Dan Luck said fans of the upcoming fourth annual Mead on Main Viking Festival will find the same kind of fun offered at the three previous editions of the event.
It will be held from noon-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in and behind Four Brothers Meadery, 124 Main St., in Festus.
“It’s going to be very similar to previous Viking Festivals,” said Luck, a Four Brothers Mead owner. “We’ll have blacksmith artists from ‘Forged in Fire’ on the History Channel, belly dancing and Legion of Honor armored combat fighting.”
He said the St. Louis chapter of the Legion of Honor, an international fight club, will give Viking fighting demonstrations. “They’re not trying to injure each other,” he said. “But they swing hard. It’s a full-contact, armored combat sport.”
Most of the festival takes place behind Four Brothers Mead on the parking lot along South Second Street.
“A 200-foot stretch of South Second Street will be closed behind the building,” Luck said.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit dozens of vendor booths.
“This year, we expect 50 to 60 vendors,” Luck said. “Many have Viking-themed items.”
As usual, the festival features music.
“We will have live music on two stages,” he said.
Luck said the Viking Festival, as well as the business’s Sigurblot festival in the spring, attract thousands of visitors to Festus. Many fairgoers come dressed in Viking garb, he said.
“People enjoy having mead and exploring Main Street,” he said of the events. “There are 6,000 people coming to Festus for the festivals.”
Four Brothers Mead, which makes and sells mead, received a grant from Festus Tourism Commission to promote the event. For information, go to fourbrothersmead.com or visit the Four Brothers Mead page on Facebook.