Somehow, last year, the finale of the first season of Game of Thrones happened to correspond with the big Renaissance Faire held every year in Lake Tahoe. Luckily, it’s happening again this year, so I’m starting a yearly tradition to hold an Epic Fantasy Weekend to indulge my lifelong obsession with all things fantasy.

Last year during the unofficial Epic Fantasy Weekend, we played Oblivion (ah, the pre-Skyrim days…), rewatched all of GoT, drank a bunch of beer and went up to the Valhalla Renaissance Faire. And that’s pretty much what we’re doing again this year. It rained a lot the entire weekend, but if anything, it added to the whole vibe. We ate fish and chips in the forest of Camp Richardson, and stayed up late questing with candles lit around our desks and a supply of hefeweizen (with orange slices… mmm). It was pretty magical.

I’ve been to the Renaissance faire in Golden Gate Park, and the one that used to be held each year in Genoa, but the Tahoe one is by far my favorite. Lake Tahoe is pretty much one of the best places to have a ren faire, especially since it’s up in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, much of the local architecture is inspired by Scandinavian and Bavarian culture, and there is an abundance of restaurants/pubs with names like Black Bear Inn and The Divided Sky (and one called Fire & Ice, funny enough, although it’s a stir fry place). There’s also a freakin’ castle called Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay. Need I say more?

This year, we’ll be heading up to the faire. I haven’t really gotten an outfit together, but honestly, most of my closet consists of peasant skirts and scarves, so it shouldn’t be too hard to throw something together. Someday I’ll make an awesome Dark Brotherhood outfit like I’ve been dreaming of doing for a few years now.

I also want an outfit like these lovely ladies from last year’s faire.

I’ll also be seeing Snow White and the Huntsman, which is a movie I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life for. That sounds dramatic, I know, but when I was a child, I yearned for the day where I could make a film adaptation of my favorite fairy tale characters starting rebellions instead of lusting after princes. I didn’t end up as a filmmaker, so it’s nice to know that others share my visions. No matter what the reviews say, I think I’m going to really like this movie. I was head over heels in love with Alice in Wonderland, another movie that got mixed reviews, but since the same producer is behind Snow White, I’m not too worried. Ever since I saw this promo image of Kristen Steward in armor–Snow White is wearing armor, people!–I’ve been extremely excited.

And while I’m really sad that GoT is ending until next year, I’m really excited to see the finale of this season–which has been freakin’ awesome, by the way.

Other items on the EPW 2012 agenda:

• Drinking a lot of beer.
• Playing Skyrim and other fantasy games.
• Cooking some foods using recipes from A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Cooking Companion of the Game of Thrones (just released! Check back for a review this weekend).

Annnd I also pre-ordered Guild Wars 2, but the beta weekend events don’t happen until next weekend. Can’t they move it up a week? Sigh.

So now I just have to get through one more day of work, and the festival can begin!