Huzzah

I've been going to Renaissance Festivals since my mom took us to the one in Texas just a year or so after it opened. And I've loved them ever since: the crafts, the food, the costumes, the music, the ambience. I would go with Mom and sis, wear a flowered garland (oh, I loved these and have several and have made several), each scotch eggs and turkey legs, watch jousting on horseback, listen to madrigals, gawk at the lavish costumes (and not-so-lavish bawdy ones), and in general have a fine time. At the point, Real Musgrave was the official artist of the Texas Ren Fest and would sit in his booth signing posters of dragons. I have a few of these; I loved his art. At one point, we even went to a show of his and I remember this amazing print of a knight and lady on a unicorn or winged horse flying near the moon, I think; it was too expensive to buy--I got another signed poster instead--but it encapsulated what I loved about the ren faires.

In college, I joined our chapter of SCA but never really got too involved. It was definitely a boy-thing where I went to school--sparring and RPG (role-playing games like D&D)--and not craft-oriented. I did have "garb," the word for a costume, and wore it to gatherings and our trip to the ren fest. But I never got more involved and now, I think it would be too strict for my more casual, touristic interest in ren faires. For that is what it is, surely, like going on vacation in a foreign time and watching the "natives." Mind you, for the most part, ren faires are completely anachronistic, designed for the tourist, unlike real SCA events (there is usually an SCA presence at some fests, but they don't organize the big ones--I've been to Texas, Bristol in WI, Sterling Forest in NY, and the two in CT). And that's ok with me. I like the weird blend of "Master Card and Lady Visa" with turkey legs and diet Coke, Henry VIII and fairies and Merlin, garlands and face painting, jousting and raunchy jokes. I even have a great costume--an elaborate affair with shift, underskirt, overskirt, and bodice, in mauve and teal. DP has an incredible cloak and a hat. We're quite the pair.

(It won't surprise you that we also like Civil War reenactiments and living history museums. But those don't really invite visitors to participate in the same way--indeed, the interpreters do it for their own fun and are often indifferent and sometimes downright hostile to outsiders. Now, if they did have a Civil War fair, so to speak, I'd be the first in line to dress up and play lady for a day. I hear you can do that at Williambsurg, for the Colonial times, and I can't wait to go).

And we can't wait for the kids to enjoy it. We've taken them to the little ones in CT, but they were so young. DS liked the music. DD was scared to death of one of the creatures with wings (some fairy/goblin guy). They both liked being outside as long as it wasn't too hot. They'll love it this summer. And when they're still older we'll make the haul to NY's faire and later even, the one in Texas. My deart Aunt P after whom DD is named is quite the ren faire devotee--she goes every year and camps out for a weekend and then hangs out listening to sea shanties and old tunes while imbibing the local brew; I would wander around, meeting her back at the pub and then wandering out again. The kids will love it. And then, we'll graduate to the real Renaissance and head across the pond for a "dragons and dungeons" tours of real medieval castles and sites. I wonder, are Ren Faires popular where there was actually a Middle Ages? (Mind you, there is no real concern about the actual differentiation of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, both of which terms are problematic academically. As an historian, that bothers me not at all; this is recreation not scholarship. My beloved Victorians were constantly viewing other cultures and periods through their own lenses--just look at the art of Lawrence Alma-Tadema; it's charming and very revealing, both the art and the historical-cultural appropriation. And before I get in trouble for calling cultural appropriation "charming," I know all the scholarly buzzwords and reasonings for why it is racist, elitist, Eurocentric etc. It doesn't bother me at the Ren Faire or in the art of Alma-Tadema. It's intellectually intriguing. Go read Confederates in the Attic).

Why bring this up now, when ren faire season is still months away? We had a renaissance banquet at my church last night--very "Medieval Times" (the dinner theater in tourist towns), with roast chicken and potatoes with no cutlery, as well as lots of cleavage, roguish jokes, and swordplay. Being with friends used to ren faires made the evening delightful.

And so, I'm getting ready, mentally, for the next event. It's not too soon to make flowered garlands.