Santa Clarita residents were able to glimpse the middle ages Saturday as Gilchrist Farm hosted “A Summer Faire,” renaissance event.

The event featured professional jousting exhibitions, archery, swordplay and spear throwing demonstrations, as well as musicians, magicians and storytellers.

“There have been some demonstrations of spearing rings and chopping cabbages in half,” said Monica Gilchrist, one of the farm’s owners and the organizer of the event. “They were showing some of the different skills associated with this period in history and what some of the skilled horsemen did at the time.”

The event ran all day, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., allowing attendees to experience the full range of activities.

“This team is also doing archery, swordplay, spear throwing, slingshotting and western roping,” Gilchrist said. “They do it all. And they’re very good at it.”

The idea for a renaissance fair at the farm sprang from Gilchrist seeing the troop of knights at a Boy Scout event.

“We decided to turn it into a horse show for the public,” she said. “And all of the fun festivities that go with it, we decided to make a small renaissance fair.”

The performers were natural entertainers, speaking to the crowd and keeping their interest while the others prepared for the next segment of the show.

“We were really impressed by their professionalism and the way that they demonstrate the skill,” Gilchrist said. “And their approach to the sport and the entertainment aspect.”

The four knights, part of the American Jousting Alliance, rode on large Belgian draft horses, performed a series of shows where they jousted and performed difficult feats such as spearing small rings dangling from posts and chopping cabbages with swords while riding past.

“This whole crew is just incredibly talented,” said Gilchrist.

She added the focus for this inaugural event was bringing the creative minds of Santa Clarita to one place, for one purpose.

“It’s brought together a nice part of the community that’s usually outside of what we do here at the farm,” Gilchrist said. “It’s more of the local talent and the creative community. And this is a really nice marriage of the creative community and the farm community and the historic reenactment.”

She said the farm was looking at turning the event into an annual tradition, drawing larger crowds and more interactive displays from the middle ages.

“It’s lots of fun, lots of community,” she said. “We’d love to do it again.”

However, Gilchrist acknowledged the event as different from others in the Santa Clarita Valley, saying it’s unique nature would help it grow.

“The horses are definitely in our comfort zone,” she said. “But this is completely different from anything else we do out here.”