Swords, axes, and knights in shining armour will battle it out in High River this weekend.

High River is hosting its first-ever medieval event called the High River Medieval Faire and Tournament.

It's essentially a live combat sport event that's been organized by two brothers in High River, Warren and Ryan Neilson.

Warren Neilson says you can expect some one-on-one duels and full team battles at the High River Ag grounds.

"We're medieval fighters, it's a sport called buhart or armoured combat and we are head-to-toe in medieval armour. It's all battle-ready armoured designed to protect us in this sport because we use real steel weapons that are just blunted. Other than that, they are completely accurate"

The event runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday with the mornings and afternoons divided into different types of battle.

"All our mornings will be all our duelings. That's all our one-on-one fights and different types of weapon categories. And then later on in the afternoon is when we're going to have the group fights and everything happening. "

If you're wondering about the safety of the fighters, Warren says they're very serious about protecting each other.

"It's loud, it's really cool, it's flashy but all the knights are very safe. The rules we have in place are to keep them very safe. So, just come out and hear some loud hits and see some real crazy athletes do some crazy stuff."

It's not just a tournament but the organizers have worked hard to make it into a medieval faire too.

"We've got about 30 vendors and food trucks coming out, live music, there's going to be some shows and a chance to fight a knight."

The 'Fight a Knight' is being put on by LARP, Live Action Role Playing characters, and is designed to be extra safe for kids.

"We got the beer gardens going, enjoy the ambiance and the environment, and watch some real steel fighting, completely unscripted from the grandstand. There's everything from one-handed swords, two-handed swords, big axes, and halberds and polearms to one-handed axes to maces."

"Medieval fighting... it's been quite incredible for me. It allows you to really branch out of your comfort zone and experience the community that's in the buhart community. We are family for sure. It doesn't matter what team or where you're from we are a big family. If you come out, you'll see lots of hugging and whatnot between the fighters, even after sitting there for a few minutes just bashing on each other. You'll see the love after for sure."

Neilson adds that if you want to dress up medieval style, you're more than welcome to and he shares it's been a real family sport his kids think is pretty cool.

"My kids thought it was the coolest thing ever, they love cheering for me and their uncle and our whole team when we're out there. And generally speaking, I know a lot of people have this idea that we're using full steel weapons and everything and it's this really dangerous, really injury-prone sport which is not the case."

It's also priced very affordably for families at $15 per day per person or $40 per day per family. 

The Neilson brothers, Warren and Ryan have their own High River based team called Arverni Legion and you can find more info on their website.

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