whatareweuptonow?

It all sounds a bit drear at the moment. We're still waiting for word to come down from the faire brass, official-like that they're launching an appeal or planning to march on the capitol with pennons flying and chargers rearing... I don't know what our options are, but all of the advertising said the first three weekends in August, which means we would have to make it through an appeals process in less than two weeks and still get the bleachers built for the joust and get back any vendors who will need to make plans and can't wait in limbo for very long, this being their livelihood and all... I don't know what's going to happen at this point. I'm the pipeline to the faire brass for most of the people reading this and even Amy doesn't know what this means yet. My optimism is at it's lowest ebb, I have to admit. Nevertheless, everyone stay tuned... this may not be over yet.

Annual Event Announcement

2008 Feast Day / Practice Day

Faire or no faire (which is rather akin to 'Rain or Shine' these days) we will be lighting the firepit and hauling out the irons, setting up something pavilionish and laying out the various and sundry accoutrement for the making of a fine feast. This SATURDAY is the day! If you want to be WRFF 'gatelisted' (pptimism all the way) attendance is mandatory (for St Brigid's Guildmembers, to be clear).

FRIENDS WELCOME!

It's a big enough yard, come join us! It's basically a rennie-themed picnic, but we do ask that you come in costume if you can or we shall cast you in the role of patron. Last year, Cassie was our Designated Patron and I think she had some fun with it.

What will YOU bring?

Fruits -

Breads -

Cheeses -

Pottage -

Handpies - Becky (?)

Meat #1 - Scott (The ever-popular Cauldron Stew)

Meat #2 -

Drink -

Drink -

Pies or tarts -

(Water provided)

Did I forget anything? It's okay to buy what you bring if you can't cook. Bread, apples, pears, cheeses, mead, beer... whatever.

I plan to have a fire going to cook my stew and my cast-iron period-ish grill will be available for the heating and grilling of things (Prior notice on that one would be appreciated).

BRING YOUR OWN FEASTING GEAR! Tankard or Cup, Bowl/plate, and Utensils. Just as we expect of you at faire, this is a dress-rehearsal anyway. $2.50 at Goodwill and you've got a bowl and a wooden spoon, so no excuses. Put your name on anything you bring, especially feast gear. See our website if you're uncertain what to purchase to achieve that peasanty verisimilitude... stbrigidshearth.googlepages.com/th...ant

(If you're a friend of the guild, the 'No Excuses' thing of course doesn't apply to our 'designated patrons'. For those honored guests, I have some loaners available... mainly I need to be sure my guildmembers are ready for faire, so...)

Please keep in mind that - basically - most feast gear looks the same, one wooden bowl looks a lot like the next one, and anything without a name or initial or some identifying mark will be suspected of being mine and treated accordingly. (Unless it's Mark's in which case the identifying Mark gets to take it home...)

;o)

THIS IS A DRESS-REHEARSAL! As much costuming as you have done, wear it. Plan to be in character for at least a couple hours as we

prepare, consume and clean up after the meal. We will have some activities planned, but we want to do things up as we would if we were holding this feast during faire. (BFA all the way. )

Looks like it might be hot...

BRING SUNBLOCK!!!

WEAR A WIDE-BRIMMED HAT!!!

It will probably be a little buggy...

WEAR BUG-REPELLANT!!!

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION... Kristin and I are hosting again this year. Come see the fabled sewing room of song and story and the library of forgotten lore (some of it best forgotten, some would say).

If you don't know how to get here, I'll email you the address. PM me or contact me at leakytankard - at - gmail

Keep your chins up, folks! Come what may, we're friends first and foremost, so why not join us in a pleasantly peasanty repast?

See you then!

An Open Letter from the Guildmaster to...

Dear Mason County Commissioners...

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to you this evening in defense of the Washington Renaissance & Fantasy Faire, recently of Gig Harbor and currently seeking permits to relocate to a parcel of land near Belfair.

I cannot fully describe the pain I felt when I first became aware of a small but vocal nugget of opposition to our faire coming to join your community. It began a couple of months ago, at community events and parades where my friends and I were promoting the faire, rumors that the faire would not happen or that the people of Belfair did not want it to.

Some of the attendant rumors that have made their way to my ears have cast my friends and I in a bad light: we were untrustworthy, a bunch of carnies, or even witches or worse, dancing around a campfire by the light of the moon and other things bordering on science fiction. Such slanders make me angry and they cannot be further from the truth. After so many years of being greeted with excitement by the people of the Puget Sound Region, it was quite a shock to realize that so many misconceptions still flourish about our faire and the people who perform there. The implication that we are or will be in any way a blight upon a community is unfounded and unfair.

I understand that most people do not 'get' what the renaissance faire is all about. From the outside, it can seem like a bunch of weirdoes playing dress up in the woods. In a society where we are taught from a young age not to stand out, not to meet the eye of passers by, not to talk to people we don't know, not to reach out to those who are different… well a group of people who are united to do exactly those things can seem strange.

In fact the renaissance faire has many of the elements that I heard my grandfather bemoaning the lack of in modern society growing up. This is a place where everyone knows the same songs, where history and community are celebrated nightly; where a good horse is prized above all, where mention of honor and chivalry is not greeted with a smirk, a place where meals are communal events, where the folk dances and folk songs of Europe and the near east are remembered and passed on, as well as being taught to the community at large. Renaissance faire is the very definition of a family event.

We are housewives and husbands, writers and historians, teachers and professors, engineers and computer programmers, soldiers and sailors, teachers and professors. And for three weekends each August we are also actors and acrobats, jugglers and stiltwalkers, princesses and princes, pirates and gypsies, and urchins and fools.

I should note that very very very few of us are paid for our time. This is a community of volunteers, a theatrical and historical hobby undertaken out a love for history and a yearning to see smiles on the faces of others. We perform as we do in the same spirit as the community theater troupes that bring culture to small towns throughout the country.

I am not a financial stakeholder in this enterprise, so I cannot speak of the business dealings or permitting issues. I can attest that nothing was done under a veil of secrecy, as has been alleged in an online petition currently being circulated. Our plans to move were publicized in the event schedule handed to every person who entered the faire last year. The local press was notified and there was a story about the new site in the Kitsap Sun and updates of the preparation for the move have been publicly available on the faire's website for quite some time now.

I will also express surprise at the fears of drunkenness and bacchanal. Alcohol sales are (and always have been) confined to an "alehouse", a licensed, fenced-off beer garden/tent where beer and wine are served to those who are of legal age by experienced bartenders and waitstaff. All identification is checked and re-checked in accordance with all applicable state laws. Not even the actors are given a pass, every ID is checked every time. I have noticed and commended the owners of the faire several times for taking their business to local brewhouses (Hales Brewery of Seattle for the past few years).

There is nothing anyone can say to the traffic question other than that traffic happens. Growing up in a tiny town in rural Missouri, I understand the fears. In my childhood, every august, my small town of 19,000 souls would swell to 200,000 or more each week for the duration of the Missouri State Fair. It was the price we paid for the commerce brought to our sleepy burgh by the fair. The same would be said if Cirque du Soleil came to Belfair, or a presidential candidate, for that matter. Any increase in the local tourist economy brings with it the necessary evil of a temporary increase in the traffic flow. Is three weekends of traffic really too high a price to pay for the increased revenue pouring into your local taxbase?

I apologize for taking so many words to say my piece, but not enough can be said about the value of a place – any place – where history is taught and celebrated, where humanity is drawn closer together, where a tight-knit community of likeminded souls gathers together for the sole purpose of providing this service to the masses.

The Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire has the potential to bring Belfair great gains. Certainly the actors who will come with the faire – myself included – will make every effort to be good neighbors. I ask you to accept their request for a permit in order that this event may go forward and you may know the just rewards that await your constituents.

Scott W Perkins

6/22/2008 - From the Guildmaster's Blog

Rolling Stones

Well, the new faire site is well on it's way into being turned to a fairyland of cool grassy meadows under towering trees. We drove through the nascent site today and the transformation is remarkable. Oddly, they've assigned us a camping spot already but we STILL don't know where our guild site will be. I asked Ron today and he said he still didn't know, ask someone else.

Sigh.

Okay, fine, so our artistic energies went to work on the camping spot. The faire folks were nice enough to bulldoze a clearing for us, but getting rid of the tread marks and hauling the rocks was left to us. Which is fine. Our campsite has some terrain challenges, which we carved into a two-level terraced area in hopes of controlling drainage somewhat in case there's another deluge like last year. I even made little curving steps that wound around the Party Tree (as I have henceforth dubbed it) left standing in the midst of our campsite, right on the edge of the terrace. Many stones were hauled, hefted, thrown, rolled and dragged into place to make a nice little area. All of the tent sites were raked to a semblance of flatness. Next time out I'll bring along the line levels so we can mark the slope and predict runoff and tell folks how to orient their tents to avoid the morning 'slept with my head downhill' headache that can ruin a day at faire. Also - because of the terrain and the clay soil - I'm contemplating a French drain mid-camp, but we'll see where the water pools during the next shower.

Posts from 2006 & 2007 have been moved to the Archives