Hail Friends, And Well Met

So I'd never been to a Ren Faire before. (Yeah, I know, right?) But here is this Ren Faire this weekend in Fishers--practically in my own backyard. So I pretty much had to go.

I didn't really know what to expect. Certainly, there would be some overlap from the gaming community, but how much? And what kind?

I was happy to see costumes as I arrived, though. And not just the vendors. (Though, I was so pleased to see that they all were in period costume. What fun!)

This vendor was selling hand-crafted dolls and yarn spun on a drop spindle. She had a big wooden bowl, filled with different colored dyed wool. I was pretty impressed at how quickly she was able to turn that into yarn.






And check out this beautiful loom. This was pretty interesting to watch.





That is, until the sword fighting started. You know, I can't resist the fighting. Here, you can see an Englishman and woman and a couple of Northmen facing off against each other. Very fun to watch, even if there was no male shirtlessness going on. (No female shirtlessness, either. Just to clarify.)

We did have a wonderful time listening to this group, the Pub Uglies. This kind of music is rowdy and ribald and just fun. T and I bought their CDs, because you never know when you'll be in the mood to hear some good old-fashioned drinking songs!

These guys are also gamers!





This was kind of freaky, though. A living statue. Sure, my logical brain knows it's a person in a costume, with a porcelain mask on. But my imagination is going nuts! I guess this is why some people fear clowns? (I'm not afraid of clowns. Clowns are happy. But living statues...)




Anyway, this faire was loads of fun. And very reasonably priced, I must say. I got some really good deals on jewelry and object d'art. (Which I will show you at another time.)

And, what was really cool is that this wasn't one of those places where everybody has the same junk they're trying to shill. There were some pretty unique items there, some really interesting stuff.

I only wish we'd had more time to spend. I would've liked to have seen a few more of the shows. I will definitely see you next year, Ren Faire!