TheOtherVillainess
Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.....
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2003
- Messages
- 6,406
Thurs night, Ron and Judy(next door neighbors) came over ot play cards. They asked if we had any plans for Saturday and DH was like,"Well..not really.Why?" That's when they offered to take us to Scarborough Faire, the Texas Renaissance festival. Way cool. They offered to pay for our tix and everything, even though DH tried to insist on us at least paying for our own food and stuff.
Boy let me tell you it was HOT HOT HOT..somewhere in the mid90s at least. Whew. Ron, Judy and DH all dressed 'comfortable' (tees and shorts) while I wore my dress. And even though it's fairly comfortable and lightweight as ren garb goes, I was still very very hot. I'm sure by the end of the day there were small sweat rings in the 'pits of my gown, though I didn't bother to look.
I soon realized (probably 10 min or so after arriving) that the custom (at least at Scarborough) is that if you see someone in costume, you give them a token nod. And a small bow/curtsy if you can manage it. So it was kind of neat, all day long, to be both on the giving and receiving ends of this cute little custom.
And even though the heat was positively outrageous, there were quite a few people in what I call 'heavy' costume (heavy fabrics, multiple layers, etc). 
Now Scarborough is less a true Ren fest and more of a combination Ren/Fantasy fest. Which means that you'll often see people of both sexes not only in garb, but in a more fantasy style garb than you might see at a more traditional ren fest(like the Texas Renaissance Festival, which takes place in Plantersville in Oct/Nov). Which means there are elves, fairies of all sorts and even an occassional Native American Indian or two. But one guy that we saw late Saturday afternoon defied all categorization. This guy was probably late 20's or early 30s, six two or six three and a tad chubby around the waist. He was wearing a black bowler hat, no shirt, a loin cloth (to cover his bits and pieces, as well as a small portion of his rather generous bootay) that had animal skins draping from the waistline and calf-high black leather stompy boots.
It was really odd a combination and everybody he encountered (well at least those brave enough to say something anyway)seemed to make fun of his choice of costume (or rather, the lack thereof).
In addition to Bowler Hat guy, there were more heavy-set women than I cared to count with what I've learned is called "The Jello Effect". That's when a large lady decides to wear a corset/bodice too small for her, which causes her equally large chest area to be shoved up and out under her chin and nearly spilling vital parts that we'd rather NOT see over the top of the bodice.
But he was by no means the only one dressed in such a way. I saw several women wearing animal skin halters and these funny miniskirts composed of several animal skins sewed together at the waistline. *shrugs* Perhaps they were wild woods elves???? I have no idea.
Photos will be up as soon as I can hook the camera back up to the computer. Right now it's in the truck because DH had to take it to work with him today. I was so tired I could barely see straight as it was. I sort of stumbled through James' bath on autopilot and was halfasleep by the time I had gotten my frozen pizza out of the oven.
We've decided that next year, we're probably going to leave DS at home, esp if we end up going late in the season like we did this year. It was really too hot for him to be outside in that heat as he was. We ended having to upend several bottles over water over him to keep him cooled off and you could tell that he was uncomfortable (even though he was his normal laidback goodnatured self most of the day). Although (before people start jumping on my back about it), we did what we could to keep him cool. We tried to stay in the shade, gave him enough water to float the Titannic and tried to keep him as cool as possible. And he wasn't the youngest little lord out there. I saw at least a handful of women with SMALL babies (some who looked barely a month or two old! ) out there. DS didn't quite understand what was going on around him, though he was fascinated by the mud show and the piratical parrot show. 
TOV
Boy let me tell you it was HOT HOT HOT..somewhere in the mid90s at least. Whew. Ron, Judy and DH all dressed 'comfortable' (tees and shorts) while I wore my dress. And even though it's fairly comfortable and lightweight as ren garb goes, I was still very very hot. I'm sure by the end of the day there were small sweat rings in the 'pits of my gown, though I didn't bother to look.
I soon realized (probably 10 min or so after arriving) that the custom (at least at Scarborough) is that if you see someone in costume, you give them a token nod. And a small bow/curtsy if you can manage it. So it was kind of neat, all day long, to be both on the giving and receiving ends of this cute little custom.
And even though the heat was positively outrageous, there were quite a few people in what I call 'heavy' costume (heavy fabrics, multiple layers, etc). Now Scarborough is less a true Ren fest and more of a combination Ren/Fantasy fest. Which means that you'll often see people of both sexes not only in garb, but in a more fantasy style garb than you might see at a more traditional ren fest(like the Texas Renaissance Festival, which takes place in Plantersville in Oct/Nov). Which means there are elves, fairies of all sorts and even an occassional Native American Indian or two. But one guy that we saw late Saturday afternoon defied all categorization. This guy was probably late 20's or early 30s, six two or six three and a tad chubby around the waist. He was wearing a black bowler hat, no shirt, a loin cloth (to cover his bits and pieces, as well as a small portion of his rather generous bootay) that had animal skins draping from the waistline and calf-high black leather stompy boots.
It was really odd a combination and everybody he encountered (well at least those brave enough to say something anyway)seemed to make fun of his choice of costume (or rather, the lack thereof).In addition to Bowler Hat guy, there were more heavy-set women than I cared to count with what I've learned is called "The Jello Effect". That's when a large lady decides to wear a corset/bodice too small for her, which causes her equally large chest area to be shoved up and out under her chin and nearly spilling vital parts that we'd rather NOT see over the top of the bodice.
But he was by no means the only one dressed in such a way. I saw several women wearing animal skin halters and these funny miniskirts composed of several animal skins sewed together at the waistline. *shrugs* Perhaps they were wild woods elves???? I have no idea.
Photos will be up as soon as I can hook the camera back up to the computer. Right now it's in the truck because DH had to take it to work with him today. I was so tired I could barely see straight as it was. I sort of stumbled through James' bath on autopilot and was halfasleep by the time I had gotten my frozen pizza out of the oven.
We've decided that next year, we're probably going to leave DS at home, esp if we end up going late in the season like we did this year. It was really too hot for him to be outside in that heat as he was. We ended having to upend several bottles over water over him to keep him cooled off and you could tell that he was uncomfortable (even though he was his normal laidback goodnatured self most of the day). Although (before people start jumping on my back about it), we did what we could to keep him cool. We tried to stay in the shade, gave him enough water to float the Titannic and tried to keep him as cool as possible. And he wasn't the youngest little lord out there. I saw at least a handful of women with SMALL babies (some who looked barely a month or two old!
) out there. DS didn't quite understand what was going on around him, though he was fascinated by the mud show and the piratical parrot show. TOV
There are lots of interesting shows and shops to browse, and it's as much about the atmosphere as anything. Or at least that's what I think. You do NOT dress up in garb and drive (well for us anyway) more than an hour to go to a day-long festival just because you think it's worth the money. You go because you are creating a new tradition in your family. You go because you enjoy the atmosphere and seeing familiar faces. You go because you are dedicated, whether you're in costume or not. 
Because I'd love to go. I've never been and he always complains it's too far to drive for a weekend of ren festing. 
Esp since he doesn't do the whole garb thing. 
