Today was opening day for Southern Ren Faire, and by coincidence, it was our chosen day to go to the Faire. It was a cool day—partly cloudy and threatening to rain (but it never did), a bit breezy, with a high of at best 65°F. Actually quite a good day for Faire, although I’m sure the ice cream, water, and fruit ice vendors wouldn’t agree. Of course, what visit to Faire would be complete without the costume commentary regarding the costumes that made us go “huh?”. Please comment with your opinions as well.
Tag: ren-faire
Southern Ren Faire Report
Today Karen and I went to Southern Ren Faire. A few observations:
- The day was just right temperature-wise. Of course, our perceptions could have been altered by the fact they were doing a wine tasting all day. Although Karen had most of the wine, I had a few sips.
- We also ran into a private tasting from Rabbit’s Foot Meadery. Good stuff, especially the regular and raspberry meads and the Melia. Supposedly, all are available at BevMo. There was also a Chocolate Raspberry dessert wine, but that was too strong for me.
- In the costume contest, it really wasn’t that bad this year. A few female contestants (alas, the pictures didn’t come out), and three Jack Sparrows. Much fewer bad costumes than last year.
- We did our share to make the merchants happy. Karen got an incense pot, a new African basket (her mother’s day gift), some earrings, some spices, and a second stave from a new vendor (The Walking Woods). I got a new belt, a second stave, and a batik shirt (my father’s day gift).
- I heard a rumor from one vendor that they are thinking of changing locations when the five-year contract on the dam site runs out. Then again, I heard from a different vendor that they will remain at the site. Guess it depends on your point of view. I still remember when it was in Agoura!
- In terms of shows, we caught a bit of the Washerwomen, one of the baudy shows, Manly Men in Tights, and one of the dance groups. More than we usually catch.
- I’ve realized that watching The Tudors on Showtime, combined with the research that led me into, has given me greater insight into Faire. Funny how that works.
- At least in the morning, I thought it was less crowded this year. I wonder how the economy has affected Faire?
Back from Faire
Well, we made it back from faire. Today was a perfect day: sunny in the morning, partly cloudy and cool in the afternoon. We also took it easy, so no one is too sore afterward. Oh, the costumes… you want to know the worst.
Our winner was this CYT (female), dressed as a pirate, in gold sequined short-shorts (some say they were underwear), with gold fishnet stockings, and a baby-blue and gold lame top. Runner up was the gaggle of red-hatters, all in purple pirate outfits with scarlet hats.
On the guy side, there was this fellow in a purple wizards outfit, with sequins everywhere.
The other thing I noticed was more and more tattoos this year. Everyone seemed to have them, covering more and more of their bodies.
Off To The Faire
Today, ussens and ellipticcurve are off to the Ren Faire in Irwindale. Expect the usual report on the worst attempt at a costume when we return.
Observations From A Day at the Faire
Today was our day at Southern Ren Faire (our is ussens and ellipticcurve). We arrived around 11am, and hung around until around 4:30pm. Some observations of the day:
- It was hot hot hot. Luckily, we came prepared with plenty of water, including frozen water bottles. The lady at the front was supposedly only allowing in water (and pouring it into her hand and tasting everything coming in), but she did let in my very very diluted black tea.
- We did get to meet six_gun_samurai, which is always nice.
- I was surprised that Oberon Leather didn’t have a booth this year, although their products were sold in at least two other booths. We got nsshere a small pouch; I wanted to get a good eyeglass case, but they don’t seem to bring one to faire.
- There didn’t seem to be as many bad costumes this year, or I’m just getting used to the occasional wings or pirates. So who won the prize for bad costume. In the Men’s Division, there was a group of three Roman Centurians, in full getup. In the Woman’s Division, the winner was a woman best described as a Mae West getup, minus the feather boa. In other words, sort-of Victorian beige, all fancy, with large frowzy blonde hair. In that division, our runner up was a lady in leather hot pants, fishnet stockings, hooker heels, and a purple bustier with purple parasol.
- We did our usual shopping. I got a stave, and gf_guruilla got some spices and tea. nsshere bought herself a pendant and some bells, and we got her some bloomers.
- There was a fair crowd there, although I heard it was larger than usual. There were a number of folks felled by the heat, but I didn’t see a larger effort than usual to ensure folk kept hydrated.
So that’s it for faire this year. Tomorrow is a clean the house day, although they may be hot-mopping the bathroom.
Only In Southern California…
Today’s “Observations on the News” reflect things that are just so Southern California:
- From the “I Wonder If He Saw The Washerwomen” Department: Lord Hefner of France visited the Southern California Renaissance Faire. Specifically, he visited the faire with his entourage in a medieval green robe to shoot the season finale of his reality television show, the “Girls Next Door.” Evidently, one of Hef’s girlfriends, Bridget Marquardt, is a faire regular, and even worked the faire when she was younger. According to the article, the entourage began their faire experience by joining the queen’s royal court during a jousting event, and then made their way through the faire, including stops at vendors, lunch with the queen, and a ride on the swing. First pirates, and then this. How come SoCalFaire’s starting to remind me of a limbo contest?
- From the “Go Play On The Freeway” Department: The LA Times is reporting that there will be another “Play on the Freeway” day on the Route 210 freeway on June 23 to celebrate the completion of Route 210 (which connects Route 210 to Route 30, but Route 30 doesn’t really exist, for legislatively it is Route 210, so this is connecting the two ends of Route 210, one of which isn’t labeled Route 210… confused yet). Many years ago I had the opportunity to let my daughter play on the freeway during a Roadgeeks Meetup, but I didn’t let her (I didn’t want her going home to tell mom “I played on the freeway”).
P.S. to larymotrmn: The Bottleneck Blog also has an article on Trains to Perris
After the Faire
After the Faire, we had dinner at Zankou Chicken (yum) in Burbank, and Ice Cream nextdoor at Creme-de-la-Creme. The server, Regina, was astonished at our costumes (she’d never been to Faire, but had wanted to go), and so took a picture of us. I asked her to mail me a copy. Note again that this is after Faire, so we’ve relaxed a bit: