BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HARVEYSBURG -- Sunday marked the end of this year's annual return to the days of knights, ladies, lords, sorcerers and swords.
Although organizers for the Ohio Renaissance Festival had yet to tally final attendance numbers Sunday afternoon, preliminary results indicate this year's event may have been the most-attended in the festival's nine-year history.
"Last year, we had about 175,000 people and we are on pace with that," said Robin Moon, marketing coordinator for the festival. "We very well could exceed that."
She attributed the increase to several new features, such as the Tower of London Dungeon of Doom, the castle climbing wall and the acquisition of a different jousting troupe, which has consistently been one of the top draws.
"We try to do something different each year. This year we hired Tom Plott as the new entertainment director. He did a lot," Ms. Moon said.
The new jousting group, the Free Lancers, featured the festival's first female knight. And Sunday, Kate Cox, dressed in full armor, defeated a much larger male opponent.
"That's a woman?" Chloe Smith said after learning the knight she cheered for was female. "Yeah for her!"
Mrs. Smith and her husband, Marv, of Newport, try to make each year's festival.
"We almost didn't get here this year, but better late than never," she said.
Many others seemed to share her sentiments.
Traffic along Ohio 73 was just as congested as it had been since the festival started in August, according to Alma and Roger Plummer, owners of the Buffalo Trading Post and Alma's Amish Cheese Barn, located about 3 miles east of the festival.
"People always line up along here," Mr. Plummer said, pointing to the state road. "But that's not a bad thing. It works well for us."
He estimated the trading post and cheese barn attracted about 1,500 people on the weekends. Now, with the festival's closing, Mr. Plummer expected a slight decrease in business.
