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Hayo! Just me, WalksFar, thy friendly neighborhood Dragon here, reporting on the first Day of Tulare Ren Faire, Saturday, the 28th of March.
It rained early in the morning and left the grounds wet and muddy. Several places became quagmires that were used to administer justice, rolling several "miscreant individuals" in it before their being pilloried and forced to admit their crimes. It was fun to watch...! (Photo, above: the lanes between the various booths and sellers was wide and grassy ...and because of the rain, a bit muddy and squishy as well. The cool weather and overcast skies kept a lot of visitors away. Of course, that meant more for us who attended!)
Games were held in the main field between the pavillions and guild compounds. Both male and females participated in teams of a game that much resembled Rugby without any rules. Fun to watch--more fun to be in! (Photo, above: This game, "beerball", resembled a sort of corrupted field hockey. The 'ball' was a stuffed cloth bag bandied about, knocked over the goal lines which were a wooden staff laid upon the ground. There were no rules to this game and the teams were of mixed gender. A lot of fun to watch--but far more fun to participate in! A number of paid tourists even joined the teams at one time or another for a 'go' at it!!!)
I found lots of friends I have not seen in a while. The food was good up amongst the stands and stalls. Tomorrow I shall sample much more...
I bought some incense oils to scent incense blanks I had at home and learned not to light them too soon after soaking. I nearly caught fire!!! Lighting one of those soaked cones was like lighting gasoline. WOW! They are now drying a bit before use. I also discovered those oils are a bit . . . potent. WHEW! One whiff and my breath was gone! I now see why they should be used sparingly or cut with plain oil before use.
The shows and events were well done and enjoyable. This year's enactment was a wedding that Queen Elizabeth attended during the latter part of her reign. It was colorful and well acted out. (Photo, left: on Saturday morning, Queen Elizabeth arrives with her entourage to the Faire and passes through the gates within.)
The largest gopher I have ever seen popped up near the various stalls and proved to be a bigger crowd draw than anything else. It was a brazen little fellow, not afraid of any of us and even tolerated being touched--up to a certain degree! It munched grass and popcorn, then ambled down its burrow as if all our gawking meant nothing at all. He made several appearances during the day--much to the delight of visitors, drawing large crowds each time...
The weather cooperated until about 2 pm in the afternoon. A wind sprang up that sucked the 60-ish day into the middle 30's. Rain returned lightly and proceeded to get heavier. It was said to me by a friend that she heard heavy rain and hail was on the way. Some were looking forward to snow falling! I almost believed it would: it was cold enough! My brother and I were not dressed adequately to take the wind and cold and so we retreated quickly to our conveyance in the parking lot. (Photo, above: Toward late afternoon, the weather took a turn for the worse. You can see the storm approach in the background across the pavillions and beerball field. The wind came up very cold. The rain came cold and fast. Some of the people at the Faire hoped for snow! Twas then my party and I chose to 'take wing' and return the following day. In actuality, it DID snow in some of the outlying areas east of the Faire, but the storm and the
cold caused some of the guilds and others to pack it in and leave. A lot of the others who stayed sought the warmth of nearby 'inns' rather than camp in the cold dampness).
Tomorrow is Sunday and I shall return again to have some fun and frolic. Hopefully the storms will be in full egress and the sun will triumph long enough for us all to bask in its warmth and enjoy all that takes place...
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All photographs on this page are copyright ©1998 by Gary L. Bell.
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