Renaissance Festival War Stories Sept 20/21, 2025

Continued from week 4...

"I'm not a 10..."

One of my favorite new things I've been doing is to "enhance people's costumes." It isn't much, I don't even do anything myself - I instruct them how to style a cape if they are wearing one. The basic principal takes the cape from tying it on their collar bone to tying it behind their back and it changes the overall framing of their body. It works on about three out of four people because of the quality of the capes - ones who it doesn't work on, the strings on them are too short for the wrap around the back to work. One such man, in all dark clothing and reminded me of Ving Rhames. I tried to teach him this technique but his chest was too broad. He was barrel/ox-chested, and there was no way his cape strings were going to fit around his back.

I said, "Sir if you are able to get your cape to do that, your ensemble will go from a 10 to an 11."

He leaned in a little closer to me and said, "But I'm not a 10, I'm already a 15." Then he clicked a wink at me.

I got knocked back and nearly fell off the stool I was sitting in. The man was a king and knew exactly what he was doing. I needed three people to fan me off after that.

Boop-honk-awooga-shazam returns

I mentioned before about Boop, Honk, Awooga, Shazam, and my dream of seeing it again in the wild. Well, it happened already. I was on a wander and I ran into a group of people I had taught it to early in the season. Keep in mind, these are season pass holders and wearing different costumes. I don't recognize them from the first time I taught them. But they were excited to see me and have an awooga with me. I was so glad to have it come back.

Elephant Walk

Every morning we have the pleasure of having the elephants and camels walk right by us on their way to work. Around week 4 or 5, when the lanes started to get really busy, a few of the entertainment cast were asked to help clear the advance path for safety services and the large animals. Maple Greenwood from our team had been asked on a previous weekend but was not available this weekend, so I volunteered in her stead.

I listened to security's instructions, and how they wanted us to work.

It was pretty cool to give the large animals the escort. How we described ourselves: we were an escort for security who was actually escorting the animals. The light of the setting sun, the awe of the crowd, the majesty of the three elephants and two camels -- that five minute walk is one of the most magical moments of the entire day. And even seeing it every day, twice a day, it never gets old.

Service awards

This weekend marked the service awards. This was my 10th year working at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, three in the information booth and seven in entertainment. When I told my husband Noah that I was getting this recognition and I was allowed an escort, he jumped at the chance to be by my side to support me. Through however the shuffling of line-forming went, I ended up first in line to get my award with my darling husband by my side. Having him there was like being escorted by Bigfoot: very few knew who he was or recognized him, or saw him before, after, or since, but now have witnessed he's real. For the rest of you, he will remain a mystery.

Even stranger, I used to see the service awards happen and not think much of it, whether I was a patron or when I joined the cast. These achievements seemed so far away. And now, I've been a cast member for seven years. The last three felt like the blink of an eye. Someone told me the first ten years are the longest and then the years fly by thereafter. I guess time will tell.

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There's one more weekend left. See you in weekend 7...