NILES – Tucked in the corner of the Renaissance Faire in Riverpark Front South is a booth filled with multi-colored, embroidered and bedazzled hats. Rita Smallcombe, of Kalamazoo, the hats’ creator, sits there, too.

She said strong winds and rain caused trouble for the second annual fair, hosted by the Niles History Center. On Saturday, the wind blew her hats off the shelves.

The Niles Renaissance Faire is meant to give attendees the chance to experience medieval life through reenactments, music and vendors with medieval-inspired items. The faire took place Saturday and Sunday and brought business and fun with it, according to attendees.

Vendors like Smallcombe attended, as did entertainment troupes, like Corvus Cohort, which seeks to educate viewers on Renaissance military culture through reenactments.

Local businesses appeared, too. Iron Shoe Distillery brought its craft cocktails to the festival grounds.

Smallcombe said she loves vending at Renaissance festivals, despite the rain and wind that can hit, as it did at Niles’. She’s been vending at them for 27 years.

“It’s fun. I get to travel all around, go to new cities,” she said. “The people I’ve met, they’re my family.”

That family of faire goers is made up of all kinds of different vendors, performers and dedicated followers, including people like Allen Bernstein and Richard Kemmer.

Bernstein, of Kalamazoo, is the first mate of improv sword-fighting troupe, Swords of Valour. He said while injuries are minimal with his swordfighters, the most common is a twisted ankle from fighting on wet grass.

He said he has experienced worse weather at festivals, like Charlotte, Michigan’s Nordic Fire Festival that took place in February.

“It was wet last year, but people still came out,” said Kemmer, owner and craftsman of Ypsilanti-based Kemmer Woodworks. “People like to go to festivals.”

Kemmer has been selling his wood products through Kemmer Woodworks since 2016. He started selling cutting boards, but has since expanded to other products, like historical board games.

While vendors go to festivals to make business, he said vendors also like to go and support the festivals and their attendees. He said people in the area have few festival options, so helping a new festival like Niles’ is important. Some festivals struggle to last, he said.

“If we’re there, and we help it grow, that’s a big deal,” he said.

Like Smallcombe, Kemmer likes the friendships he’s made. Kemmer has vended at the Niles Renaissance Faire for its two years. He has become friends with some of the vendors, who sell at other area renaissance festivals and conventions he has sold at.