TRF '97 turned out to be quite an adventure itself! Saturday started out as a typical Texas day at the Faire: sunny, hot and humid, with the chainmail "bunnies" out in full force. Before nightfall, however, the thunderheads had rolled in. A smattering of fat raindrops quickly turned into a 30-minute torrential downpour which swiftly turned the grounds into a shallow lake. Most of the patrons bolted for their cars as the storm began, save for those intrepid few who found shelter in various vendors' booths.
Still, that storm pretty much shut down the Faire early that day!
Overnight, temperatures dipped to near-freezing, with a brisk Northwest wind blowing down off the high Texas plains. It warmed somewhat during the day, reaching the low 50's--but not enough for the Barbarians, both male and female, to shed their fur capes!
Thanks to Pam Harris, Ryleh found himself the temporary owner that day of a thick, woolen blanket. Pinned in place with a Keltic broach purchased from Terence Plunkett, that blanket magickally transformed into a warm cloak of many colors! To start that day, Mike suggested Scottish Eggs--which Ryleh chased back with an Espresso: just to warm the blood, mind you!
With the addition of a few cups of hot Mead for company, Ryleh was right comfortable for the rest of the day...
Fortunately, the stormwaters had drained away overnight. The sandy soil was still damp but only muddy in a few places. It wasn't nearly enough to discourage Dobber, the Black Faerie, from creating one of his marvellous Dragon sandpaintings (photo, above, with a crowd of admiring faeries and patrons looking on); nor prevent the artists formerly known as "The Scottish Rogues" from singing out the patrons at the Closing Cermonies at end of day!
Ryleh only had the one weekend at TRF. Mike and Pam, on the other hand, went to the Faire regularly--right up to the final day. Of that last weekend, Mike wrote:
"I went to the last day of Ren Fest, Sunday. The weather was clear and COLD! It was down in the mid 30's, with a high of only 42. Since it had rained all day Saturday when the front came through, it was really muddy out there (photo by Mike Harris, right)--much more than when you were here. I got to wear my new tabard and mantle, tho. They worked great in the cold weather: guess I didn't waste my money after all! (In the photo, left, Mike proudly displays his new mantle and tabard while standing before the fireplace in his home. His garb certainly looks warm enough for those chill Faire days in Autumn! Photo by Mike Harris).
"Because of the weather, the crowd was much smaller, too. And all the chainmail bunnies were wrapped up (darn!), so I didn't take too many pictures...
"The one really interesting thing that happened that day was at the Sea Devil Tavern. You remember Loosey and Fanny, the "Lascivious Lasses'? Well, during the very last show of the season, Loosey started asking people to buy them drinks. She must of had quite a few earlier because she was screwing up the words to the songs royally...and then she got into a beer fight with some of the male patrons! I mean she was throwing beer on them and they were tossing it back. They were all laughing and chasing each other around the bar...!
"And that beer had to be really COLD by that time of day!
"After that, both Fanny and Loosey tried to sing some more, but Loosey was even drunker by then. So Fanny poured beer on Loosey's head yelling "Sober up!!" Then Loosey poured beer on Fanny! By this time, there were about a dozen cups of beer at the foot of the stage--so they both went for the beers with both hands, dousing each other thoroughly! (Photo, above right: "INCOMING!" Loosey, on the right, begins tossing a full cup of beer at Fanny, left. If you look closely at the cup in Loosey's hand, you can just make out the beer starting to fly out towards Fanny. Photo by Mike Harris)
"Everyone in the audience was cheering and laughing at the cat fight. When they ran out of beer, they tried singing again but by this time Loosey was so far gone she was holding up the wall of the band shell and in no shape to sing...
"And then she slipped in the beer and fell off the stage!!! (Photo, left: While Fanny, left, vainly tries to wipe beer from her bodice, Loosey, right, triumphantly tosses back another beer after thoroughly dousing her partner with same! Note all the "dead soldiers" (empty beer cups) scattered on stage around Loosey's feet. Photo by Mike Harris).
"Needless to say, that was the end of their show. Loosey was okay, but I'm sure she was not feeling any pain by then."
Which sounds about right for the "Lascivious Lasses". Their shows which Ryleh saw were all rowdy, loud and bawdy: the Lasses definitely felt no shame--or pain, as Mike reported. What a way to wind up the last day of TRF!!!

A Tribute to Dobber the Black Faerie

Ladies of TRF97

MORE PHOTOS TO FOLLOW--AND SOON!

RIDE THE DRAGON (below) to return to Ryleh's Main Page by clicking on its icon!

Standard Disclaimer: This webpage is strictly an Unofficial look at the Texas Renaissance Festival held near Houston every year since 1974. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Texas Renaissance Festival (OFFICE ADDRESS: RR 2 Box 650 Plantersville, TX 77363-1505) 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 ©1997-9997 inclusive by George Laking.