Each year, the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology brings history to life with the help of re-enactors, jousters, performers, food vendors and merchants at their Medieval Festival. Visitors can experience life in the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East, from 600 to 1600AD — without the black plague and lack of hygiene!
This year’s program, stretching from Friday, July 13 to Sunday, July 15, is jam-packed with fascinating events and activities, ranging from performances such as re-enactments and jousts, to more hands-on happenings like dancing and crafts workshops!
Friday is Family Fun Day, which is the sensory-friendly counterpart to the Weekend Festival, featuring activities for the whole family — including children’s plays, shield painting and even a kids archery range — smaller crowds, and fewer high-sensory activities, such as cannon and weaponry firings. Get your tickets for Family Fun Day here!
At the heart of the Festival are re-enactors, whose passion for history, commitment to authenticity, and love of all things medieval will truly transport you to medieval daily life. Through them, you’ll get to witness and participate in fun and unusual activities, like traditional medieval music and craftsmanship techniques, games, and even you can even interact with animals that were commonly found in the time period.
There will also, of course, be a market providing a feast of delicious, Middle Ages-inspired food, such as venison pie or German sausage, plus ale and mead for those thirsty for more. A wide range of traders selling everything from candles and herbs to costumes and hats will make it tough to go home empty-handed!
The Tournament
Arguably the most popular event throughout the weekend is the competition to be crowned an Abbey Medieval Festival tournament champion. There are three tournaments: Jousting, Archery, and Turkish Oil Wrestling, and the champions for each will be announced and awarded after the Finale on Sunday afternoon.
The Joust Championship, in particular, has been growing in popularity, as the best of Australian jousters compete in an approximation of a 15th century tournament. The Turkish Oil Wrestling, in turn, is carried out with traditional rituals and customs of the Ottoman Empire, and great care is taken to make the re-enactment authentic, so that even the tight short leather trousers used in the sport, called Kispet, are imported from Turkey!
How to get there
The Festival is hosted in Abbeystowe, an open field near the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in the Moreton Bay Region. It is roughly a 45-minute drive from Brisbane via the Bruce Highway, taking the Caboolture-Bribie Island exit off the Bruce Highway, then move into Bribie Island exit 152A. Follow the signs for the Abbey Medieval Festival and turn left onto Old Toorbul Point Road, heading to 579 Old Toorbul Point Rd.
Please note that if you choose to drive, you must purchase a parking pass with your Festival ticket.
On the other hand, you may also take public transport up to Caboolture station from Brisbane Central Station — the journey takes approximately 47 min — where you can then take one of the free shuttle buses running every 15 minutes between Caboolture Train Station and the Festival. Be aware that the last bus departs from the Festival at 5:15pm.
You can plan your journey here.