By Sunday around 4pm I had polished off nine rolls of film: a considerable amount! However, during the remaining 2 ½ hours of faire some of the best moments occurred--and I was completely out. Ah well: from now on I take my cue from Liz Gensheimer, the Ren Faire Junkie. Pack 20 rolls whether you need them or not!

One of those memorable moments happened at the final show of Queen Anne's Lace. The Corsairs joined them to do Minstrel Glass (their best performance yet). Nearby the queen was perusing the shops with her guards and was intrigued by their singing. She came by to listen. She complimented them on their soul-stirring performance. Everyone prostrated themselves accordingly and she remained for the rest of the show!

The ladies took that opportunity to do a special song: a variation on Olde King Cole, with bawdy innuendos and imagery. While the ladies sang, the corsairs, myself and some of the queen's guards acted out the verses in a hilarious fashion much to the amusement of the large crowd that gathered. After the song was over there was a lot of sly commentary made by the ladies, the guards and even Elizabeth herself. Queen Anne's lace wanted the guards to remain and the guards were willing to "sacrifice body and soul for queen and country".

Later was the pub sing hosted by Axel the Sot (Photo, left), that most rude master of mirth. The show was at the adult stage of the beer garden. A most apt place considering the nature of most of the songs performed. It was a terrific show and one of the best pub sings I have seen. Some of the highlights consisted of the McGuire Brothers/Tullamore performing the "Rooster Song". This is a song that concerns a rooster that keeps breaking into the yard (about 3 feet) of a poor farmer. He ends up making the farmer rich owing to the side effects of his indiscriminate sexual habits!

Wild Mountain Thyme also segued themselves into a rendition of "Johnny Jump Up". Then the Ficklebiches, using some of the Jolly Rogers and Axel, performed a song exaulting the prowess of ugly men. Next, The Jolly Rogers performed a pretty hilarious and violent dance number. The Dregs of Dublin then performed "Orange and Green", the tale of a lad with a protestant and a catholic parent.

But perhaps the funniest moment was when all the male performers got up on stage to form "a wall of testosterone" and sing the song "Men, Men, Men". It was a number derived from Monty Python or Saturday Night Live, I believe. Elizabeth also showed up here and got into a brief battle of insults with Axel. The queen won.

All in all it was a terrific weekend. However the real capper came long after that night. A number of us ventured out to the Missouri half of Kansas City to gamble at the Station Casino. Now why would I mention this? Mainly because many of us went to play a game called Buckaneer's Gold. And as we were walking out the door to return to the hotel, they started to play Simon & Garfunkel's version of "Scarborough Faire" over the sound system. Now is that a way to end a faire outing or what?!!

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Standard Disclaimer: These webpages are strictly an *Unofficial* look at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival held near Bonner Springs, Kansas, in 1998. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Mid-America Festivals, Inc. and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are copyright ©1998 by Frank Hui.