1999 Faire Reports

This weekend only merchants faire included a few booths, about 10 actually, and a single stage. More room was dedicated to the SCA group onsite for demonstrations of SCA style fighting, and lessons in fencing using rapiers. All in all it wasn't a bad little festival, choices of purchases were severely limited, and there was only jousting on the Saturday portion of the event, but there was at least some decent costumes, worn by the royal court and some of the attendee's. I'll be likely to attend this event again mostly due to it being the hometown event. With a little luck it may one day expand enough to actually have more things to do. The scheduled entertainment was far from period, but the local resources are rather limited. Oh well, , other faires begin soon and will fill the need of entertainment then.
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My first time to this faire was a very satisfying experience. Though it did have the limitations of the typical weekend only event of everything being portable structures, there were plenty of vendors and an excellent assortment of performers (for this area). My favorite performances of the weekend were:

Comedia Del Arte` - The story of poor Pantalone and Capitano, and why being a bachelor is not a bad idea

The Wise Guys - Joan of Arc meets Sir Latrine? - An act which pulls the audience members, whether they like it or not, into the age old story of King Arthur, ok, a bit of a humorous takeoff on a small portion of the story with the audience even getting most of the jokes.

Lady Suzanne (and her helpful accompanist whose name I didn't get) - Period music in a sing-a-long group complete with printouts of the chorus to each song. About half of the audience sang along, fortunately they were unable to drown out Lady Suzanne *chuckle*

Many other acts took place also of course, the Jousts (done by New Riders of the Golden Age) were well choreographed and entertaining, the Living Chess Matches were fairly good (a bit more rehearsal time for the combatants may be in order - but a very good showing none the less), Birds of the Gauntlet - It was too windy for much to be done, with a chill wind blowing the audiences were small.

The rest of the families favorite events were: For my wife it was the shopping, and though the vendors were good (with great prices) I dread our next visit to the larger faires, *sigh* I guess that's what banks are for. My son, age 10, most thouroghly enjoyed the Knife throw, the Star throw, and the Archery range - an extra comment on the archery, shooting SCA marshmallow arrows at Knights in full armor was amusing as they heckled the archers, and moved about making it not much more difficult to hit them. They were also very cooperative with the junior archers by walking to within 5 paces(or thereabout) to enable the young lads and lasses to score hits.

The one downside to the weekend was the bees. Though the breeze and cooler temperatures keep them at bay on Saturday, the slightly warmer day Sunday had them out in force and there were quite a few minor incidents including my son getting stung(which really annoyed him). The temperature was perfect for costumes and cloaks and overall an entirely enjoyable weekend. I shall definitely be attending this event in future years also.
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Wow, this was a fun Faire for me. Although we only were able to spend one day at this event, I got to meet my first otter, *g* and was even called into service to obtain and deliver a glass (ok, lil plastic cup) of mead, which I oh so deftly took care of. Unfortunately I was unable to remain for the dinner that I heard was going on that night since I had to take the rest of the family back to Avon Springs that afternoon. Anyway, back to the important stuff, The Faire was a fairly large one, judged by other faires I've attended thus far. Since we were spending just the one day there we didn't catch nearly enough of the shows, but did enjoy the musical talents of several groups.

As always, my sons first and foremost need was to dash immediately to the "Games" area and start out with Archery. This was immediately followed by the Knife Throw and the Star Throw, in which he did manage to hit the hearts and win the prizes, which he gave me as we were leaving, , now, , what am I going to do with 4 "Free Hug" cards after leaving?? sheeeesh, I could have used them AT the Faire, , but he's only 10, , he'll understand what my frustrated look was all about in a few years, , probably sooner than I'd like actually.

Food and Mead, , and soft drinks for the others, was the next agenda item and the fish and chips turned out to be fairly good, and the mead was good.Pictures of us can actually Finally be seen under the heading of My Faire Pictures, go to the Sarasota link.

We will definitely be returning to this Faire. Although I will have to plan spending two full days there next time to accommodate seeing more of the acts, and for trading in the *FREE HUG* cards.
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Wheee, , What a great Faire. My family and I enjoyed two days on separate weekends at this Faire. I was able to see a show I never expected to view in person, which was Testaclese and the Sack of Rome, by none other than Sound and Fury. On the first Saturday we were there they were apparently relegated to a small grassy area for this show, but when we went back on the 14th they were performing at the Boathouse Stage, even though the schedule didn't reflect this properly I was able to locate them and see the show a total of 4 times between the two weekends, and laughed heartily for every showing. I also dragged various family members to the show both weekends. Needless to say this enabled me to meet the ever well known Richard "they call me fun" Maritzer and his crew of partners in humor and theatrical (close enuff anyway) endeavors. As for the rest of the Faire. It was thoroughly enjoyable by any standard. I missed meeting Crickett at the music booth, apparently she was feeling unwell and went out early the first day I was there, I went back by the booth the second weekend but didn't see her in attendance either time. *Hey Crickett, , did the message I left at the booth make it's way to you?* Shows, , wow, did we see some good shows, Smee & Blogg, Sound & Fury, Many musical groups, I think we made it to everything except the joust events. My family spent lots of money, replacing items which had been stolen earlier made for an exciting weekend for them. If I tried to list everything they bought I'd need another hard drive to keep it all listed I think. Lots of food and fun was had by the entire family. Photos of us at this faire, especially our gathering prior to the faire, will be online shortly. Hopefully I can meet more otters at later faires this year. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway. The only show I was expecting to enjoy and found to be very annoying was Ded Bob, , , ok, , maybe I missed something, , but I was mostly annoyed at his treatment of people in general, and his prejudices were extremely apparent and abusive. NOT the kind of thing I expected to see at his show, and therefore terribly disappointing for me. If someone could explain to me what is amusing about his show that I obviously missed I'd be glad to hear it. I'd hate to think that a show as reportedly great as Ded Bob was supposed to be was totally lost on me.
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"begintripclock-run"

drivedrivedrive, etc, arrive at hotel, *won't stay there again* and zone out for the night.

Arrive at GaRF a bit early, , ok, , Very early, , I forgot it didn't start till 10:30 so we had 45 minutes before "Gate" to play in the parking area, and generally watch folks arrive to see how many garbed folks we'd find Saturday Morning. Opening show was fun, a bit drawn out but as it set the stage, so to speak, for the events of the day it was tolerable.

<I hadn't seen Diddle's post about being in opening show so I missed seeing her there>

Enter the Faire and get coffee, Luckily for me the weather was slightly cool which allowed me to wear my cloak :) which I received a nice comment on shortly after arriving. Head over towards the first stage show of the day and hear a voice "Are you Snookum?" TaDa , It's Anne, I meet and greet my first Ga otter and introduce the family. Anne points out Capt Helga <Grin and Salute> who is generally a lurker, and an occasional poster, and tells me where to find the other lurkers that are present. We each head in different directions, Anne to talk to someone else, and us to go harass the Zucchini Brothers in their first show.

A quick note. Saturday was Deaf Awareness Day, and the Faire management <I assume> had arranged to have Signers at each and every show. My hat is off to them for this, it was quite well done, and a great addition to the enjoyment of many folks in attendance. A second note to "Tuey" which is a balancing and juggling act, who during his performance managed to do his Own signing, and watching him balance, juggle, and sign all at the same time made for quite an impressive show.

After the first act I managed to introduce myself and family to Capt Helga, the lurker, and she's a very impressive lady, a hawker for shows at the Fool's Stage, she sustained a single note for, , well, , I didn't time it but it was impressive hearing her. <Yes, I remembered to take pictures, later, and will be posting them sometime this week.

Anne had recommended the Big Cats show and we headed in that direction, which was Also close to where the Archery game was which of course we had to stop at and do our level best to slay those hay bales. The big cats show wasn't as impressive as the pictures from the one performing at VaRF but nonetheless they had some beautiful animals there.

On to the "Fencing Arena" to let my son try to recoup his previous losses to me, hehe, which he didn't manage to do but it was a good fight anyway. More games and shows, I managed to catch several of the musical groups in the Pub this time. After reading the schedule once again I knew where to find Diddle, another semi-lurker, and we all went and enjoyed her music for a period and then introduced ourselves. Great musical wench here, although I didn't see any bowed instruments. <Though maybe the audience in it's encouragement would have sounded funny, , , Strum Diddle, , Pluck Diddle, , Bo Diddle, , , hrmmmm, , ok, , it's a southern crowd>

More games, my son trying to throw the single headed axes, stars, knives, and then more axes, made for a bit of playing. He did manage to keep us in drinks from the Darts games and the Bust-a-Plate, but he didn't win any food, , *sigh*, , gotta let him practice more, , wonder if the wife would notice if he was throwing axes in the back yard????

One last show before Pub Sing, , which was Broon, , hehe, now this guy not only had/has an excellent show, his humor and playing with the lady signing for his show had almost the entire audience rolling. <My son told me later that he did get all of the jokes, which I'm now in trouble for with wifee, , but dear , , he's ten, , why shouldn't he get them? *duh*>

Pub sing, , Lotsa fun, , puns, , jokes , I never expected Grandmother Goose to have the verses she used, but they had me chuckling endlessly. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the son to the pub sing, as he remembers most songs after a single hearing, But I did convince him NOT to teach those songs to the other kids at school at least.

Sunday began Much the same, met up with rengeek shortly after entering the faire, ~~wave~~ see you this next weekend at Scarborough rengeek. I then pointed out Capt Helga to him, <grin, wink, Salute> and I'm sure we'll Both have photos of her online soon. Spent a bit of time chatting with him, and he we later joined up again and took in a few shows. The mud show was Very interesting, mostly due to the "TOTAL Involvement of the audience volunteer, wow was He a mess after the show. *chuckle* then it was back to the games, which I believe rengeek has photo's showing my incredible "lack" of prowess at, , Hey, , I hit the wall with the ax, , Just because it wasn't the wall in the ax throwing booth shouldn't be held against me, , and no innocent bystanders were killed in the process, ,so I did quite well, , <in my own mind that is>

Rengeek and I stopped in and chatted with Anne at Bald Mountain for a bit, and encountered another interesting lady, , , who allowed her picture to be taken, but declined to have it posted online, , , hehehe, , we'll of course honor that request, , until she changes her mind that is. I got photo's of Anne and Rengeek, which will also be posted later this week, and he and then stopped into the pub for a bit while my family went to the Ded Bob show. We only caught one act there as I had to leave early and drive back to Florida, which also precluded, for me, imbibing alcoholic spirits, but no great loss with what they had to offer there anyway.

*sigh* Then it was time to go, , but I'll be back there in the Fall, , maybe there'll be a few more posters and lurkers to find on the next trip.
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May 22nd (egads is the sun already up???)
**thwwwwwwwwwap** ::blinkblink:: ummm Danicia, I was kidding when I said just thwap me to wake me up, , , hehehhee, , :::stumblestumble::: the showers which way?? ok, , ,tanx, , brb, , :) A wondrous hostess, coffee was even done when I woke up. By the time I was clean and garbed, Eek arrives, ~~waves to Eek~~ followed shortly by a couple of new lurkers (you know who you are) and the caravan prepares to depart for Scarborough. A quick stop on the way for breakfast (and my first breakfast burrito, , or whatever they were) and then we arrive, , ok, , it did take just a little longer than that to get there, but that would take too long to read about.

We were a bit late to make gate, and ended up parking in different areas, so I wandered in and waited for others to arrive just inside the gate, , , hehe, , poor Eek, since she came in next I recruited her to begin showing me around the faire site. There were a couple predetermined times to meet places so I knew I catch up to everyone later. Eek took me around and pointed out some of the booths with AFR folks in attendance, and we stopped in the Leather booth where I got to meet my next otter, , (searches memory and notes) , , ummm, , yes, , her, ,*badsnookdidn'ttakegoodnotes* :( and we commenced to further wandering, , on the way, , , Hiya Squeak :) Very glad to have met you at last, and I haven't forgotten the pictures, they are still in the travel bag waiting to be developed and I'll send you copies. Back to the meeting place for the Wenches to gather, met several more otters and some otter spouses, (Hiya Mrs. rengeek *chuckle*) and I fervently denied all the rumors she had heard about me from her hubby and our meeting at GaRF. From there it was wandering off to see some shows, including the "Flaming Idiots" in their last season, Great juggling group, and excellent humor too, , more shows, , the parade, , more shows and then dashing back to watch Squeak in the Chess Match (yep, got pictures there too) back to the Wench meeting site and Rose and Iris performing again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Faire here, the only surprising thing was the number of times any given stage didn't have an act going on.

Continuing the travels around the site I get to meet Questor and spouse, hope the faires that you talked about being a vendor at work out, I'll be sure to visit at least one of them this fall and hope to see you there.

::checks notes:: Ok, lemme see how many people I met that I can name at this point, , , , Danicia, Jaime, Darla(lurker-new), Chris(lurker-new), Eek, Ivy aka Elizagoth, Sephrina aka she who turned green (heheheh), Marcy, Elizabeth of the Tudor Tarts, Kendra, Rengeek and Mrs. Rengeek, Mandalyn aka Squeak, Rose and Iris, Questor and spouse, the Leather shop lady, ,umm Raven?, umm, , I know I'm missing quite a few, , darn mental blocks, , *sigh*

Maybe I'll be able to make it back out for some other TX faires in the future and meet even more of the gang.
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Chatted with Jim, great job btw oh NobleOne :) , when suddenly there's a voice bellowing about spraying me with a bottle of Guinness, , , ( that's a chatroom gag ) and I turn and meet Emerald Dragon, , soon a lot more AFRarians come wandering in and I'm sorely tested in recognizing people from the way they post and the way they look, , , the Only one I got right immediately was Peg (smiles at the pirate and checks purse strings to be sure they are tight). I also managed to obtain an adjustment to a title, , I am now the Lowly Curmudgeon of the Clan McArgh, , thanks milady, ,I always wanted to be a lowly curmudgeon, ,and I dare any of you who meet me to say tis not a fitting title for a Snook. Chatted for a bit and recalled there was a free happy hour in the lobby so wander out to check out the available consumables, , , bud light??? *gasp* I settle for a soda and more chatting, , the Scotch candies Fiona hands out are delicious. Eventually everyone wanders out and gets ready for the Scotch tasting, , as I am a very seldom imbiber and can't hold my drink for snot I pass on this event and settle in to check e-mail and see who's online, , *g* After chatting with Allieeyore for a bit I am giving a couple of tasks for the next day and promise faithfully to deliver the messages.

Saturday
Get a bit of breakfast, not a bad one but the coffee DID leave a Lot to be desired, I hang around to see who needs rides to the site and get recruited by Emerald Dragon to assist the Rogues in obtaining some roses, , we get directions from the front desk and head out, , , Hey Neal, , I'm driving, , YOU gotta navigate, , hehehehe, , we actually found the place very easily (though the girl at the front desk hadn't said Anything about a real florist we found it next to one location she had suggested). Lemme see, , was that 4 dozen? hrmmmm, , must be a Few wenches targeted today, , The florists had Just gotten the roses in so we had to wait while they dethorned them and wired them, , and then added the little water bottles on each one. Eventually we head for the site, , and Now Emerald Dragon wants to know if I had gotten directions on how to get there, , , ummm, , ,Hey Neal, , I'm driving, , YOU navigate, ,*chuckle*

We actually find the site very easily and, though a bit after gate, we arrive and head to the Foundry to store the flowers and sign in before heading for the Maypole meeting place. Wow, Lots of Otters and other AFRarians everywhere, , , the rogues get together and start planning for the onslaught to come and while a couple of them head back to get the flowers I spot Gareth and deliver the first of my assigned messages, , , hrmmm, , he blushed from the kiss on the cheek and the message, , must be more to this message thing than I knew of. . but it IS fun.

Ah Ha, , the rogues have the first victim, , err, , lucky wench, , :) I get involved taking photos, , and at one point ended up with 4 cameras trying to get shots of all the flower deliveries. lets see, , Lori, , then Lara, , then on to the Brass Rubbings booth for more wenches, , , at which point I deliver the Second of the messages I was tasked with, , Hey Dragon, , I may need shave, , but sorry, , kissing you on the cheek was NOT the highlight of my faire day either *g*. More and More roguings take place and more wandering to find the last of the victims for the day. hrmmm, , I only went through 2 rolls of film so far, , must be doing something wrong.

I am having a blast meeting and greeting, ,and collecting not a few hugs, , what a great bunch and a gorgeous faire site, , I do understand some more of the differences between the Ca faires and those around the rest of the country, or at least the ones I've been too. I wish I had more time to stay out in the area and get another weekend in of this one.

Hanging out at the Brassy's booth for awhile I got to watch Lara's project being worked on and listen to her explain some of the ways that lace is done, , btw Lara, , I doubt that any of us were merely being polite, you gave a great explanation and history, ,now I just have to get my lil sister to come to a faire you're at so she can be as amazed as I was.

I know I'm leaving out tons of stuff here, , but the day went so fast that I was surprised to find it was late as it was and I waited near the gate for the transportees to head back to the hotel and the dinner at D&B. In reading the previous posts I can't add much to the dinner experience but had a good time chatting with new friends and I even enjoyed most of Joe's video, , having not been an Electric Company kid it was all new to me.

Heading back from the dinner I was fortunate to be escorted by Peg and the wondrous bundle of energy she had brought with her, , though we DID pick the wrong direction to walk around the mall back to the hotel, , and I was the bundle of energy's mount, , *sigh* walking that far with a kid on your back is a learning experience, but at least I made a deal with Katie that next time she has to carry me, , *chuckle* we'll see how that works out.

Sunday
*egads* it's oh dark o'clock , , why the hell am I awake already??? ok, ,an early breakfast as we need to run out for more flowers and try to make it in for gate this time, , we even arrived on time LOL. Dragon has to make a stop on the way in so I head to the Foundry to get the flowers into the bucket we'd left there the day before.

OK, , now I have to pause and apologize to the majority of the east coast group, , and a few of the other coasters too, , , I'd always assumed that something was kind of an inside joke and gag, , , little did I realize, , , ,I managed to catch Kevin's eye and an ok to go behind the booth with the flowers, , I find the bucket, , and turn to find some lady washing up at the water spigot, , and using a coffee pot to provide hot water, , , ummmm, , , ok, , how do I casually be unobtrusive and stay out of the way till she's done so I can get water, , , *Snook acts nonchalant and tries to behave* , , Then, ,it Hits me, , , Hiya Bethany, , I'm Snookum, , , YES Folks, , Naked time IS indeed a real thing, , ROTFL, , , I get to meet Josh and chat with Bethany for a moment when Emerald Dragon Finally makes it back there, , ,see Neal, , it's all in the timing, , *chuckle* no naked time for you :Þ

On to the Brass Rubbings booth to work out the plan for the day, , a couple more roguings and wander around shopping, , buy a couple toys for later and head for the luncheon, , at this point we lose Emerald Dragon, , fortunately he isn't totally lost but he does head back to the hotel as we learned a bit later. . Lunch is a blast and then it's time to head over and meet up with the group starting the Wench Walk, , following along and getting pictures is my main objective and it's great fun watching the reactions of the patrons as the group of wenches go about their business, , btw, it's a great way to see the entire faire site too, ,I don't think that any area was missed during that walk. I got recruited at a couple points to fill little holes in the guard ranks, , geeeez, , hey Gareth, , which privy did you go too??? Those of us at the back of the pack didn't find out till later that there were any problems at all, , a great job by Elf and her team in keeping things peaceful and secure throughout the entire walk. Lots of great Photo ops, , yes yes, , I'll develop the photos and put them up for people to see, , (as it turns out, the wenchwalk photo's didn't, dang it)

Ok, ,a couple more shows and then I head back to the Brassy's to rest a bit, ,Just in time for the sing-a-long which was fun and amusing, , then back out and on to the Sunday dinner, , hrmmm, , how do we get there??? I have Kendra and Emerald Dragon with me, , and a bunch following us, , Hey, , I Told You I sucked as a leader, and pay no attention to that "No LeftTurn" sign, , they didn't mean US , *g*, , but we found the place after only driving by it one time. Cool location, , and I too had a blast watching the band figure out that we were NOT the typical audience they'd find doing the bar circuit. Between the singing and general ribaldry between all the otters there it was a fantastic evening and one I won't soon forget.

*note to the Dragon and Fiona* I've decided against donating my body to science, , , it's more fun to think they'll never figure it out ! ! !

Monday
*sigh* most of the east coast group gets ready to head home, , Lots of hugs from new friends and plans for getting together for the MDRF invasion later this year. I still hope that can fit into my schedule too, , we'll see.

Once more into the fray, , , errr fun I mean :) Today is just a lot of running around making sure I haven't missed any important shows or shops, , until the 4 p.m. show of Sound&Fury, , ohh what a devious group, , we were there two shows before S&F to make sure we occupied as much of the front rows as otterly possible, ,and I might add we did so quite successfully at that. *wait for the line*, , ,TOSS, , , , , hahahahhaha, , oh god, , the looks on their faces, , I think I have some good shots of it, , we'll see next week after I get back to FL.

Between Richard taking pictures, , , the *Presentation* to Bethany, , and our little prank it set the show back a bit, , but the general humor as the rest of the audience get involved with the show was too great to have missed, , hehehe, , I hope the spectators that managed to gather up a few of our donations put them to good use,, , , *vividimaginationmoment*

A quick trip back to the foundry, , gotta try and test for my RenGeek pin, , egads, , how many questions, , , where's which faire???? ummmmm, , , ahoh, , ummmm, , , I hadn't quite expected 17 questions, , but I did pretty good, ,and I managed to pass, , Snook is a geek :)

Awww, ,, it's time to go, , :( have to head back to AZ and finish up the reason I'm in the area to begin with.)
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Time to head back to my first faire, , Saturday morning the weather looked a bit like rain, , and then it arrived. . . Lots of rain, , for about 4 hours the rain was the main event but that hardly slowed us down in our quest to have fun :)

Up early and arrive prior to gate, , parking is not bad, , about 40 steps from the gate. No weekend passes so I went ahead and got tickets for the entire weekend anyway. Enjoy the opening show, and surge ahead with all the others soon as the gates open. Attendance is pretty light, , but with the weather looking the way it is, not a big surprise there. The rain actually began sporadically before gate and I'd gotten a modern contrivance out of the van for the family to use, I had my cloak which provided basic protection from both the wind and the rain.

We begin wandering down the rows of booths while perusing the program to decide what shows we want to see the first day. The first AFRian we run into is at Camelot Fans *Hi Olde Hippie*, I spend a few minutes introducing all of the family and then they hang out hiding from the rain which is now a full downpour. I also meet Christine (spelling?) and Olde Hippie's wife returns while we're there too, , umm, , Cindy?? (I shoulda kept better notes I know). Back onto the wandering, , ok, , actually I have to catch up to the family, I'd spent probably 30 minutes with Olde Hippie and the family had wandered off already , , hehehehe, , but I did have a good cigar to smoke later (thanks again, it was a good smoke back at the hotel on the porch.)

Shows and shows and a couple more shows, , interspaced with my son playing games and testing his mettle against the dart walls, the knife throw and the archery range. Next I ran into James Sweetland and spent a few minutes catching up from our RPFS meeting. Again introducing the family members with me at the time we had a good social connection, though he was manning a Game at the time and needed to attend to what few customers there where that day. (we managed to meet again later and have more time during a break he had)

One of the first shows we spent the full time at was "Broon" and as always his preshow entertainment was astounding, , of course, he had to deal with a Wedding that was relocated due to the rain causing some mud in the area it was originally scheduled but he managed to hold himself in check (sortof) while they finished up. (he even managed the *escape* trick later in the day though the weather hadn't been real cooperative)

As we wandered more booths I was suddenly dragged backwards out of a booth by my cloak (I assumed one of my sisters was bugging me , , buttttt) it was Christine from Camelot hauling me over to Ian McTavisch and Company ( I met Sir Clisto Sunday, the evil twin brother of Ian ) and I delivered one of a couple scheduled messages , , luckily I warned him beforehand that it was from Allie so he didn't take offense at the kiss on the cheek. *whew* Also met Robyn and a couple others hanging out near that particular ale stand. The general topic of conversation was had any of us seen Morghana and Wulfie, , Robyn had, but none of the rest of us had managed by that time to run into them. (as it turned out I never did manage to be in the same place they were and so missed meeting them this time, , but next faire I'll find them I'm sure.)

Onward to more shows and people. We managed to catch Minstrosity's 3 pm show and I got to meet Wendy *waves again* plus listening to them sing was very enjoyable, Olde Hippie's got a good location right by where they perform a couple times a day. (of course someone keeps saying something about swiping benches?? hrmm, , I hadn't noticed any missing myself)

Another visit to watch Broons show and his great escape , then wandering boothes until the closing Drum Dance. Dinner at the Brat Stop and then just hanging out till gate opens Sunday.

Missed gate this morning, and as the weather was looking Much better Sunday the crowd was appreciably larger. Not much mud was left from the previous day, and so the lines were also longer. We caught more shows and a few vendors, , Robyn caught me early and reminded me of Mistress Mary Ellen ? (spell) at the Merlins Daughters booth, , and though I stopped by and lingered a few times, I wasn't able to catch her at a time she wasn't occupied with clients, , but theres always next year, , I'll make it back milady and be sure to arrange a time to meet. The only show I didn't like this time around was the Mud Show, , though the guys did indeed get muddy, about 30% of the entire program was soliciting money from the crowd, , now, , I have always been one to tip a good performance, , but to be subjected to that kind of outright "gimme the cash" kind of show is more annoying than anything else I can think of (as far as performances go that is.) Some people rave about how great a show it is, , and there was hardly any room at the show so it is apparently well liked, , but it's just Not my cup of tea, or coffee, or even lukewarm water. Ah well, live and learn I suppose.

One thing I also failed to do was deliver a bottle of mead I had promised to Olde Hippie, , but I will get it to him next week at MNRF.

On to visit with friends and family in Wisconsin, , awaiting next weekend and the opening of MNRF , , Yeahhhhhh ! !
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Two more days of Faire, , , Y E A H ! ! ! !

Saturday Morning, , egads, ,I forgot they started an hour earlier than most faires, , so we missed the opening gate show, but traffic was very light and we were only 40 minutes into the day when we arrived. What?? No charge to Park??? Kewl, , That makes me happy, , and we ended up about 150' from the entrance so that was ok too. Onto the ticket line, , now wifee and the son had decided to only spend Saturday at the faire and I was spending both days so I stood in line at one window and got their tickets, , then was directed to go to another window to get a weekend pass for myself, , and after standing in That line for only a few minutes I was at the window, , and then very politely informed that they weren't doing weekend passes, , and I'd have to go Back to the other line to get MY ticket, , grrrrrrr, , minor issue really, but at least I got to hear the nice lady bellow to everyone in the ticket booth that they DON'T HAVE WEEKEND PASSES ! ! ! heheh

Tickets firmly in grasp, and the extra in my pouch for tomorrow, we headed in the gate. Wow, , big site, , and very nice display as we sauntered into the magic. ::grabs maps and schedules:: ok, ,what do we wanna do first?? , , ::read-read-decipher-turn map rightside up-oh yeah, that's better:: Hey, there's the Dew-Drop Jugglers right over at this first stage, , lets go , , , , Excellent show, , the juggling was very good, , and the verbal show was even better, , I really like the groups that have a great verbal routine to go with the other talents, , although one lady was very surprised when her program ended up in shreds with instructions to get another from the information booth After the show, , and to mention the name of the shredder, , so she'd get a couple extra copies, , *chuckle* that was a most excellent display which has me chuckling again as I recall it.

More wandering about aimlessly, which is something we happen to be quite accomplished at, and we soon arrive at the Games Boothes, , now, , as you may know from previous reports, this is where my son likes to spend the majority of his time, and money of course. Knife throw is first,  Hey Dad (thats me) They have REAL KNIVES, , , cool, , even I was impressed at this particular item. The knives they had for the booth were straight out of the catalog, I'm not saying that the knives at other faires are not as good, , but these had sharp edges, , Very pointy points, and various styles to choose from for your entertainment pleasure. I just wanted to mention that even with the truely sharp blades this booth was/is no more dangerous than any other booth dedicated to the throwing of sharp pointy things for entertainment.

On to more games, and general revelry, , some across a street gig of swordsman, good guy, bad guy, and an assorted selection of minions to the good guy taken from the crowd, , *applause* Great show guys, , you need a better audience to get into the spirit of the thing enough.

At this point the tummies are beginning to rumble and make themselves known, , ok, , foods Just around the corner, , lets go see what we can find, , , I don't even recall what my son and wife got to eat because I was so happy with my selection, , Beer Cheese Soup, , in a bread bowl, , soft nummy bread, , a fairly generous dollop of soup, , I can't say enough about it so I won't go on at length about it cept to say I had three more servings by the end of Sunday. oh yeah it was G O O D ! ! , , Whoever runs that concession, I bow to you and your soup :)

Time for a few shows and general relaxation, , we do that pretty well too, , Smee & Blog is a favorite and we relax in a shady area for their show, , following immediately after the singing executioners is none other than Zilch the Torry Steller. Now, if you haven't had the pleasure of watching one of his performances you should check ahead and if he's performing at a faire you're attending make sure to catch at least one of his acts. One interesting thing at this show, , I happen to be a smoker, , and so I look for out of the way area's when I choose to indulge so as not to disturb the other inhabitants. This time though, , a patrons dog followed me off to the side and though it was a cute critter, it sat about 5 feet away and growled softly the whole time. Since the pets owner did have him on a leash I wasn't concerned and as I was walking back over to sit down, with the extinguished butt in my pouch, the owner told me that her dog did that to everyone it encountered wearing the same style boots I had on, , , ok ok, , I'll cut the dang fringe off before the next faire, , I learn even if slowly.

More wandering of boothes, , We spotted the Leather Mug place, , and wifee insisted that I finally get the one I wanted, , so now I have another thing to dangle off of my belt, , I got one with the masks of comedy and tragedy of course, , and I have to thank wifee for the mug, , I was going to wait a bit yet, , but she got it for me, , :)

Caught a show at the gypsy stage area, , keeping an eye out for a wildy dressed type who is a member of AFR, , didn't manage to spot her though, , maybe tomorrow, ,

Finally finished a tour of the Outside perimeter and moved onto the inside area, found Camelot and of course Olde Hippie and Kristine, , <I'll work on spelling later> and admired the new booth they had there. He's got a great spot and gets to see the village idiot doing the lunch time entertainment right in front of his booth, not a bad deal.

We wrap up the day catching Tuey's show, , I've now seen him at three seperate Faires, , and enjoy the act each time, , then we head out for the day but I'll be back in the morning and catch the gate show even.

Sunday Morning - Egads it's early, , we stayed at a hotel near the MOA since that's where wifee and son where headed and the hotel provided transportation to it leaving me with the van to head to the Faire. But since the hotel was a bit away from the faire I had a 30 minute drive and really wanted to catch the opening gate show, , ::drivedrivedrive:: , , Wow, , I got parked almost at the entrance, , Excellent, , Great opening show too, , even got an invite to the costume contest, , which I declined since I was playing smuggler, , hehehe

The day looked fairly clear but rain was guarenteed later in the day, , so I was wearing my cloak, , which helped with the aforementioned smuggling mission. Soon as the gate openned I caught sight of an AFRian I had not found the previous day, , :strolls up to the lady by the Unicorn wearing a rengeek pin on her hat, , "so milady, , where can we meet up later?" ::: ROTFL,  the look on her face, , ummm, , wait, , ::thinkthink:: oh yeah, , introduce myself first, , Hi, , I;m Snookum (big silly grin) , , Rosalily looks Much relieved that it wasn't the proposition she first thought, , or at least I think she looked relieved, , yeah, , that was it,  relieved, hehehe, , we arranged to meet up at Olde Hippie's place at 2 after she finished her tasks for the day, and she hadn't seen Olde Hippie yet so it was a good plan. Then on to Camelot to deliver the smuggled goods, , I had promised Olde Hippie and bottle of Mead and was finally fulfilling my word to bring it to him.

Then a quick trip down to McGreagor Games, , and meeting Chas :), though I had spent a bit of time sitting out back with Olde Hippie and getting a lesson in making a braided leather bracelt from a single strand of leather, , yes , , I'm still practicing so I can keep out of trouble at future faires with something to occupy my hands (catch that one Theresa?) and still be considered to be behaving. After meeting with Chas, and then getting a drink to christen the Mug gotten yesterday I go in search of the last AFRian I know of on the site, ,

Ok, , I'm looking for a girl form the gypsy camp, , dressed in colors the would shame a kender, and carrying a whistle bag, , how hard can that be?? *duh* Pretty difficult for a mere snook as it turns out. Luck is with me however and I know she will be at the Peasent Vilification Tennis match so I simply head over there to await her arrival, , and then I ask a player to point her out to me, , hehehe, , TA DA, , Found her, , I meet Bryn and get to perform a task for which I have been duly deputized for this one special occasion, , Ok Bryn, , what's an aquatic mammal? , , followed by several other questions and I am honored to award, and then pin on, her Rengeek pin, , Congrat's Bryn, , well done :)  , , *and you thought it wouldn't happen didn't you?* hehehe, , Then we dash over to the gypsy camp, it seems I've made her late for the show, , oops, sorry milady, that twas Not intentional, , I hang out in the gypsy camp while Bryn goes on to do the act and I get a unique view of the proceedings, , I still say the other girl cheated, , but that's a whole different story *g*

omg, , what time is it?? , , ah oh,  I wave to Bryn so she knows I'm dashing off and I head over to Camelot to meet up with Rosalily, , dash dash dash, , umm,   left?? I think it's to the left, , yes, , that way, ,

Ah ha, , found it :) and there's Rosalily chatting with Chas, Olde Hippie, and Katherine. I'm not toooo late anyway, , we hang out and gab for a bit, when who should wander by but Bryn , accompanied by a couple of the other gypsys, , I call out to her and she comes in and meets the gang there, , btw Bryn, it was Olde Hippie who made your pin possible, , at this faire anyway, , and of course the ever thanked and wonderful Gosh o' Pewter himself Kevin :) , , after catching up with people Rosalily becomes my escort for the remainder of the day and shows me around more of the site, , including backstage areas which I always enjoy seeing since the participants can be more relaxed and I get to see both sides of the shows that way.

In not too long a time we meet up with Rosalily's SO and I get even more info on life at MNRF, , one really nice thing happened as Rosalily was showing me where the fire had destroyed part of the Faire when a young lady came up and asked questions since she heard us discussing it, , as it turns out she and her husband were trying to find out who to contact to volunteer to help finish the work still needing to be done, , the timing couldn't have been better, since Rosalily is the volunterr coordinator for that project, she pointed the couple in the right direction to get set up for a later day, and also helped with information on the couples plans to be handfasted at a later time at the faire. Glad we spent that time looking over that part of the site, , must have been Rosalily's Karma working though, , mine never does that.

We see lots of the site, and I have my first Seville Sandwich, , , oh wow, , , yummmmmmm, , , Very good , , I'd recommend getting it with the sourcream as that added just the right touch for my tastes. Rosalily makes sure I get to meet some of the notable people at the site, including the worlds greatest kisser,  , hey Poof, , you have Got to meet this guy, , if you haven't already. Not only is he in the Guiness Book of World records, but he knows of several others onsite that are as well and shares that information, , I'm impressed with the number of individuals that are either record holders themselves or are part of a group that established the record.

A bit later Rosalily has to run off and finish some tasks so we say our farewells and I spend a bit of time boring her SO and a few unlucky others in backstage area's with the few jokes I can remember, , but they are polite and laugh anyway, , I like this Faire, hehehe

It's finally time to head out, , it's been a great weekend and I've thoroughly enjoyed yet another wonderful weekend of Faire and met more great people. Now, , where do I go next, , ,
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