[MR] Virginia Renfaire Report

[Garth G. Groff]

Noble friends in Central Virginia,

Lady Sarah and I took in the Virginia Renfaire at their opening on 
Saturday at the Lake Anna Winery near Spottsylvania. It was an excellent 
day for a faire, with temperatures in the low 70s (thankfully not too 
hot for a great kilt!). As usual, the Faire was excellent, with many 
things to do an see. Sadly, there was no jousting this day, but it may 
be held on other days. Instead we enjoyed watching the greyhounds 
course, and later met some of these beautiful and gentle dogs in their 
tent. We also sat in on a historical lecture/demonstration on archery, 
and then participated in a small shoot-off tournament (yours truly won 
second place, and received a nice little throwing axe as a prize).

The many costumed staff were excellently attired, especially Queen 
Elizabeth and her attendants, who seem to visit the little village of 
Staffordshire every year. The local militia offered a great display of 
arms. As always, there was an underlying story being acted out by 
several principals during the day, though this is hard to follow unless 
you choose to shadow them as they wander the faire, and they spit up 
frequently. As usual, there were numerous stage shows featuring comedy, 
music, and magic. My favorites, The Mad Mechanicals, butchered ROMEO AND 
JULIETTE, as only they can do. The MM shows always feature lots of 
audience participation, miscast characters, and great humor.

Other activities and demonstrations included blacksmithing, weaving, 
live alpacas (yeah, I know -- not period, but really cute), and some 
participatory games. The Renfaire also offers some special activities 
for just children, including a maypole and a supervised play area.

There were the usual food vendors, selling typical faire food, but a new 
addition was a crepe vendor (yummy!) with several varieties. The tavern 
was open, serving adult beverages including an excellent stout. The 
hosts, the Lake Anna Winery, had a small tasting room within the faire 
area, and offered free samples of their wares. Mostly, we shopped, and 
shopped, and shopped some more. There were perhaps 50 vendors, selling 
leather goods, clothing, hats, soaps and scents, period games, and sundries.

The Virginia Renfaire runs every Saturday and Sunday through 5 June. See 
http://www.varf.org/ for times and directions . This is a nicely run 
faire, not so large as to be too tiring (especially with children), and 
well worth the $9 admission. Scadians will particularly enjoy the day in 
garb (doesn't have to be strictly Elizabethan), and will have an 
opportunity to load up on hard to find clothes and craft items.

Kind regards,


Lord Mungo Napier