in this area you might want to stop by for it is a long walk from the other side of the Faire. Years ago they only had Port-A-Potty’s but now they have large trailers with real restrooms that have real toilets and working sinks! There are a few Wheelchair Accessible Restrooms that have plenty of room to fit your wheelchair. They meet all the ADA requirements. The pipes under the accessible sinks are covered and the toilets have safety bars on the side. There is a wheelchair accessible ramp that leads up to the accessible restrooms.

After we left the restroom we saw a Stockade. This was used in the 16th Century to punish people. If someone did something wrong the town people would place their head and hands in the Stockade for a day or so and let all the townspeople make fun of them. Ric got up and put his head in the Stockade and we really had fun with this!

We were all hungry for lunch by now so we headed to The Canterbury Kitchen. All food and drink items can only be purchased with Food Tickets. We stopped at a Food Ticket Booth. The sales window is too high for a person in a wheelchair to reach so you will need someone to purchase your food tickets for you. The cost of the Food Tickets is 10 tickets for $5.00. The food and drinks are a little pricey for just a King size soda costs 9 tickets!

Canterbury Kitchen is like a food court that is set up in a circular area. There is a cement walkway in front of the concessions so it is easy to wheel around here. All the concessions have ordering counters that are a perfect height for me in my wheelchair! The food choices are really neat for you can order items such as King Chowder’s in a Bread Bowl, Dragon Wings, Turkey Legs that are very big, Fishe’n Chips, salads, wraps and tasty Bloomin Onion. Beer and Champaign is also sold and served in very tall goblets.

The picnic tables in front of the Canterbury Kitchens and the terrain here is all stones and tough to wheel on. All the picnic tables are wheelchair accessible if you ask a friend to remove a bench. Yet if you do this no one else that is able bodied can sit on the side of the table with you. I sat at the end of the table and my wheelchair couldn’t fit but I managed with help from my friends. The most wheelchair accessible picnic tables I have ever seen are at Scusset State Beach and Old Silver Beach.  There is Dance Stage close to the picnic area so it is like a Dinner Show.

Next we went to King’s Stage. I sat up front right next to the bench where my mom and friends sat and my wheelchair didn’t block the aisle for it is a wide aisle but I did feel a little out of place. I would rather that they cut out a small section of a bench where my wheelchair could fit. The King’s Stage has a Musical Play that has much singing and dancing. The show is called “Disenchanted - The Princess and the Peeved”. It is all about the escape of Princess Aria!

Next we went to see the wild animals that are located in the left rear side of the Faire. We met three wild birds and my friends and I had our picture taken with them. Dason is a red Tail Hawk; Cheyenne is a Harris Hawk and Pippin is a Falcon. Persons who hold the birds must wear protective gloves and hold on tight. Ric and Justin had to hold the hawks. Rob, the trainer told us that he had only left handed gloves and since my left hand is paralyzed I wasn’t able to wear the glove. Rob explained why birds are usually held with the left hand and is why only left handed gloves are made.

Rob was very nice and held Pippin close to me so my friends could take a picture. The cost of a professional picture is $20 and the proceeds go to T.I.G.E.R.S which stands for ‘The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species’ . There website is at( http://www.tigerfriends.com/). It has been in business for 25 years and they do much to help rare and extinct wild animals. It is a good cause so my mom, who loves all wild birds, bought two pictures because my friends and I had picture taken with two hawks. 

We then went to see the Tiger Show which started at 2PM. It is my favorite of all to see at the Faire. I sat up front in the center aisle right next to the bench where my mom and friends sat. T.I.G.E.R.S runs the show and we saw Rob, the trainer up on stage. He played the drums in the beat of Tiger Music. Before the show starts the audience is all told to remain in their seats at all times for no one should try to distract the animals while on stage. We were also told that no video taping is allowed but still camera pictures are allowed.

A one week old baby tiger was introduced and was just adorable. Then two baby tigers who were only a couple of months old were introduced. They were just as cute and drank Vitamin D milk from a baby bottle! The trainer explained that tigers can camouflage in their environment easily and is why different species have different coloring and different color stripes. The trainer introduced the audience to an Orange Tiger with black stripes, a Royal White Tiger who had buff color coat with white stripes and a Snow White Tiger who was pure white with buff color stripes. The white tigers camouflage nicely in the snow.

A Golden Tabby Tiger was then introduced. His name is Brahmin and he is only one of two dozen other Golden Tabby Tigers in the world! Golden Tabby Tigers are almost extinct and a new breeding program is under way. The world is losing animals daily due to Destruction of habitat and Pollution. The best way to protect rare animals is by Reducing consumption, Reuse and Renew!

Last but not least ‘The King of the Jungle’ a Liger named Hercules was introduced. Ligers are powerful, fast, explosive and the most social natured of all Tigers for they live and hunt together. Hercules is 900 lbs and 11feet tall when standing on his hind legs. He is the largest of all tigers and listed in the Guinness Book of Records. 

Hercules also enjoys drinking Vitamin D Milk from a baby bottle! His father is a Lion and his mother is a Tiger and is why he is called a Liger. If the parents were in reverse order and his mother was a Lion and his father was a tiger he would have been a Tigron, which is a dwarf tiger small in size!

At the end of the show DVD’s of Tigers and small stuffed animals of the various tigers are sold for $20. They cannot be purchased in any store. The proceeds go to Feline Conservation Federation (FCF) ( http://www.felineconservation.org/) which helps all tigers of the world. Because the proceeds go to a good cause, my mom bought me two stuffed tigers! My mom and I love all animals!

The Faire has a few rides that aren’t accessible as well as the Lady Shady’s Maze that isn’t accessible. The Dragonwick Dungeon show is wheelchair accessible and fun to go inside. It may be a little scary for small children. The cost is $2.00 per person and the only place where there is a charge.

We headed back out and Ric and Justin took turns pushing and pulling my wheelchair through the various rough terrain. Overall the Faire is wheelchair accessible and I had a FANTASTIC time! Ric and Justin were a little tired from pushing my wheelchair around. Maybe the Faire should provide a discount to the person who has to push a manual wheelchair around on the tough terrain! I do hope to be back in a Power Wheelchair soon for it comes in handy at places like this.

I give King Richard’s Faire TWO STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Three Stars they would need to; provide a discount to persons in wheelchairs, lower the height of one of the Admission Tickets sales windows to make it wheelchair accessible, lower the height of one of the Food Ticket sales windows to make it wheelchair accessible, add a few wheelchair accessible picnic tables, cut out some wheelchair areas in the benches to provide seating so a person in a wheelchair doesn’t stick out into the aisle and place a wooden walkway around the parameter of the Faire so a person in a manual wheelchair can wheel around independently. Families with chidren in carriages would appreciate a wooden walkway too.