kethrai's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part One of Three--off to the Faire: First Weekend Off to the faire..... Yikes. We set off Friday amidst the stench of my UTTER FEAR and steaming sidewalks. Last-minute frantic sewing yielded summery outfits...both the weather report and home conditions indicated we would be in for a steaming weekend that our trad (heavy) ren gear would have us sweltering in. We left on Friday at about 2:30, intending to pull in at the Faire at about 5:30 or so....but we didn't count on the thunderstorm. Lemmetellya, dear NonScheduled Reader, I have never seen such horrible driving conditions at this time of year. Literally. Snow and whatnot I expect to be horrible, but the rain was coming down so hard we had maybe 20 feet of visibility. A three-hour drive turned into five or six--we had to pull off the road a few times and wait out the terrible bits. Trees downed on power lines. Small animals thumbing it, wanting to head south for warm-and-dry. We arrived in the midst of a downpour. I looked at the Darling Husband. He looked at me. "We're sleeping in the car," says he. I, freaked out and nervous, nod. And then we arrived at our campsite, and glory of glories...there was a lean-to. A little half-house on a platform. Hallelujah! No putting up a tent in a rainstorm and sleeping on mud! We dashed into the lean-to, changed into drier clothing, and assessed the damage. Having forgotten a couple of necessities (socks, warm clothes) we went to Walmart to procure socks and sweats. Got a bit of food. Lit a fire. Saturday dawned clear and cool. Setup was as usual very easy....I specialize in pack it light. And then we waited...and waited.... The faire had been expecting 1500 visitors that day. We got 450. The next day, much the same. Later, we found out we were up against three other events in the area--a Highland games, a music fest, and a battle reenactment--that apparently sucked off all the visitors who weren't out cleaning their yards. Needless to say, our crazy high hopes were somewhat dashed. Oh, we made money --covered most of the fees, and so on--but no profits as yet. And I'm a bit disappointed. But there were highlights: --A lovely musician who adopted us and who we schilled for, with some success --the poor pack of kids opposite who were selling chain maille, and were hopelessly discouraged, whom we managed to cheer up. --bartering for candles with a lovely young couple with a baby girl who thought her mum's new necklaces were astounding. --getting perfume from a lovely belly dancer. --bringing home super-high-grade mondolicious catnip for the furry youngsters....although Miro is a mean drunk --two margaritas putting me under the table Saturday night --compliments on my 2-hour ren dress Yes, I took photos. It was a nice weekend, but nowhere near the profits we hoped for. I feel like I have a little Faire hangover. Let's hope the next two weeks make it up. Hear that, Lady Fate? 5:46 p.m. - 2002-06-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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