shrewsbury2006

Shrewsbury 2006

Memories of the 2006 Season

Part Two

The Hearth Visits The Shrew

Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire 2006

A Prologue (of sorts)

It was with great pride that we opened the letter inviting us to participate in the 2006 revels at Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire! For years, the bulk of our current roster of guildmembers have been journeying South to King's Valley Oregon to close out the Pacific Northwest faire season as patrons of the Shrew. It was around a campfire at a nearby KOA campground where we usually stayed that many of the discussions that led to the resurrection of the Hearth of Saint Brigid took place. So it's something of a philosophical home for the Hearth.

As such, it was only logical that we apply as a Living History Guild. The aforementioned letter arrived on the first Saturday of our home faire. The exhausted (and still quite ill) guildmaster arrived home that Sunday and found his second wind in an envelope. We had been cordially invited to haul our new-minted guild (and our new encampment) five hours due south into deepest, darkest Oregon!

Huzzah!

-Scott

The Shrew

We were very pleased to have the chance to see how our new encampment would travel. Our first obstacle turned out to be a legal one... that is to say our carpenter was accepted to Law School and began his classes on the eve of our projected departure! This robbed us not only of his presence in our troupe but also one of the trucks we had hoped for to ferry our encampment southwards! Our unofficial mantra that Life Trumps Faire was put to the test as we surveyed the enormous stack of lumber and other goodies and compared it to the bed of the guildmaster's little Toyota pickup. Putting your career, financial wellbeing, and family before your renfaire guild! Honestly, what is the world coming to?

Obviously, some streamlining was in order. After a great deal of thought and a little trial & error (more the latter than the former) we decided that the slats for the pergola would have to stay. At any rate, the slats overhung the tailgate of the pickup by a good five feet, which makes for nervous driving on the interstate. Naturally (and regrettably) the hearth itself had to be left behind. Pared down to our backdrop, the frame of the pergola, and our pavilion, plus the guildmasters' personal effects made for a sizeable load, but a manageable one. And so we were off... like a thundering herd of turtles.

Maestro, Some Travelling Music, Please...

Neither rain, nor dark of night, nor fog, nor dust, nor arriving after dark shall keep us from our appointed faire! The challenges we faced packing the caravan and our resulting slow progress southwards brought us to the faire sight in the dusk. Naturally, it meant we would be setting up either in the dark or getting up VERY early in the AM hours to get it done prior to the opening of the gates. We opted to split the difference and stayed up a little late to get the pavilion raised - at least - so that our paraphernalia was covered and returned in the morning to set up the pergola when we could see what we were about. As it turned out, the ladies put their voluminous skirts to use blocking sight of the guildmaster's stepstool as he attempted to be nonchalant about tightening the final bolts with a most un-period spanner.

While the streamlined encampment looked... well... stripped-down at first, the arrival of more guild members with more stuff to decoratively strew about saved the day and the end results were quite pleasing, actually. Hanging lanterns, a table displaying our harvest bounty and wine-coloured burlap provided by Holly & Denise gave us some much-desired shade and made the top of our pergola look decidedly less naked. Strewn pillows and rugs gave us someplace to rest our bums out of the dust and the hay. Our backdrop was built using the time-tested theatrical backdrop method of stapling burlap to 2x2's and guying it out! We decided that if anyone asked we would tell them we were from Clan Macgyver!

Shrewsbury is a faire that takes place on the cusp of harvesttime, a time when the weather in the Pacific Northwest begins its inevitable decline into autumnal showers and evening cold while still maintaining a deathgrip on the heat and dust of the day. This lends it a character that builds character (or so my father would tell me, had he been there). This also means that hot coffee (and other assorted hot drinks) are at a premium during the evenings and mornings and shade is at a premium during the days! By the time we left, the pavilion bore a coat of dust that had been liberally turned to mud by evening showers, only to get dusted again by the heat of the day.

This is not a pastime for the faint of heart... or those with arthritic knuckles for that matter. Despite stiff joints and a goodly set of the sniffles, our intrepid guildmembers spread out and did what we do best: Provide Color!

And colorful we were in all the joyous panoply of our peasanty characters! Our true speciality has always been providing crowd interaction, drawing the patrons into the play. Jokes, gigs (and even a few jigs) mixed liberally with cavorting, teasing people, chasing one another around, shopping and generally entertaining ourselves under the adage that "if we're having fun, they will too!"

One of the great unmentioned trials of doing faires is "What shall we do with ourselves while all of the patrons are at the joust? "

"If we shadows have offended,Think of this - and all is mended -That you have but slumbered hereWhile these visions did appear,And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles do not reprehend;If you pardon, we will mend.And, as I’m an honest Puck,If we have unearned luckNow to ‘scape the serpent’s tongueWe will make amends ere long;Else the puck a liar call:So good night unto you all.Give me your hands if we be friends,And Robin shall restore amends."

-A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Page contents Copyright 2006, Scott W Perkins except where noted

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