Ren Fair-ing - Part Last

Even though I had hoped to do a bunch of sketching -

I got sucked into *watching* the performances rather than drawing through them. (I did sketch some of the audience backs while waiting for them to start..)

So many things to see! So much to watch!

...Lovely long day. Clear to the very end....

Ren Fair-ing - Part IV (Fairies)

Besides the medievally garbed, the pirates and the belly dancers, there always seems to be the inevitable contingent of winged-folk... (Most of which I had to photograph from behind - to get the best views of the winged-ness):

This elaborately appareled blue-fairy spent the bulk of the day making a trilling purring sound while handing people invisible fairy treasure and hoping for tips in return...??

OK - we now need the collective term for fairies - a swarm? flock? flight? glittering? dusting? - whatever it is, this was my favorite group of them - gingerly picking their barefoot way across the parking lot...

And these two little darlings - with matching dress, wings and hoodies! :-)

New to me this year were the morning-glory hats that many a little fairy was adorned with.

Of course there were the cortege of the darker, more goth variety...

...or the redder....more...redder? variety....

And yes, these would look totally smokin' on my dog!

Ren Fair-ing - Part III (Costumes)

People-watching taken one step further - focusing on their costumes (and matching personae) -

This gentleman claims to be Robin Hood. Or just a random man-in-tights...?

Tudor-esque lady with her Musketeer escort -

And this dapper gent runs medieval security by the arena, complete with crossbow in hand. We discussed his terribly cool, hand crafted, multi-laced footware.

Here's one of the 'fools' - with an authentic boiled leather mask. I luurve those...

I really don't need a hat like this however...

And check out these studly Norse warriors! Alitor of Clan Brickhome (on the left) was the Master of Ceremonies - and so cute, you wanted to pinch his hairy little cheeks!

Ren Fair-ing - Part II (People)

One of the primary reasons to go to the fair is to People Watch.

Here be the Bawdy Juggler.

There were many a long-haired musician.

And Pirates! Can I tell you how many pirates there were? [What is the collective noun for pirates? A Robbery? Rabble? Criminal? Brigand? Peril? Invasion? Treasure?]. At any rate, a brigand of Pirates invaded and rabbled in the Ale House...

The anachronisms are always fun. The Renaissance Lady using her cell phone... The Crusader using his Visa card (By the fire extinguisher)...

There were places for participation also. You could try your hand at archery, fencing, sword fighting, or as in this photo, get your melee on... (These young participants were a little hesitant to fully engage in bloody battle, but the sheer numbers were fun to watch).

But the funnest things we got to watch were the equestrian shows with their amazing riders. The "Dark Knights" complete with Games of Skill and jousting were fabulous. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery after this shot, so that's all I got of the noble knights...

However, I *did* get many of the gypsy equestrian show - which was even better. So stay tuned!

People Watching - Performers

A couple of weekends ago, we spent a nice day at the "Summer Faire", back at Camlann. For me, the best part was watching the people. The most obvious ones to watch were the folks performing -

We watched a medieval-era play. Here is one of the narrators.

The village smithy - hard at work.

Period-specific singers...

"Master Fletcher" - one of the 'presenters'. 'Got to watch various arrow-shooting contests.

And the amazing "Master Payne" - jongleur extraordinaire!

People Watching - Observers

Those who were observing were just as fun, if not more so to watch than the performers!

Delight!

Well, not so much... Maybe his feet were tired?

The entertained audiences...

The cute, cute women...

And the audience members who also got to participate in the demonstrations were intent and endearing...

People Watching - kids

Of course, the most charming people to watch were the children...

The bulk of them were dressed up in some fashion...

Some period clothing - some just for fun!

Here's an anxious moment watching the magician's show!

Pirates were surprisingly common!

But whatever they were wearing, they were darling to observe
as they were enchanted by the goings-on...