TheBanyanTree: Ren Faire reporter

[Sachet]

I do so love your Ren Faire reports, Russ. I look forward to them each 
and every year. They are now officially a Tradition. Your delight in 
them is so infectious.

Russ Doden wrote:
> Hail and well met, and merry met again!
> 
> Well two weekends of OKRF are now in the books - for what they are worth.
> 
> Friday was a "special" day.  It was "children's day" at the village of
> Castleton known as the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival.  Oh gawd.  What
> Children's day translates to is mayhem.  You see, a lot of the schools in
> the region are invited to bring kids there for the day at a very reduced
> rate.  The schools take advantage of it to work medieval and Renaissance
> European history into the schedule then have a field trip to Castleton at
> the end of that bit of class work.  Well, over 70 - schools were
> represented, resulting in over 6,000 kids ranging from 10 to 16 for the most
> part.  The place was crawling with kids.  The vast majority were really into
> it, but when you have that many you are bound to have a few kids that need
> to be put in the stocks and left there for a couple hours!  It was funny
> watching these young teens eagerly listening to 3 older gents sing old
> traditional folk songs, and pirate songs and that kind of thing, and then be
> full of questions afterwards.  Several kids were really asking about what it
> is like to be a performer.  They were all kids interested in the arts and
> were thrilled to talk to performers that were willing to sit and visit with
> them.  All in all it was an "interesting" day.  The weather was even fairly
> decent.
> 
> Then came the weekend.  At least we were back on our regular schedule.
> Saturday was threatening rain but it never really did it, but the threat
> kept a lot of people at home.  It was a good day for the most part though
> and as usual the Bedlam Bards filled the pub in the afternoon.  That night
> was the "Masked Ball".  What that means to the performers and participating
> cast is after a long busy day, we get to frantically change into different
> clothes (mostly to get out of smelly garb from the day) and then play/dance
> and entertain the visitors for another 2.5 hours in the evening!  By the
> time I got back to the campground I was one tired puppy - and my fingers
> hurt from playing so long.
> 
> Sunday dawned gray and chill.  We knew it was going to be an off day with
> the heavy clouds and cool temps.  I was really glad I had that light weight
> cloak along!  About all that was good was that it didn't rain on us!  It was
> so cool and gray and it looked like it could rain at any time most of the
> day.  By days end our fingers were stiff from playing out in the cool
> weather!  The people that made the effort to be there though sure got
> individualized attention!  We heard so many times how much fun they were
> having so that was a big plus.  By the time the closing canon went off, we
> were all ready to pack it in till next weekend.  That eve it started to rain
> as I was packing up to go home so the weather gods were kind in that regard.
> 
> This week we have had severe storms in the area.  I had to call the Castle
> to see if everything there was OK since a major storm developed over
> Muskogee where OKRF is.  As usual with the storms we have here, one area
> catches hell and 5 miles away just gets light wind and rain.  The grounds
> where OKRF is held just got wind and rain while the east end of town got
> severe wind, hail and heavy rain!  We have been under severe storm warnings
> all week so it will be interesting to see if it holds!  The forecast for the
> weekend is another wet one so we will see what we will see!
> 
> The funny thing I am finding is that while I know the Bedlam Bards have a
> major fan contingent there, and they have their share of what could be
> called "groupies" (whom we sometimes find quite . . . strange);  Andrus
> (that is me at OKRF) has developed a few of his own over the years - both
> fans and groupies.  Yikes, how did that happen?  Also, for a long time now I
> have always managed to have a small number of "faire brats".  Most of these
> are young girls (about mid to late teens to about mid twenties) that have
> learned from word of mouth between friends, that if someone is hitting on
> them, they can come over to Andrus and get a hug, the person hitting on them
> disappears.  Word spreads and soon I have anywhere from 5 to 20 gals popping
> in for a quick hug and then disappear.  The guys don't know if I'm daddy,
> grandpa or sugar daddy and it doesn't make any difference - they aren't
> about to hang around to find out!  That is happening again this year.  What
> is really funny is that when "faire brats" from prior years bring serious
> boy friends around for "approval" or bring their new hubby or soon to be
> hubby around to introduce them to me the next year.  I have even had a few
> of them ask me to officiate at their wedding - which is really an honor.
> What makes me feel OLD is when faire brats that I had 10 years ago bring
> their kids around to introduce to me!  Here are kids that I first met when
> they were just kids now are all grown up and have families of their own -
> and still hang around the same entertainers.  It is strange that some first
> met us at our "sweet and silly" sets, then as years went by were in the
> bawdy sets and  now they bring their kids to the "sweet and silly" set!
> That really makes a person feel old!
> 
> And so I am trying to get ready for another weekend.  This weekend is a 2
> day weekend but with the "Kings Feaste" as an after hours event.  That means
> a quick change and being available from feaste start to end to sing songs
> and be full of energy - after a long day of doing just that!  It is fun
> though!  The friends one makes there transcend ages and all other
> boundaries.  That in itself is a great feeling and experience.
> 
> Till next report, I remain your humble scribe and bard,
> Andrus of the Bedlam Bards
> 
> ps.  the attached photo is of the Bedlam Bards.  I'm on the far left.  The
> fellow in the middle is Cedric and on the right is Hawke.  They perform
> together year round - I only team up with them at OKRF.