The fall had come around again, and
it was time for our trip to Texas Renaissance Fair. We were hoping to
make this a regular occurrence now, and I’d done pretty good job at assembling
a set of garb. Between the cotton shirt I had (although I rolled up the
annoying puffy sleeves) and the blue kilt, I had a good start when paired that
with my black leather boots. Lacking a sporran, I used all the various
belt pouches I had put them on my adjustable belt (so I could carry my wallet,
phone, camera, etc.). Connon said I looked like the Scottish Batman.
Ken had just brought down a bunch
of swords for us, so that part of my garb was complete. They were better
than the swords I’d previously gotten. Connon opted to become a pirate
this year, so we would have clashing tartans. Aurelia had found a nice
noble women’s dress to wear, and expected Connon and I to defend her honor.
Open your purse first, m’lady, and then we’ll talk.
Brian drove this time, and Connon
and Aurelia wanted to ride in the back of his truck (as opposed to being packed
into the small extended cab he had). That was fine for the first part of
the way when it was sunny, but the closer we got to Navasota
the worse the weather looked. Three-quarters of the way there, the skies
opened up and down poured. There was no safe place to pull off the route
we were on, so Connon and Aurelia took shelter under a tarp in the back.
By the time we were able to pull off the road, they were both drowned
rats, and they decided to stay in the back under the tarp. They really
couldn’t get any wetter than they were.
It had stopped raining by we
arrived. We were able to get a nice close parking space, and saw there
was mud and puddles everywhere. I swapped my footwear for my hiking
boots, which were better made for this (and more comfortable to wear on a day
of walking around). Our drenched companions had dried themselves as much
as they could.
Inside the Ren Faire, there were
many puddles inside, and much of the pathways had been turned into muddy
trails. In a sarcastic way, we noted this was really capturing the “real
feel” of Medieval Europe. Since I was among the clean, I had to
paraphrase Monty Python and say that I was “some sort of king, because I didn’t
have shit all over me.”
As the day went on, the sun came
out and dried the walkways, although there was still some mud along the grassy
areas. Many of the guests just ignored it, as they were having a good
time. I didn’t mind my hiking boots getting covered with mud, as they
were much easier to clean than the leather boots I’d originally considered
wearing today.
With any outdoor venue, you’re at
the mercy of the weather, and you just have to go with the flow. Vendors
know how to pack things up quickly to protect their stock, but nothing will
stop rain from flooding the booths. A large number of places we stopped
in to look at were still in the process of bailing out. By this time,
Aurelia had pretty much decided this was going to be the only outing she’d ever
get from this dress. Between the drenching she got on the way here, and
the mud which was getting caked on to the hem, she had quickly abandoned any
pretense of being a noble woman. I don’t think she was ready to throw the
towel and be a serving wench yet.
The seating areas at the shows were
equally wet, although some dried quicker than others. Water is not good
for wool, and I didn’t sit down a lot. We enjoyed another round of the
“Ded Bob Sho,” which was just as amusing as it was last time. The
shrouded entertainer (who looked like an executioner) and his animated corpse
puppet (who spoke in the most bawdy manner) poked fun any unsuspecting person
in the crowd. Brian and Aurelia spent more time watching the
performances, as Connon and I strolled around. The shows are fun, but I
like interacting with the other people who’ve come in garb, and immersing
myself in the role. It’s like being at SCA event again.
One thing which was nice was to see
things I hadn’t seen the previous year. Any annual event needs to keep
things fresh for their returning guests, in addition to having the “crowd
favorites” which people always come back for. While the snake-dancer
woman was highly interesting to watch, what got my attention was a musically-themed
act we stumbled across was called “Wild & Thorny.” Made up of two ladies named Iris and Rose, they
played bawdy bar-style tunes from the female point-of-view. It was like a
slightly cleaner version of John Valby, but still pretty R-rated. We all
laughed at the routine, and at the conclusion of the act I bought two
most-current CDs (as well as the companion song book). I know I’d be
burning a copy of these to pass on to Shawn, because he’d appreciate the
twisted humor.
TRF had a
giant pirate ship constructed, and at various points during the day they’d toss
out “free booty.” Whatever giveaway stuff and free samples they wanted to
hand out, they call out it was a certain amount of time before “walking the
plank,” and then a crowd of people would gather around. At the prescribed
time things would be toss over the side, and the awaiting public would scramble
for whatever goodies they could get. Some items would be dropped close, and
others cast out pretty far, so you didn’t have to be next to the ship for a
chance to have stuff you’re your way.
I stood
on the edge, and watched the scramble, as it was a pretty interesting
cross-section of humanity. I clearly saw a cat-of-nine-tails coming towards
me. The guy next to me saw it too. Like gentlemen leaping for the
garter belt thrown at a wedding reception, we both jumped for the prize.
My reach was just a little longer, and I was able to snatch it. The
guy was clearly not happy I’d beaten him too this, but that’s the chaotic
nature of it. I saw the cat-of-nine-tails was clearly leather, not some
plastic knock-off, so it was worth the effort I’d taken to get it. If it
had been some cheap copy, I probably would’ve just handed it to the person next
to me. Other than wadded-up shirts (none of which were coming close to
me), there wasn’t any booty I wanted, and strolled away from the ship.
Aside from the weather issue we had
at the beginning, this was another great visit to TRF. On the way out, we
noticed a few patrons were being attacked by a small group of kissing wenches.
Connon stepped aside to give them some money, and directed them towards
Brian. I saw what Connon had done, and noticed the wenches applying their
lipstick, so I stopped and pretended to adjust my boot laces. I slyly
pulled out my camera as I did so.
Brian was quite surprised when he
was attacked, and had a series of smooches placed on his cheeks. The guy
who was dressed as a wench made the affectionate motions, but didn’t follow
through when he saw it wouldn’t be well-received. Aurelia didn’t realize
this was happening until it was well in-progress, and saw Connon and I laughing
hysterically. Brian was a good sport about it, but he still told Connon
and I in “express terms” what he thought of this. I’m sure when we go to
TRF next year (or if we going to a different Ren Faire before that), Brian will
get his digs against Connon and I. This
is the stuff that friends do to each other for fun, so I’ll be curious to what
he comes up with.
When it was time to go to TRF this
year, Brian and I would be meeting Jose and Margaret there (with some people
they knew). Since I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to wear my kilt,
of course I was going put it on for that. With change of jobs and
different living situations, the Ren Faire trips weren’t happening as
frequently as I’d liked them to be. The plans to rejoin SCA that fallen
through, and the other “medieval re-enactors” I’d encountered had acted in the
same manner as the “Vampire LARPers” I met (as in not knowing when to come out
of character, and come back to the mundane world). Thus, I rode the current situation right now,
and looked forward to a time when I could have more frequent attendance.
There were new shows which we
hadn’t seen before, and we went to catch those while Jose’s group watched “Ded
Bob.” Off in one corner of the grounds was an area designed to look like
a Roman amphitheatre, and that’s where we saw the comedy skit called
“Testiclees and the Sack of Rome.” This was certainly in the “not for
children” category, as the risqué act was filled with toilet humor. The
name of the show was a giveaway. It was extremely funny, and really
pushed the envelope at this public venue.
We didn’t walk around the area as
much to check out the merchants, which is one of the things I like to do.
That also is a great chance to do some people-watching. I didn’t
too many things which got my attention on this trip. One group was pretty
interesting dressed as Spanish Conquistadors, accompanied by their Indian
squaw. It was amusing to see a rather un-PC attired party, but it was all
in good fun.
One thing which got my attention
was hearing a violin play the theme to “Last of the Mohicans.” Now first
I thought I was hallucinating, but soon found the band E
Muzeki performing this tune with an Arabic-sounding edge to
it. Just like many of the music
festivals I’d gone to (like Irish 2000, back in NY), this was a great way to
find music you might not hear anywhere else. As I saw on their album E
Muzeki had covered Led Zeppelin's “Kashmir ,” I
was sold. Gimme a copy!
The day was warm, and besides the
above what money I did spend was on beverages to stay hydrated. I was
amazed at how much beer Jose was putting down, and the fact that he was still
functioning. I’m sure he sweated a good chunk of that out while we were
watching the jousting tournament, and he still had Margaret to drive back.
The majority of the group wanted to
be back in Austin
to have dinner, so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the festival. To me,
it felt like we spent longer on the road (getting there and back) than we
actually spent at our destination. It was a day out with friends, but
overall not as good as any of my previous trips. We could’ve had the same
hang-out experience locally going to First Night on South Congress, or one of
the many street festivals which happens in Austin . I’d certainly like to go back
to TRF, but I’d want to be able to spend more time there, and be able to soak
up more of the atmosphere.
The only other Ren Faires I’ve been
able to make since the above was Camelot Fantasy Faire out in Lockhart, in
March 2006, when Lee and I went. This appeared to be a fairly new
operation, as it looked like a field had been hastily cleared on shrubs and
vendor tents put up. Excalibur Fantasy Faire was no longer in existence,
and it felt like this one had been put together at the last minute to make up
for it.
As an outing, it was fun for us to
wander around, but it wasn’t really that memorable. The day was overcast,
and it felt like it wanted to rain the entire time. I didn’t wear the
kilt, because of the potential weather. We talked about the possibility
of going to TRF together in the fall, and even trying this again next season
when it was better organized.
Lee and I did make it to TRF that
fall, but not in the manner we had planned. Rob and Colleen decided to
have their wedding there, and as guests of the wedding our admission would be
covered. The flipside of that was we were at this venue for the wedding
(and associated reception), so it didn’t leave a lot of time in the day to
wander the festival site. We weren’t part of the wedding party, and they
were the ones who got lavished on by the host location. That was another
instance of us spending more time in the car travelling than we actually got to
spend at the destination.
Unfortunately, various factors have
kept me from returning to TRF in any fashion.
There’s a Celtic Festival in the fall one weekend in October, which I
can get my fill of shows and Ren Faire-type vendors (as well as the people who
come in garb, so the people-watching can be done). Of all the Ren Faires
in Texas that
I’ve been to, Texas Renaissance Festival is by far the best, and that is my
recommendation for anyone who wishes to go.
For current information on the places visited:
Society for Creative
Anachronism: http://www.sca.org/
Irish 2000 Festival (NY): http://irish2000fest.com/
Austin Celtic Festival: http://austincelticfestival.com/
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