"You brat!"

[vakkotaur]

A Renaissance Affaire, a small faire in Osceola, Iowa is now done with its third year.

This year was much like the first in being small, not all that organized, and not having a joust. The second year, last year, it was rather larger with more vendors and more acts, including a joust group. But it was actually a bit too big for what it was and is. Right now it's a small faire and it works better without having just too much. Last year there was much doubling of types of vendors. That is something that can work at a large event, but at a small one it's better all around not to have that - well, except for food.

The ongoing problems are still that there is no site map or schedule for the patrons. If there were, I did not see them. It'd be nice to know who all is performing, when, and where. The general signage problem, however, is over. There were many very good looking signs showing the way to the site and a good number on the site. Also, the pricing of soft drinks was sane. One dollar for a 20 oz. bottle of Coke products - including water. (And the if you're willing to drink Osceola water, the park supply is free).

Things started well on Saturday as jmaynard and I encountered one of the members of Danza Mystique and I gave her prints of pictures I had taken in Waterloo. A bit later I found Sheila (of the Washer Well Wenches) and did the same. She was greatly amused by the picture of her guy, on his knees, presenting her with a ring(pop). A bit later I remembered I had something more and went searching for her. Last weekend, at Rosenthorne, I encountered a vendor selling horns. Nothing unusual there.. expect he had some colored horns. Red, of course, and curiously he also had green. So I bought a set of green ones for Sheila, whose outfit is green. The horns matched her outfit rather well, too.

The faire was not just a faire, for as in Waterloo there was a wedding. I tended to stay back from it but I watched from a distance and got a couple pictures of the crowd that was watching it up close. After the wedding Danza snagged the newlywed couple and did a handfasting ceremony as well. Hopefully I have a couple photos from above - the site is a park and the top of a slide was an almost ideal place for a camera... After the serious part of the handfasting, Danza did something not expected - that they kept dancing and got the couple into it was expected. That they did it with the Macarena was not.

Now, Danza had borrowed our wooden folding stools for the newlyweds to sit on during the handfasting bit, just as they had at Waterloo. I disappeared as the Macarena was underway and went back to the car to get our wooden chairs. Yes, ours. The ones marked with initials. I got back just as Jay and Danza were arguing, if you could call it that. "Your chairs are over there, behind the tree." "No." "Yes." "No." I show up with ours and show that they are marked as such. Then, or just a moment before, it was explained. What they had asked to borrow were theirs - the new ones had been bought at Siouxland just for this. I still have this curious image in my mind as Nasira smiled at me and said "You brat!" Yep, it was worth it.

Later I was roped into a bit of performing. I don't think I did well. It was a bit titled "Bad Day at the Globe" and was a sort of renaissance themed Who's Line Is It Anyway? I wasn't watching it, but to me it felt like it was the Titanic and I had the part of one of the deck chairs.

Saturday night, after close, was a potluck which went didn't go too bad, though it could have gone better. As usual it was a disorganized thing. That the bratwurst and buns didn't show up until rather later than planned did not help - but wasn't too big a deal with all the other stuff there. However the person paying for them was Not Happy about that and was ready to state her case with Thwaque.

Sunday was a fairly slow start (evidently everyone was at church or sleeping in) but it did pick up. Morning audiences were small but appreciative. Later in the day I saw an attempted taking of the thrown as the royals were out... when they got back, Thwaque was brought out again.. but the usurper had a worse fate - they married him off to the jester. I spent a good share of time resting with the folks from Scots Dragon (clothing vendors) and would've bought a couple shirts but the colors and sizes that'd work on me (someone else acting as fashion consultant) were not in stock - they're having a good year - and so I have a couple items on order. And these folks I know will actually deliver without any hassle.

Sometime during the day, and I didn't get to witness it, alas, Jay was collared and tagged by Nasira. "Property of Danza Mystique. If lost, please return to Nasira." (I was tagged by Tamalena last year.) Danza also did a neat bit with a visual pun on "cat-o-nine-tails" with Tamalena dancing while wearing nine tails.

The Washer Well Wenches did a very unusual show. Last year they did a "mix-up" version with each person taking another's role, with one guest. It went over well. This year they started with that and it turned in a sort of tag-team insult-fest. This also went over very well. I wound getting roped into this as well for a quick one-liner (which Keirra wrote) that got a good laugh and comment of "You are an evil, evil man." I almost wish I'd thought of it... though I might well regret a photo or two of that bit.

We left early (around 3 PM) as we had a long drive home, I had to work Monday, and Jay wasn't feeling all the best again. I am wondering what causes him problems at faire. Last year it was suggested that hi belt was too tight or wrong placed. This year someone suggested improper foot support causing problems up the back. Or it could be that all the standing and walking is jarring. But leaving early did mean I missed the Bad Day at the Globe for Sunday, which may be as well.

I had some concern about ARA being very small, even disappointingly small this year. It wasn't. It was about the right size, I think. It could stand to be a bit bigger and needs a bit of work (1. advertise in Des Moines! 2. Get sitemaps/schedules where they can be seen by patrons. 3. Cover up the mundane stuff a bit more. Nothing can be done about park buildings, but coolers should be disguised a bit.) As one vendor said, it wasn't so much a faire as rennie networking event where they exchanged notes on how other faires went. All in all, it was a fun weekend - and somehow the rains seemed to have held off despite predictions and more than a few times of threatening skies.

Comments

[pharwarner.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a very pleasant faire, in spite of the small problems outlined. From all of your descriptions of this season's events so far, I can see how it's the people who put in the work that make a faire enjoyable. The performers especially. They really are great experiences, and all the things you get up to really do stay in my imagination. The story about the chairs for Danza is going to be the nicest thing I've heard or seen anyone do this week, I know. And I'm already looking forward to the next faire review!