This is a story of two (slightly weird women) who had a crazy idea….and ran with it.
Are you comfy? Got some snacks?
Good. Let’s start at the beginning.
The year was 2010. Horse lovers and best friends, Dayle & Meryl were partners on a ‘little’ (50k+ fans) equestrian website. They found themselves bored with the normal, bored with the usual and decided they wanted to play dress up.
Fascinated with the Medieval world and wishing they could go back in time, they did. It started with two princess dresses, a few aspiring knights in not-so-shining armour, Dayle’s backyard and a set of rickety pillories.
What started as a gathering for 300 of their closest friends, became an epic event of huge proportions with over 1800 people putting their feet through the gate to experience a little trip back in time.
Knights knighting, fire dancer dancing, noble steeds, damsels in distress, wicked kings and lusty queens filled the venue and The Magical Medieval Fayre was born.
7 years later, the girls at Alter Egos are the ‘go-to’ people when it comes to all things Medieval in Johannesburg. Hosting the largest festival of its kind in South Africa, this dynamic duo now boast a 3000+ person event, which includes live steel knight fights, banquets, genuine mead, themed food, town criers, carriage rides, the stocks, Medieval games, handfastings, performers, mounted archery, battle reenactments, birds of prey, noble steeds, wolves, fancy dress competitions, our very own King and a Medieval Market of over 150 traders and crafters.
Make sure you look through our gallery of Medieval Moments here:
Deciding the alternative wildings among us needed more, Meryl & Dayle then branched out and introduced new festivals, catering to all things fantasy and magic, savage and special.
2017 saw the birth of Fantasy Fayre and Discworld Day, both events showing the South African public something they had never seen before. In 2018, the unique is just beginning.
Join us for this wild ride, hold on tight and get read for epic, alternative experiences.