RED LODGE Thousands of people gathered at the Red Lodge Rodeo Grounds Saturday for the inaugural Red Lodge Renaissance Faire.It started after the Montana Renaissance Festival, which has been held in Red Lodge in past years, move d back to Billings this year.Watch the story below: Thousands gather for first Red Lodge Renaissance FaireThe faire brought together more than 100 vendors, selling food and faire-themed items.Red Lodge Mayor Dave Westwood said locals are excited to have a new Renaissance faire that will stay in town.There was a lot of the local folks and a lot of that community that came together and said, We really want this to continue in Red Lodge, and they've come and they've pulled this together, said Westwood, who dressed as the fairs king. Red Lodge resident Elexa Ferguson, who was selected to be queen, said this is the first Renaissance faire she has attended.I was very flattered, said Ferguson. I'm born and raised here in Red Lodge, and so I thought, what other way to support my town and be a part of the community.Related: Rain or shine: Billings medieval fantasy faire aims to raise funds to revitalize North ParkMany came dressed as witches, wizards, fairies and other fantasy characters.Members of performance troupe Lunar Court showed off their outfits, which had several handmade elements.Very late nights and a lot of hot glue burns, said Raiden Ovitt, who altered wings for a gargoyle costume. Really a lot of my design process when it comes to making a character is thinking of one big piece as a center to the costume. This mask was handmade in Germany along with the halo, said Luna Gunnoe, who dressed as the lunar queen. I have added lights to it to light up at night, as well as a veil.Lunar Court member Jacinta Schneider showed off her handmade sword and corset.The corset was a little bit of a learning curve. First, I kind of made a wire cage to act as the structure and the support, said Schneider. The sword is made out of EVA foam with a wooden dowel as the core. Visitors could also hear authentic medieval music as they strolled through the faire. Musician Jennifer Draper played old melodies on a string instrument, called a bowed psaltery.It originated in the part of the Middle East that is now Iraq and Iran about a thousand years before Christ was born, said Draper. I've been playing Renaissance faires for 15 years. The Red Lodge Renaissance Faire festivities are continuing downtown Saturday night with a scavenger hunt and pub crawl in downtown Red Lodge.Visitors can also go to the faire Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...read more read less