I'm so sad that the 2009 season has drawn to a close. It's been a great year though!
Gryffyn (my dog) is considerably better mannered now at 8 than he was at 1 and it was a pleasure having him out this year.
I have to admit, my animosity towards Twig has waned and I'm starting to see why folks are so drawn to her.
Someone was terribly creative and started doing Renaissance DDR. I so wish I had gotten a photo! They had a mat with the arrows on it, a few musicians to play the tune, and a long scroll of fabric with the dance arrows upon it. Flipping awesome!
I found the Muses challenging patrons to gigantic Connect Four. Something I hadn't seen before.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ij8FjgMcNPU/SslY0_JGx7I/AAAAAAAAA7U/1gCyTEMFqXk/s400/IMG_0105.JPG)
There were the cutest puppies EVAR!
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ij8FjgMcNPU/SslZ0_4FhrI/AAAAAAAAA7w/ij0paaPwhoc/s400/IMG_0102.JPG)
I have no idea who the guy was, just someone who wanted a photo on his phone too because...hello...cutest puppies EVAR!!!
I bought a stellar new hat. Hopefully I'll have pics of that soon. And thanks to everyone for fawning over me in my new hat. I felt pretty darn good with all the compliments.
Two Children Left Behind doing D&D Hamlet. Probably one of the funniest things I saw all season!
I've discovered a keep warm option that is much easier to sew than a cloak, and more comfy to wear as well. My brain is busy working away on a few options for alterations. I may just have a new creative outlet!
Blushing, it was a pleasure meeting you today. Amber, I thoroughly enjoyed walking the lanes and getting to know you a little better this year as well.
These were a few of my favorite things this year. Anyone care to chime in with their favorite experiences this season?
Just to make my season complete. I ended up changing what my fairy does a bit into the season. The first day I played almost purely with the bubbles I had an adorable little puppy chase the bubbles. It was priceless to watch and made me sure that the bubbles were the way to go.
Today playing up on the green, King the Rottweiler decided that the best part of the festival for him was to lick the bubbles out of the air, off the ground, or off the wand itself. All while his handler was hanging on for dear life.
It made my season complete and I was sure you could hear my giggles from the green to the track. :)
I just needed to share. Thank you for starting the topic.
I didn't realize that you were on the forum. Welcome! I saw you near close tonight blowing bubbles right out of your hand. It looked like magic! So beautiful.
Quote from: Leyla on October 04, 2009, 09:44:29 PM
There were the cutest puppies EVAR!
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ij8FjgMcNPU/SslZ0_4FhrI/AAAAAAAAA7w/ij0paaPwhoc/s400/IMG_0102.JPG)
These were a few of my favorite things this year. Anyone care to chime in with their favorite experiences this season?
Uhm, this puppy pooped on my hand...remember?
In truth, probably one of the most enjoyable years I've had at fest...Made entirely by those I have come to know and love over the years. I met so many new people, forum and not. Just got home and am missing it all ready...
Hearing all the fun times makes me wish even more that we were able to go this year and join the fun. Till we can come back we'll just live vicariously through you guys.
I didn't see any shows this year, other than the ones at my booth.
Music acts were all great. Helped make the day go faster.
Meeting people was the best part. There are a couple folks I will never forget and really hope to see often. I hope to have one of them living with me by the end of the year.
So many fine memories of the 4 times we attended fest this season.
Joining Minnesota Fest Friends. A very good group of people, a place to rest a bit between shopping, attending shows, making new friends. Thank you.
Meeting the new Queen-to be. What a lovely addition. Antonia knows she has BIG shoes to fill and she will do just fine. Received an invitation to the Royal Wedding next season too.
Taking in more shows and supporting the performers who work their collective butts off to make visits to the festival worth it.
Seeing people have a great time as we talked with many who were attending fest for the first time.
Seeing even more people dress up. Dressing up in garb is finally catching on. Soon the number of those in garb attending fest will outnumber those who don't.
Yesterday Lolly showed up in garb as an Italian woman trying to marry off her daughter to the king because her daughter was prettier than this skinny girl he was courting. It was hilarious. The king was surprised and there was some word play. It was one of the best moments all season.
It was great wandering and chatting with you, too Leyla! It takes me awhile to get to know people and open up to them, and I am grateful to those who sstick around long enough to give me that chance. :)
I got to meet Lady Nicolette, William MacKean and a few other forum members for the first time, and every meeting was a pleasure.
The pirate take-over of the beer pub by BLT on closing day was lots of fun. After 7 Sundays, I finally feel like I'm starting to get to know my fellow ale tenders at Mac's. Just in time for the end of run, but I'm used to that and it's something to build on for next season.
The day an Irish Wolfhound came up to the bar. He was tall enough to look over the bar and peruse the beer selection. Awesome.
Hearing great music. My favorite Four Pints Shy has evolved a lot over the last year, and I love the new format. The Whiskey Chasers are a great addition to Fest - wonderful energy and a sound that is unique among the musical groups at MNRF. I hope they'll be back next year.
So glad you liked the Connect Four game! I came up with it last year and BJ (Hayrold) was crazy enough to build it for me. This weekend was its inaugural run. :)
Next year, I'm hoping for Operation!
Quote from: Ethel on October 05, 2009, 03:54:33 PM
...Next year, I'm hoping for Operation!
Oooh, I want to play! Me first!
"Take out
wenched ankle"!
I hope your version includes leaches!
Thank you, tip your waitress, I'm here all night! ;D
My favorite things...
I learned that pinnapple halopeno makes a danged good pizza (thanks Keith).
I learned what the "BLT" and "Dead Dog" are all about.
I learned that a difference in age makes no difference in friendship (either direction).
I learned that the patrons can be pretty cool people too.
Other fun things from this season:
-My boyfriend drove out from Cleveland to surprise me Labor day weekend. He showed up 5 hours earlier than I'd expected, which was the surprise. He then arranged to have a rose delivered to me every day of fest for the end of run.
-It was the same rose seller who delivered the roses. If she sold 100 roses before noon yesterday, she was going to get to leave early to go to the Twins game. I bought the last of her roses (36), which brought her just over 100 roses at 11am. I then spent an hour going around site and giving roses out. They went mostly to people I knew with a handful of those I didn't. I only sought out a handful of people and the rest were "oh look, I know so-and-so! They could use a rose!"
-I had awesome photos taken by MBM and DB.
-The soap shop rocked this year! Happy owners, awesome staff. :)
-I got to play with Terpsicory again for part of the season which was lovely.
-I got to know some people better and met new people.
-People missed me the one day I missed most of (due to real job) and it made me feel loved.
-My best hawker was a bar stool with a basket of soap and a sign in it. Few people ate the soap (some still did, even with the sign) but tons came into the shop. I learned that sometimes if you're doing something not at all related to the shop, people will come in (I made an arrow outside of the shop but while I was playing around and making it, people stopped and wandered in).
And best of all, I was reminded of how awesome of a community and family we are and how happy I am to be a part of it. ;D
Theferret, thank you again for the rose, but especially thank you for the story behind it! I told it to about 8 people yesterday and all of them said it was incredibly heartwarming all the way around. Lovely. Just lovely.
Quote from: Ethel on October 05, 2009, 10:20:10 PM
Theferret, thank you again for the rose, but especially thank you for the story behind it! I told it to about 8 people yesterday and all of them said it was incredibly heartwarming all the way around. Lovely. Just lovely.
You're quite welcome. You were one of the people that I had on my mental list to be sure to find. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was my way to pay forward the happiness I'd gotten from my boyfriend. It was amazing to see people's faces light up when they realized that they were getting a rose simply because I thought they'd like one. I think it may become a new last day tradition. :D
I relearned how cool the Fest crowd is...
Nessa in SS rocked me with tire awareness (they heard our blow out over the gravel we were driving on which caused us to miss it!)
Alex from Hammocks gifted us an old spare he had in the back of his truck cuz he's using bigger tires.
Every Mom I know at fest worried that it looked like I had lost weight!
My husband was called "serene" (and while drinking!)
And time invested in people paid great rewards in trust, love and that coziness you get from somewhere this side of friendship.
Quote from: Charlotte Rowan on October 05, 2009, 01:06:15 PMThe pirate take-over of the beer pub by BLT on closing day was lots of fun.
Hehe, I enjoyed that as well. You see, the BLT is my pub, and since we fried our last keg early we got to have the rest of the day off. Then, when I passed by my pub later in the day, I got to see something unusual: Mutt from Kings
hawking at the BLT pub. 'Twas perfect! :D
I shed tears at the closing ceremony. Didn't see it coming, but I got wrapped up in the emotion of the moment when everyone was singing.
Looking forward to the Jaycee Recovery party so I can get one last taste of the Fest world before The Other Ten Months clamp down.
I learned that coming down to Faire is always worth the trip.
No matter how many times you walk the lanes, there will always be someone that you haven't seen and want to, so walk them again!
Not to forget to stop and look around, cause what your looking for may be right in front of you.
I relearned that Age makes no difference to Friendship!!
There may not be a limit to how many times I reload my Hookah while at Fest (10 times on the last day)...
and last but definitly not least...
Fest is Home!!!!!
;D
Had a great time at our first ren fest. We'll both definitely be coming back next year. We only went to the last weekend (both days-mundane Saturday, garb Sunday) and here are some of my thoughts.
Things we learned:
1. The parking guy on the last day got hit by a car; I have a newfound respect for their job. Hope the guy is alright.
2. I can carry a wench farther than I thought. Even with 100 people watching.
3. The bartender at foaming stein was more drunk that I was. That was a first. Probably a last. I won't name names, but you know who you are.
4. The Dreggs were my favorite musical act. Saw them twice.
5. The chicken act was actually better than it sounds on paper. Hilarious.
6. Double entendres were everywhere, sometimes triple. Hilarious! ;D
7. I have a new appreciation for wood chips and what they can do for you.
8. We met several folks and had many great conversations. Here's to hoping we meet more extremely cool/nice people next time.
I never met anyone with a RF pin, sorry we missed you guys. I was looking around, but it's tough to matchup the photo in the avatar to real people.
Favorite things... there were so many...
Working at Willing Soles
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i182/denamike/MNRF%202009/MNRFOct3011.jpg)
Friends coming to visit at the booth.
New outfits and hats!
Seeing the grounds in the morning when they were all foggy and quiet.
Meeting so many new people around the faire.
Fun garb!
Quote from: Ethel on October 05, 2009, 03:54:33 PM
So glad you liked the Connect Four game! I came up with it last year and BJ (Hayrold) was crazy enough to build it for me. This weekend was its inaugural run. :)
Next year, I'm hoping for Operation!
OH OH what about "YOU SANK MY GALLION!!!" instead of battleship. There are so many games that could offer up some funny interactions hee hee hee hee.
Getting to meet the "new" crowd at Willing Soles
Having everyone help us keep the silk cart from flying away on that really really windy Saturday.
Having two of our umbrellas almost kill people.
Watching SS run up to Patrick and hug him after our umbrella flew up and over the top of our cart. She said it was the most awesome thing she'd seen all day :P
Slapping and or hitting Pat repeatedly
Ann's Chai she kept "on the table"
Watching the group of little children be in awe of MG in her finery ;) Adorable!
Finally winning a "Slap Jack" moment against MG
Coming to the realization that in 2012 Jack is going to sh*t all over: Get your dingy ready!...... I laughed so hard I had tears!
Hey, Missi's here! First post...Welcome!
Honestly, I did not really have any favorite things at faire this year. I was just happy to be there.
My busted up knee really prevented me from having much fun this year. In fact, this year was a real drag and I am happy it's over. My most enjoyable moments were hanging out in front of the Foaming Stein and at Willins with all my friends. I did not have to move much and could enjoy the good company.
Although, obviously, I wouldn't continue doing this thing if I didn't enjoy it, I will say that Festival Friday, as sucky with weather and no patrons as it was, was just fun. You chat in ways you don't necessarily have time to. You drink more than you should. You just get to be festive.
It was one of those days that you just won't forget. And you can talk to people years from now and say, hey, remember that festival friday back in '09, boy, didn't that suck.
good times, good memories.
Festival Friday is the day I get to meet new people and reconnect with those I don't get to see at other times during the season. It was nice to meet you Escher.
Fest was good for me this year, which is making the after season crap even more sucky.
I have to agree, I enjoyed fest friday, even though the weather sucked.
I had a great season and it has been hard this year getting over it until next season.
Fest Friday was miserable, so I got space heaters for my booths for the weekend.
Fest Friday also afforded me some extra time to snuggle with my girl in the back of the booth.