Rosenthorne, final day of the run

[vakkotaur]

I had planned on going up to the Rosenthorne faire in Elk River, MN with jmaynard on Sunday, but the travelling of the past week seemed to have caught up with him and he decided it was better to stay home and sleep. Thus I went solo again. The night before, I had said that if it was just me, I would go, but I wouldn't push it - it would be easy for someone to see it as small and be disappointed after the travel. How much travel? Well, I filled the tank at the corner station near the house and reset the trip meter. When I got back in the evening, the trip meter read 320 miles.

When I got there, there was a pleasant surprise: The ticket price had been cut in half to a fairly reasonable $5. About 5 minutes before opening gate, I was one of two patrons (both in garb) waiting. As the time got down to a minute or so, a few more folks, some in mundanes even, appeared, but it still was Sunday Morning In Iowa Slow (yes, I know, wrong state..). This time, unlike my last visit, the canon was set off by signal rather than in middle of things, so I got to see some pre-gate banter, which wasn't bad.

Went to the stages and checked the show schedules. This time they had nicely printed schedules, not hand-scrawled things as I had seen before. Sure, it's a little thing, but it was an improvement, and that's always a good sign. The first couple acts that were to be at one stage did not perform there - but this was not a bad thing. The first group, The Black Velvet Band, took to the stage.. noted the utter lack of audience, noted the crowd sitting under a shelter tent, and quite wisely moved to where the crowd was. The No Name Jugglers that were up next followed suit.

That didn't last, but it was neat to see two of wendyzski's suggestions put into practice - even if perhaps by accident. I would hope that if Rosenthorne makes it for another season, they have the sense to put the stage next to the tent and keep the ticket price in the single-digit range.

Handed a few folks prints of the pictures I took of them a couple weeks ago. Not everyone was there, so I wound up keeping most of what I'd brought. A.J. of the No Name Jugglers really liked one picture. There is a bit where he stands on his partner's shoulders and they do six(?) pin juggling. That made for a good picture (alas, the background was less than wonderful, but couldn't be helped).

Met up with Rilla the Spinner and spent more time sitting by her and her wheels than I had expected. Yes, Wendy, I did relay your greetings. Both Rilla and the King (the Queen was not there) were happy to hear that, and wished Minstrosity was there. Rilla was good with the kids who watched her spin and listened to her tales. I saw one kid do some spinning, getting hands-on with the process. This lead to a bit of "Now you have something to say when asked what you did over summer vacation." A story was related of another kid who had been with a wagon train group and when asked that, replied that she'd driven a team in a wagon train. Teacher pretty much called the her a liar. But she had pictures...

Someone had a sort of prop moose costume. Shoulder-sling kind of thing with head in front, tail in back, and the wearer stands in the middle of the thing which is rather rectangular. Yes, moose. I took a picture was a charged by this moose. Wonder how that will turn out. A moose. At a faire. This was just begging for the infamous Moose Song... and a verse or three did happen.

The Dark Cloud was still there. They do a few things. There is belly dance. There is contact juggling. There is... the block. There is a pillory (which gets called stocks, like everywhere else). Unlike some places, the arm holes are not oversized and can keep (most) hands in place. And a real lock is used. Yes, this is the voice of experience... And just a touch of "evil" to keep it interesting.

Later in the day the crowd was quite sizable. One of the vendors even commented on the size of the audience that the No Name Jugglers had. It was quite impressive, and after my last visit, a bit unexpected.

After a later No Name show, the Dark Cloud folks took A.J. captive (charges of tax evasion) and had him in the "stocks" for a bit, but then moved him to the block and held him there - making his partner juggle to raise funds for A.J.'s survival. A few Dark Cloud folks did their bits as well, and A.J. was saved... but not released until he got a few (very light) hits with a crop so he'd learn his lesson.

Wandered around and looked over the wares of most, if not all, the merchants. It's odd, but even at a small faire, I can miss things. A couple weeks ago, I must have missed Rilla completely, and considering where she was, that should not have happened. Or maybe I didn't. She did say something about being at Council Bluffs, but I'm not sure if that was this year. Mentioned a troll.. was pleasantly surprised when I asked, "Sauboo?" (Sauboo is memorable and fun character.)

Around 4 PM I decided it was time for me to head home, what with the long drive I had. This meant I missed the Dark Cloud fire show at 5:30, but I expect I'll see the Dark Cloud again somewhere. Rilla met someone who had a neat Green Man piece of artwork he'd made, but had left in his vehicle. So she (and I since I was leaving) went out into the parking area and had a look. It looked like a layered piece with many pieces, but was one solid piece, carefully carved. A minute or so later he was on his way, and she returned to the faire, and I started on my way home.

All in all, a good day. I had made a point of having plenty of fluids, but evidently not enough. I was fine on the drive back, but did stop in St. Peter to get a Coke. And then had a late supper with a few refills of iced tea. And then more water at home after that. Aquarius wasn't at the faire this time, so I likely wasn't drinking enough just plain water. Something I'll have to keep in mind for MNRF and such, when the weather is hotter. I thought it was a rather pleasant day, but there was a good breeze, and I wasn't dressed in anything heavy or in much black, like some folks who did want it a bit cooler.