did i have fun?

[salamanca]

Forgot my sunday update of the silliness. Spent the first half of the day as the dread pirate montoya. My friend Matt was the dread pirate roberts in matching masks, near matching shirts and pants. Oddly, nobody took a picture. The second half of the day, I went "rogueing" about the village with my friend Kiersten. We picked up bodies along the way and had the King stalking us for a good hour and a half. (which makes it damn hard to teach people medieval dice games when he keeps claiming the pot as a tax). Thursday is the big charity show. If I end up dead from marshmallow overdose, i'll make sure somebody texts Mark about it. I think I figured an angle for speed in eating and one for just stuffing them in depending on what the final objective ends up being.

[Rebecca Iavelli]

Well, if you do die from marshmallow overdose, just make sure you don't come back as the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man in your next life, because there is an old saying "you are what you eat" ya know.

[salamanca]

Odd night. Half the performers had to cancel after yesterday's fundraiser event. They all suffered food poisoning. (ironically, the event was for a group that helps renn faire performers who are sick). We are pretty sure it was the chicken. Spencer Humm of the infamous "Hack & Slash" comedy team hosted tonight. We also got performances from Circa Paleo (who you should go look up online), Larry Rabin of the "Hopeless Romantics" comedy show, David Doyle who walked on glass among other tortures (he's. Not quite right), and the current washing wenches did some comedic songs. Then we got down to eating marshmallows. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. I mean it, really dumb idea. I got to play the straight man while the other three goofed on the game. Brian was roasting them over a candle, Ryan was eating with a dainty knife and fork while covering them in condiments (mayo is a bad idea) and Kiersten was stuffing half of them down her shirt while tossing more to the crowd and into my pile. I downed more than an entire bag of marshmallows in less than 5 minutes. (irony strikes twice: Man vs. Food was playing on the club's TV). Funny thing about marshmallows, they don't hit you for the first 25 minutes then they start moving around. After that you just feel miserably stuffed. Other thingss we learned tonight:. Mallows do not mix well with merlot. Horrrible nasty taste combo. Pretty girls get to cheat and will be cheered while doing so. Salt and pepper are ok on mallows but not recommended. Do not eat like this on an empty stomach. Larry Rabin is funnier doing his pretend acts than his prepared ones. Don't eat the chicken. Washing wenches are kinda cute out of the make up. My comedy posse are eating wimps as the 3 of them ate about the same as me. I may need to start a diet tomorrow to balance this out.

[salamanca]

Well, it is now Celtic weekend, my least favorite weekend as it encourages men in skirts. (and nasty green plaid at that). Before I say anything else, let me remind you all that I do not wear kilts...ever. (Kara would have enjoyed the day). I spent the day helping vendor and performer friends mind the shop (5th weekend always seems to lead to shorthandedness around here). And then there was lunch... My friend, Brian, has a bad habit of being easily distracted and eating slowly. I tend to shift focus quickly and multitask in the faire while eating very quickly. So lunch started with a meandering 14 stop walk across the grounds. This was followed by a leasurely sit at a picnic table under a tent filled with conversation and the passing of the parade about 45 minutes after we arrived. Then we started teaching period dice and card games to the others. Then Brian went and got some food and started eating... A good 40 minutes after parade. (parade is scheduled for 2:30 for those wondering about timeline). We finally abandoned the table for a walk after 4 and a half hours of card games, dice games and swiping from one another's hoard of coinage. (poor sal was losing so badly I bet away my dice, coins, finger puppets, fan, spoon, dagger, bootstraps and hat feathers. Good thing I had staked the whole table and got all that back). After that we caught the final danger improv show and hit the gates. The danger improv show is a thing of beauty. Spencer Humm is a trained theater combat instructor and whip expert. He was cutting pretzel sticks thrown in the air with a bullwhip behind his back today. His partner in crime, Broon, managed to swallow a flaming torch help by spencer while he was standing on top of a balancing ladder. That one was more dangerous than was probably wise to try.

[Klcp]

Nah, I got to see plenty of Kilts this weekend.

[salamanca]

Sunday last brought about another thing I hope never repeats. The day of dead microphones. 4 different performers had their mikes go dead mid show due to battery drain. (really would think they would carry a spare). Seems I have adopted the same duties there I end up with at the con (area knowledge and scrounging rank 6). Managed to make a sweep of the grounds and grab each a replacement before the end of a performance. (because I know the stockpilers and the shortcuts). Also I hope to never again see the dance debacle:. Romeo Montegue and his henchmen performed an NSync song and dance for Juliet. Girls were screaming their names, it was beyond ridiculous. Ran into half a dozen acquaintances there for the day. Meandered home just before the rain.

[salamanca]

Ah, the final day of the faire. There was not a dry eye in the house as it rained all day. Now, the good parts of a rainy faire day are the following:. I get to leave work early for more faire time. You can always find a seat at shows. Non cast patrons (like me) with an umbrella are never alone. Invites to join young ladies for puddle baths are constant(but a terrible idea). Parking near the entrance is probable. If you brought a cloak or pirate coat, you can loan it out for awesome favors or gear. The whiners leave early. Now the drawbacks of a rainy day are:. Every seat is wet. Sound systems go down. Tents are packed with soggy bodies. Paths turn to mud slopes of doom. Once you get wet, you stay wet and cold. I spent half the time wishing people well and saying goodbye (a few probably forever as they are moving west). I also spent a chunk of time counseling an acquaintance having a breakdown over the anniversary of his wife's death (staying home may have been a smarter option for him). Then the storm hit hard around 3 and I started having fun. My amiga, Kiersten got soaked through during the storm as she was standing in for a missing cast member in the combat chess show. So we paraded soggy cast over to the glassblower to warm up. Then we went corset shopping (which I am told I have a talent for). After that we attended the wedding of the teahouse owner, I helped security toss a violent ex out of the ceremony and faire during that. Then I watched the final johnny phoenix adult show for the year. In this one he escapes INTO a pair of women's underwear while wrapped in saran wrap. A fan built him a special pair of pink thong panties with his name and picture on the front. They were 5 and a half feet wide. (that is not a typo). He is planning on using them as a banner in minnesota. Then pubsing beckoned and I finished out the goodbyes. We all headed to the gates. And then, as usual I didn't go home on last day. Details in the next post

[salamanca]

So, kiersten and I were going to go grab dinner. But as we were leaving the veteran cast director summons the cast to come back inside for something special. Between my habit of knowing everybody and Kiersten being former cast, we get tagged along on this adventure. Down the most heavily forested access path, in the dark, with vendors and performers trying to drive out past us to the combat chess stage. It turns out the final theme fight was vetoed by the owner. But those involved wanted to share it under the headlights of their cars. It was a 5 on 5 melee featuring 5 current cast members reprising their roles of season's past as the most legendary villians in cast history. Morgan Le Fay, The sheriff of Nottingham, etc. Opposing them were 5 other cast members reprising the greatest heroes. Ivanhoe, Arthur, Robin Hood, etc. The twist was that they recostumed the heroes as the Avengers. IRON man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk and Thor. It was amazing. Maybe the second best stage fight I have ever watched live. Then I lead a troop of newer cast members through the deserted grounds in the dark to the gate. And finally, an hour and 15 minutes after closing, left for the year. (to grab dinner with Kiersten before she left to crash the cast party). It was not the best season ever but it finished strong. Now I gotta clean a ton of garb and my boots.