Spirit Fest

Spirit Fest is an early autumnal festival held in the city of Kalimbrum in Northern Korinthia. It invites the best crafters of wine, beer, and spirits to come and share their latest products all while celebrating the strange and mystic side of the world.

Taste Wonderous Delights!

Wildewoods Wine, Empire Vodka, Belledale Gin, or Dun Dokka Stout you'll never be far from a new flavour. Of course local brewers and distillers will take out all the stops to highlight special editions of their libations as well, or just the best Kalimbrum has to offer. The trick is to be wary of who is simply slapping a new lable on their generic brew and upping the price of a pint by another copper or two.
Good drink demands good food, and the festival attracts a variety of bakers, pie makers, cheesemongers and chocliatiers. Poached pears, baked apples, and fruit pies are favourites among the common people whereas the higher classes will argue over rarer treats of candies, chocolates, and fruits from further afield.

See Bizarre Sights!

Entertainers of all sorts appear for Spirit Fest, but especially those who dabble in the occult or macbre. The talents of wizards and holy men are out of reach of most of the populace, and even those who might have access to such things can enjoy a good palm reading or a tour of Dr. Validari's Weird and Wonderous Traveling Museum. Mediums and fortune tellers are more than reader to look beyond and reveal what's in store for any willing to pay.
Much of what is pedalled at these shows is fakery, and it is mostly accepted this is the case. For the time of the festival there is an unspoken agreement that everyone buys into it and plays along. As long as no one is being swindled out of a fortune or otherwise harmed, it is all seen to be in good fun. Every year stories pass through the crowds about where the authentic experiences can be found or at least who really puts on a good show.

Dance At the Grand Masquerade

The festival culminates in the Grand Masquerade, held by the reigning monarch and attended by the elite of the elite. It is one of the most fashionable events of the year. As well as being the place to be seen, it is the event where the monarch will reveal the winners of the festival and award prizes for their favourite wine, spirit, and beer.
Other nobles and guilds will hold events throughout the festival as well, each having their own importance on the social ladder of Kalimbrum. But none has ever quite managed the grandeure of the Grand Masquerade. At least so far.

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History

Spirit Fest was initiated in 634 A.E. by the reigning monarch of Kalimbrum, Queen Soffia. She delighted in festivities and merriment, and dreaded the dreary Northern winters. It came to her that she could throw quite the party and restock the cellars for the coming months by inviting vinters, brewers, and spirit makers from all the neighbouring regions to come and show off their wares. With a tidy sum set on the prize table for the best brewmaster, wine maker, and distiller, it was a pretty simple business.
The event was an instant success, leading to days of revelry in the streets. In succeeding years local business began organizing events such as pub crawls, drinking competitions, or partnering with specific merchants in town to sell their prized concoctions. And this was the way of things for many years.
When Queen Soffia was succeeded her nephew, King Luca II, the festival evolved. Luca was very involved with spiritualist matters, trying to bring ways to pierce the viel between worlds to the people, not just the wizards and clerics. This spiritualism was a defining trait of his court, and of course had it's affect on Spirit Fest. While the alcohol remained a large, even primary, part of the event, in a play on the name it came to attract soothsayers, fortune tellers, and mediums. Overtime this further led to shows of travelling oddities and other strange figures being part of the celebration.
The courts of Kalimbrum are never short on pagentry, so masquerade was the obvious next step. Now the grand Spirit Ball is one of the prime events of Kalimbrum, filled with costumes and illusion.

Observance

Held During the first week of Mayim.

Primary Related Location

Kalimbrum