Renaissance Festival Part Tres.

Eventually we got to go into the banquet hall. Our hosts were Jim Cunningham



and Laszlo Nemesi.



Laszlo and Jim entertained us for a while, while we got our first glasses of wine. They gave us some funny hats to wear and that put us in a festive mood.

Or maybe it was the wine!



Our hosts told amusing stories and introduced the different courses!

 After a while we got to see some other entertainers like these singers and dancers.

This guy's Pierrot costume was really cool, but I have to say that I was appalled by the act.

 I thought they were going to do something clever as they talked about doing stupid things, but instead we got to see Pierrot slam a fiery sledge hammer down onto the stomach of the man with white hair while he was lying on a small bed of nails (not really my idea of entertainment). The best thing about this act was his batman underwear.

 Much more to my taste, because he was a sweet and gentle person, was Cale the Juggler.

As you can see he juggled fiery batons, but also did a fire breathing act.

There was also some sword play...

For some reason the villain (right) was (as is so often the case) portrayed as a Frenchman and the "good guy" was English. I guess we have Monty Python to thank for that.

I really enjoyed the food and the wine (maybe the latter too much since I forgot to take pictures of most of the food.) We started off with a lovely cheese and fruit plate. We had a delicious salad with pears, some soup and then a couple of main courses including a beef dish and this pork dish.

The singers and dancers were my favorite part. They did some non-period songs, but also some from the Renaissance and this really added to the atmosphere of the Feast.

Of course towards the end of the feast they brought in the belly dancers.

The dancers were good and we enjoyed the show while we finished our meat.

One of our hosts joined in the dancing too.

... and then there was the wildly inappropriate poet. I'm not sure why they like to have him at the feast so much, but I rarely enjoy his words.

At least this time he was a bit more even-handed and slammed both men and women. Last time he seemed to come down much harder on the women than the men.

And before we knew it, we had finished our dessert and it was time to go. We were presented with our Laszlo bobbleheads and packed our goblets and decided to head on over and visit our friend Marla at Lost Art Leather.

Marla is always so good-natured and kind. We just love visiting with her and we almost always find something cool to buy from her.

Then before we knew what had happened,  the day was over and it was time to say goodbye. We headed toward the exit and ran into Cale the Juggler.

There is always a grand committee of interesting people to send you off when you depart. We were even bid goodbye by a gnomish one....

..and several gentle ladies and gentlemen ...

 

These women were especially friendly (and what beautiful clothes they wore!)

 

The setting sun glistened on this woman's wings and truly reflected the magical quality of the day.

Here is a parting shot as we headed toward the scooter rental place.

Glam patted her trusty steed goodbye...

and then it was time to head off into the sunset.

And finally here is your narrator in the costume she did not manage to get finished in time for the visit to the festival.

I am (alas) still working on it, but have almost gotten things to a presentable state.

Next year I should be ready!

Renaissance Festival With My Mom and Sister Part Zwei

Snot and puke were funny as usual.  They told their same old jokes, but also added a few barbs at local politicians and celebrities.

They have broad appeal. Look at who was in the row behind us.

 

After Snot and Puke, DCA went to have her cards read by Lady Karen. Lady Karen is a wonderful reader and I think she sized things up very well.

 

The cards said that my sister was thinking about a change, that she was at a decision point but tired of what she is doing and that she is looking for alternatives. She said that others see my sister as having the world and wonder how she could be dissatisfied.

They also showed her juggling finances at the moment and headed for a period of introspection and decision.

After the card reading, we headed over to the hair braiders. This is a bit of a tradition in my family. DCA has the most beautiful, long, long hair.

She chose her design out of the book and promptly discovered her hair was too long for that style, so she settled on some kind of princess design.  She got the one male braider in the outfit and he turned out to be a very interesting guy, who had lived in Austin Texas and travelled around the US quite a bit.

We chatted a bit as he worked, but luckily he wasn't easily distracted, because he did a beautiful job!

 

Here is a view from the side/back.

After the hair braiding it was time to think about food. We had tickets for the feast of fantasy, so we walked off towards Bad Manor, but of course there were interesting things to see along the way.  Thi sFaun was sitting on a rock near the privies.

 

She had a lovely, shy personality and a long tail.

 

When we reached Bad Manor there were already revelers lined up in preparation for the feast. 

After a short wait, we were serenaded by singers 

and trompeters...

...and then our hosts Lazlo and Jim came out to welcome us in. 

(I'll write about the Feast of Fantasy in my next blog.)

Visit from Some Family Renaissance Festival Part Un

My Mom and Sister came to visit last week and we had a wonderful time!  They flew into Minneapolis and we arranged to spend the night in Shakopee and then visit the Renaissance Festival on the next day. Here are a few pictures from our time at the Faire. I am fascinated by all the beautiful costumes at the Fair and someday would like to do a blog just on the lavish clothing.

We decided  to start off with a show, and on the way, we passed the belly dancers.

We ended up over at the Bakery Stage to see our favorite knife throwers and jugglers.  Mick (also known as Bald Guy) did his yo-yo tricks for us while Reynaldo's Ninja (also known as Other Guy) watched with gravity.


SUD (Spousal Unit D - notice that is SUD and NOT DUD) took a much better picture with Reynaldo also in the shot.



Somehow he decided I was angry with him (we'd had a slight disagreement about parking) so he paid a guy to insult him in the hopes that it would mollify me. Then  he made the fatal error of paying the guy to compliment me and that embarrassed me so much that I didn't want to speak to him for the rest of the morning!

Here are some pictures of the family.



My sister and spousal unit did some shopping at the bronze booth.



Look at how happy she is! They refurbished a henin she had bought from them many years ago (I wish I had taken a before and after picture! It was an amazing difference between the blackened and dingy piece she gave them and the shiny, beautiful brass piece that they handed back to her.)
My mom (often called Glam Clooney) had been fitted out with a ruddy steed that she rode skillfully throughout the day.

I am fascinated by the anachronisms of the Fair - people texting in full musketeer outfits. Belly dancers on cell phones and of course the one that I share the most in common with: Courtiers with big fancy cameras.

We managed to see a part of the parade on our way to see our next show. The Elizabethan Singers have the most gorgeous wardrobes.



And they also have voices to match. I love hearing them perform madrigals or other Renaissance pieces with multiple voice parts.



Hmm and the guy in silver seems to have found a different young lady here. I'm going to have to keep my eye on him!



 Naturally bringing up the rear is the king and queen.



It was a really dusty day as you can see from the cloud kicked up by the horse.



I seem to be out of space for photos, so I will end this post here for the nonce.