So, yesterday, was the big day...Ren Faire outing! All my scrambling to finish (well, make at least wearable) my new Elizabethan bodice paid off as I got to wear it to the Faire. Yes!!! (Of course, I was hand sewing eyelets for front lacing holes in the car during the drive and in the parking lot while the others finished their prep...but I got it wearable! ;-)
Candice Yacono, Gretchen Foltz, and I all had a BLAST yesterday at the Faire. We entered the gates around 11am (or just before) and didn't leave until we were kicked out in the 2nd (final) security sweep for closing. (When they make you show your ID to prove your a guild member, etc.).
After wandering through the St. Ives' area and the initial vendor booths, including an interesting booth with Steam-punk items (some cool googles and belts attracted my attention to the booth, mainly), we came upon the Food Area and St. Cuthbert's (guild) nearby. There we found Elizabeth McCash...who was glad to stop winding balls of yarn and come wander with us for a bit.
Of course we just HAD to get our pictures taken in the stocks....there were 4 of stocks just sitting near Friends of Faire...and we had 4 of us, so we managed to snagg a nearby person to take a couple of pics on my camera of us. (Unfortunately, only 1 of the 4 "titles" posted above each stock is visible...the rest are blocked by our heads...bummer).
During our wandering, we caught the tail end of Broon's show (always fun). By now, though, it was near noon, and we all decided we were hungry enough to wander back to the Food Area to see if we could beat some of the rush to stand in line for various food vendors. (Food at Ren Faire is always so yummy! Just so dang expensive! Especially Water!! Oh well)
For myself, I bought Toad in the Hole, a skewer of Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus (a "Knight's Lance" ;-), and a skewer of grilled veggies (mushrooms, peppers, squash, etc. - aka "a Royal Scepter"). After we got our food, Elizabeth had to leave us as St. C's was about to serve their own food, and then she'd need to be around for the Queen's Progress (parade). So we went back to wandering the Faire. We made our way down the winding pathway, past many more 'trader' selling their wares. We passed a "Green Man" who was grooving to some Dulcimer music (actually, it was really good music - I ended up buying 2 cds from him later in the day since I enjoyed the music each time we passed him). Then we stopped by Clan MacColin. I chatted for a few minutes with the wood-worker (he was planing a piece of wood to smooth it out to prep it for cutting a groove in it later to fit 'tounge and groove' with another piece of wood). We then stopped by the German camp for a quick walk-around (or walk-thru). Afterwards, we came across the Clan MacColin Irish Dance performance (already in progress) at Drake's Golden Hinde (stage) and stopped to watch a good portion of that show. (I got quite a few pictures and even some video of some of the dancing, singing, musicians performing, etc.) Next up: more browsing through vendor stalls. =)
Soon, though we made our way to the Royal Tournament of Horses to snag a seat for the Queen's Joust. We had a great time...not just cause it was a fun show, but we 3 got to make fun comments from the sideline. ;-) The other nearby spectators in same bleacher section were certainly amused by us and our comments. (And yes, I took a number of photos during this show too).
On our way back to the Food Area (yes, we were hungry again - snack time! =), we got sidetracked by the "Famous Shakespeare School led by William Shakespeare" at the Rogue's Reef. Eventually, we got our snacks (fresh cut curly fries and a cream puff - best of both worlds...salty & sweet) to share...and we ran into a friend I know through Civil War reenacting, Cat Lane! (I thought I had seen Jordan, her boyfriend, pass by us in the opposite direction earlier! =).
While waiting around a few minutes in the St. C's area, to see if Elizabeth McCash was around (and if we could snag her again =), the Queen arrived for Tea. So I snapped a few pics. =) Back to wandering on the pathway, we were waylaid by the Official Merchandize booth as a worker threatened to shoot a rubber ducky (with a tiny pistol) if we didn't step inside the booth. Seeing as how both Candice & Gretchen love Ducks, I was litterally pushed into the booth to avoid seeing the rubber ducky shot! LOL! After browsing a few minutes, we managed to sneak out w/o purchasing anything. ;-)
Further on in our wanderings, Candice & Gretchen got sidetracked by a bunch of ducks (possibly even geese?) on the other side of the fence, near the water, and just HAD to get some pictures. So I snagged a nearby bench in the shade and people watched for a bit while they got their "ducky time". =). A few minutes after we all met up again, Elizabeth (McCash) appeared on the road next to us! She had been over at the Brass Rubbing booth (where she had done a few rubbings) and was on her way back. So we all joined up again and then set out again to wander the faire for a bit. On our way towards the Gelato booth (yum!), we passed by the Fencing booth...and all of our attention was instantly drawn to a gal who was learning fencing...in bright pink sandal heels! (Yes, I got a pictures of this!) It was just so amusing!
Once we got to the Gelato booth, we joined the long line and started chatting with a nearby German (?) soldier. He was a lot of fun to chat with. =) (We also ran into a spectator that was annoying him...and us...but eventually he moved on when he realized his comments had quickly passed the 'appropriate' level and we didn't want his company anymore). Then we headed back to St. C's so Elizabeth could put down/away her brass rubbings (and not have to carry them anymore). There we snagged a couple of benches near the side of the road, in the shade no less, (in the St. C's area) and people watched as the parade of spectators (and occasionally performers) passed us by. There were some INTERESTING outfits, to be sure, as it was "Fantasy weekend"...or something like that. ;-)
Elizabeth soon had to leave to go particpate in a parade (as Banner gal), so we snapped a quick pic of her before she left. Candice, Gretchen & I continued sitting in the shade...until Candice and I wandered over to get another skewer of bacon-wrapped asparagus. Unfortunately, they were out of ones that were already prepared/ready to grill, so we had to wait 15 minutes (which turned into like 20 minutes) for the skewer. While waiting, we ran into Annie (from CGW) as she was passing by on her way somewhere (she was out of costume by now, since it was near closing). By the time I got back with the asparagus skewer to share with the others, Elizabeth was done with her part in the parade and had re-joined us on the benches. We all shared the yummy asaparagus (bacon wrapped & seasoned with fresh ground black pepper) while we continued people watching. After a bit, a commotion ensued behind us in St. C's...in which an old shirt that was 'past its prime' was beginning to be torn literally to pieces, by some of the gals in the guild. They were having such fun that I had to take pics. They started tying on strips of the shirt on to their arms as if they were 'favors', so we got them to pose for a couple of pictures with them. Candice and Elizabeth even joined in! (I took pics for everyone). As everyone was settling down, I made the comment that we didn't have a picture of them and the shirt pieces with the original owner of the shirt, Daniel. So of course they just HAD to have a few more pics so they could get him in them! =) It was hillarious! (Yes, Pictures will be online).
As we were doing this, the first wave of 'shooing' spectators (like ourselves) was going on, so we were missed. =) We chatted and hung out with the St. C folk for a bit, then started to make our way towards the front as the second/final wave to get spectators out would soon be coming. We managed to squeeze in one more picture shoot, however, as we passed the 7 Deadly Sins board. We 4 each put our head through a spot in the wall, and had a passer by take a quick shot or two of us with my camera, and then we all joined the last of the revelers leaving the faire.
Whew! What a day!
=)
Lots of fun, to be sure. It was one of the most fun packed days at faire I've had in a while...plus the bonus of the fact I actually made it in costume this year! Oh, and it was also definitely a plus that I did NOT end up with a major sinus infection (despite the dust and wind factor). Yay! =)
No comments:
Post a Comment