TheBanyanTree: 1 down 4 to go

[Russ Doden]

I'm sitting here, trying to get functional for the work week.  I'm not
succeeding.  My mind isn't here but about 50 miles and 500 years away.  Hows
that you say?  I'm so glad you asked.  The Castle Renaissance Faire at
Muskogee kicked off this past weekend.  So what?  Well, I'm once again
performing with The Bedlam Bards at that event.

This past week it has been raining almost every day here in NE Oklahoma
since this past Wednesday.  While the grounds of The Castle of Muskogee are
well drained, there is just so much water that any ground can hold before it
turns to mud.  Well, as I said, it rained the last half of the week leading
up to the kick off weekend of The Castle.  I drove down there Friday night
to relax a bit before the weekend started.  I have a "pop up" trailer I take
down to the site and live "on site" over the weekends during the run of the
faire instead of driving back every night.  The grounds were "soft" but not
bad.  There was hope - if the rains stayed away.  They didn't.

Saturday morning, it was heavy overcast as I walked from the camp ground to
the actual faire site.  I like that little walk in the morning - it helps to
get the old body working.  As we were milling about waiting for breakfast -
the owner of the event puts on a good breakfast for the cast and crew - it
started to drizzle.  Oh joy, Oh Rupture.  Well, we can handle this.  Jokes
were made about the liquid sunshine as we had our breakfast - and prepared
for "morning meeting" mercifully held inside The Castle.  As we headed out
to meet and greet any crazies willing to brave the weather it continued to
rain - not heavy, but  it was wet.  Amazingly there were people waiting in
the rain for opening!  We played with them, giving everyone attention.  If
they are willing to be there in the rain, we were going to play with them!
When the opening cannon went off to announce that the gates were open, the
rain magically stopped!  Huzzah!  Faire was starting and as we always say, a
bad day at faire is better than a good day at work!  Merchants were hawking
wares, performers were trying to keep instruments in tune and everyone was
having positive thoughts!  Well, the rains didn't stay away all day.  They
came and went throughout the day, but the light hearted attitude remained.
By the end of the day, the grounds were getting "softer" and garb was
getting stained - and instruments were going out of tune faster than they
could be put in tune, but people were having fun!  The day ended all to
soon, though we felt every minute of it by the days end!

That night, we had a quiet evening to rest up  - which was much appreciated
as we normally have an after hours event the first weekend.  This year we
got a break.  About midnight the storms moved in.  Oh did it rain!  Thunder
boomed and lightening flashed and rain came down in torrents.  The next
morning it was still raining - a light rain, but still a rain.  Discretion
was the better part of Valor so I drove to the parking lot - more as a
concession to reality for departure time than as a desire to ride.  The
parking lot was "soft" but not bad!  OK, this is not so bad after all.  Once
again we were ducking rain over breakfast and laughing about the prior days
events - mostly centered about the challenges that are presented with wet
weather.

Soon it was time to go meet any visitors once again.  People were there
again, waiting in the rain!  It isn't a case of putting on a false smile and
pretending to be happy - the smiles the cast and performers wore were real.
We were having fun in spite of the weather.  Jokes were made about it being
a beautiful English day.  Throughout the day, it sprinkled, misted and
rained with dry spots scattered throughout the day once again.  The show
must go on, and go on it did.  The grounds turned to mud, acts were
relocated, demonstrations were moved inside, some things were cancelled but
the show continued to go on - perhaps with renewed nonsense.  If people are
going to pay to come in the rain to play, we are going to give them their
moneys worth!  As we always say at the end of morning meeting before opening
every morning - "If you are going to lose, LOSE BIG."  In other words, don't
be afraid to look foolish or hold anything back - go for it all and put
everything into it!

By days end, everyone was wet, tired and dirty, but there were smiles on
faces still.  In talking to patrons, they were all expressing amazement at
how much fun they had.  People were reticent to leave, in spite of the wet.
At closing canon, we knew that even though the weather was less than perfect
this years running of The Castle was off to a good start.  Yes, we were all
tired, our garb dirty, and there were minor glitches.  There were also many
wonderful memories already made and new friendships made as well as renewing
old friendships.  In trudging out to the parking lot to get my vehicle to
take my stuff and a friends stuff back home for the week, the parking lot
for the cast was a bog.  I was glad I had 4 wheel drive!  Everyone was
joking about it though - still no grumbles.

That was something that stuck with me.  The weather was as bad as it could
be for opening weekend, but nobody was complaining or grumbling.  Even the
merchants were viewing it with an attitude of "you have to expect this at
outdoor events and though it was slow this weekend, it will be better next
weekend."

So, here I sit.  Aching and sore, tired and with a voice that is "blown out"
from performing 5 sets a day plus other stuff, and wishing it was Friday
already  so I could start it all over again.  One weekend is in the books
and we have 4 more to go.  Will it be nice or wet?  Who knows.  It will be
fun either way.  People will come to play either way.  The magic of the
faire draws people back year after year, weekend after weekend.  That is
also what draws the cast, performers and merchants back.  It isn't a way to
get rich in conventional terms.  It is a way to get rich in other ways
though - through friends made, experiences shared, and a feeling of "family"
that is difficult to explain to those who look at us in our funny clothes
and wonder "why do people do this if they don't get paid well?"  It is the
majyk of faire!  If you haven't experienced this kind of majyk before, when
a Ren Faire is going on near where you live, try it.  While it isn't for
everyone, it is something that a lot of people leave saying "I can't wait to
come back."

I'll try to report on the following weeks - rain or shine
Your humble scribe
Andruss of the Bedlam Bards