Renaissance Festival War Stories September 21-22, 2024
This time, change happens on the outside
We are down to the penultimate weekend. We are getting tired, but still love what we do. There is an odd mix coming of 'I'm ready for it to be over' vs 'I don't want it to be over.' We keep moving forward, we have no other choice.
This week's stories are that of 'outside.' Whether the ripple effect comes from within or the past, the results are shown on the outside.
New Home!
Last week I teased the rebuilding of our stage counters, and this weekend, we got to see them for the first time.
We couldn't be happier with our new home. We even had a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting with the Lord Mayor.
This was a celebration for us. Rosie got her perch back.
It looks like 'us' and not the former chess booth. The rebuild shows a lot of continued faith in us from the festival, and we are looking forward to continuing it.
Fauna God Daughter
Outside front gate Saturday evening, I like to lean on the wall frame in an intentionally arrogant way and say, "What was your favorite part of the day, and why was it me?" It hits them harder if I make eye contact for a few seconds before I say it. I say it to any adult. It gets a laugh.
One woman and I look at each other with some familiarity, but not from that day; I couldn't put my finger on it. Her face brightens and she says, "Are you my fauna godmother?!" I had met her last year along with her newly-wedded partner. She'd been living across the country now, she's in the air force and having a tough time now. This was her one day to visit and was so glad to run into me. She gave me a huge hug.
I am not a fauna godmother to many, so this hit me pretty hard. Because she was, I hugged her like family you don't see often.
What's your song?
Shortly after seeing the Fauna Goddaughter, I met a group of 4 adults who had been at the festival for the whole day, and were ready to come back the next day. I asked them what they did and what they enjoyed. We also generally chatted. It turned out they were fans of old music and a few of them were performers in some capacity. I told them about The Troubadour Guild and the stipulations of it: learn a pre-1900 song, the author, and the song's history then present and perform it. They all lit up, excited with possibilities, songs and options. The next day, three of them joined The Troubadour Guild.
Full circle
Sunday evening outside the gate, I was finishing talking with some adults and this little girl, like 5-6 years old, taps my leg, and holds a little trinket-toy out to me. I take a knee with her and her sister. She gives it to me and I am already o touched she would choose me to hand this to. We hadn't spoken prior to this moment to my recollection. With Mom's okay, I give the girls my trinket back. I asked them what their favorite part of the day was, she said, "I saw the mermaids. They showed me a fish dance." She puts her arms out in a swimming motion like the mermaids did. This is one of the sidequests we offer. I was tearing up. It's not often I get to see these results of these sidequests outside the booth, and from such sweet children.
...
We have one, final, three-day weekend ahead of us. It's time to make the magic one more time. See you in weekend 7...
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Comments (1)
Lovely story!!! Enjoyed it!!!❤️❤️💕