Meme: Faire History

[hsifeng]

As a precursor – I would like to remind everyone that my memory banks ain’t all that hot.

1988
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Customer
My first faire: What was a D&D playing, wooden sword swinging, fantasy fiction reading lass to do? I had found home and showed up for the occasion in a set of garb that I made in a couple of evenings with the help of goldenmaia and her mom. I loved it! *shudder* But in retrospect it was slightly less than ‘historically accurate’. *grin*
Went for ‘one weekend’ – the last weekend! If I had known there were other faires out there I would have gone, but I had to wait until the next season.

1989
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Customer
goldenmaia and I ended up doing everything in our power to make it for almost the whole run (during the day). I think I started dragging Trisha and others out toward the end of this run…not sure. This was my first ‘faire crew’ and consisted mostly of folks who could get their parents to drive us to remote corners of California for festivals.

1990
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Third year – still a customer!
I was only 16 and, as yet, didn’t realize that there was an ‘after hours’ component to faire. *rolls eyes* Naïve little me….

- Dragonvale, Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire & Clovis Lakes Faire
Customer here as well…
Met bedpimp , Brian & the Allen of Evil and Despair ™ - kept bedpimp and Brian, and managed to dodge Allen. *chuckle* Figured out that there were things called ‘Guilds’ and that faire could be attended for more than 10 hours at a time. Next stop, figuring out how to get to faires without someone’s parents having to drive…

1991
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Customer/Boothie – Rams Balls and Coits

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, etc., etc.
Joined a Guild! (Travelers Union): “Be a gypsy, see the world, and steal its precious jewels!” Named ‘Lunch’ (in Romany) by bedpimp and others.
Started sewing – by hand, no machine yet – and got a new costume done too – yes…by *hand*! Once I figured out that I could *make* five costumes for the price of the *bodice* I’d bought at Northern the year prior, I was hooked!

1992
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Rams Balls and Coits (with more time spent at Cardiff Rose than I can account for).

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guildee
Sooo many stories…
Started my dance obsession phase: English/Irish/Scottish Country Dancing, Irish Step Dance, Highland Dance, etc. Was dancing seven nights a week for *months* before I cut back to five. Loved it!

1993
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Rams Balls and Coits/Innyard Games (with more time spent at Cardiff Rose than I can account for…*still*).

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guildee
“Wet Gypsy Hugs”: A reason to attend faires that are hotter than Hades. “ToddandBrian”: The suppliers of the drink of ages, also known as a Balukistani Screw Driver. “I am a tree!”…
Oh, and I think I met Tonda and Kristie this year at Faire Oaks. There was a prediction made that I would one day be German. I scoffed. Silly me. *grin* They also said I would work ale stand – done, and done!

1994
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Innyard Games. The year of ‘oh my GOD – get that thing away from me!’ *screamed by a departing IG worker while she ran from John-John-Big-As-A-Babies-Arm.
I think this is the year that Heather got mono from a mondo sized Fairy Circle….

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guild Mistress – St. Bacchus (English Peasants)
Yes, I thought I might ‘know better’ – and those long drives to Sacramento for Guild meetings were *killing* me! For those who know me now – yes, I have been in more than one Guild that required driving more than three hours to do basic Guild functions.
This was the start of my long, downward spiral into ‘historical accuracy’. Oh sure, it starts with making rules about people having to ‘wear a hat’ and ‘cover their shoulders’: But we all know it ends up in wool and feathers. *chuckle*
Was this the first year of the Scottish/Irish stage show at small faire with Tara and others?

1995
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Twillsywop (sp). The free baklava and fudge (and beer) made me do it.

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guild Mistress – St. Bacchus (English Peasants)
More ‘mistressing’ along with Greg (Guildmaster)…the inevitable conversion of our house into the Guild flop-site. People in and out all the time: First Fairy Party? BTW – This was THE FIRST of these sort of events to my knowledge and if this isn’t dated before the first LoJ party then I have this information in the *wrong year* because I know our Fairy Parties came along first….

1996
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Twillsywop (sp).
Worked the booth with Beth and others: Saw the Germans on the streets and still didn’t make the connection. *shakes head* Ah well! Had many, many, many good times!

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guild Mistress – St. Bacchus (English Peasants)
Last year as Guildmistress of Bacchus. Time to move on and have fun rather than being in charge of people and events! For now…

1997
- Northern Faire (Blackpoint Forest)
Boothie – Twillsywop (sp).
Seem to remember that this is the year that Paul insisted on bring out his freeze-dried cat as a prop. Seriously. OK – the cat wasn’t freeze-dried, he found it desiccated under a house he was working on. But he sat there all day at faire petting it for week after week….

- Hanford Faire, Tulare Faire, Fair Oaks Faire, S.L.O Faire etc., etc.
Guildee - St. Bacchus (English Peasants)
Guildee – St. Kennocks (Scottish Border Reavers)
Went to event with both groups and played back and forth. Had a good time. Nuf said.


1998-2001

The dry spell: Needed a break, got together with a guy who hated faire. Took the break. Got tired of the break. Made an excuse to go back. Broke up with the guy. It all worked out!

2002
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival
Boothie – The Lord of the Rings
I blame it all on Ananda…and Craig!
Joined the Germans – fulfilled my destiny – helped my dad create a new Emperor of the Universe…wait…wrong story.

2003
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival
Guildee – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein
“Be a German, see the world…steal all the jewels!” …hey…didn’t we already do this? Active member of an ass-kicking, drum-beating, beer-frau brigade. Hu-ya!
Met my future husband…the Catholic…*grin*

2004
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival & Santa Barbara Renaissance Faire
Trossmeisterin – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein
Silly bastages, they put me ‘in charge’ again…
The true ‘history nazi’ starts to emerge…

2005
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival
Trossmeisterin – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein
Helped to create and initiate the SCAPS program. Still proud of us! Tross Olympics started this year I believe. Got married (*yippeeeee!*)!!!

- Fresno City College Renaissance Festival, Hanford Faire, S.L.O. Faire, Kearny Park Renaissance Faire, etc.
Customer – no Guild with us.
Hubby and I just hanging out with various folks we know at these events.

2006
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival - *missed this season of faire*
Trossmeisterin – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein
Was this my last year as Trossmeisterin? I don’t remember…Participated via weekly letters in the SCAPS program and general ‘Tross Moral’ support.

- Fresno City College Renaissance Festival, S.L.O. Faire, Kearny Park Renaissance Faire, etc.
Customer – no Guild with us.
Hubby and I just hanging out with various folks we know at these events.

2007
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival - *missed this season of faire*
Guildee – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein

- Fresno City College Renaissance Festival, Kearny Park Renaissance Faire, etc.
Customer – no Guild with us.
Hubby and I just hanging out with various folks we know at these events.

2008
- Koroneburg Renaissance Festival
Guildee – das Heiligesturm Fahnlein
Kicking ass and taking names for almost 20 years…*chuckle*

Comments

[sstormwatch.livejournal.com]

You at least have a good idea of which faires you attended and what you did. I would have to look at old photos, which I don't have all organized.

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am sure I forgot things in there...mind like a steel sieve...I mean trap, steel trap...

[eponia2001.livejournal.com]

Almost 20 years!!! Thats just scary Cherylynn, just scary and it makes me feel old.

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

You and me both....*le sigh*

[docryder.livejournal.com]

I blame it all on Ananda…and Craig!

Me?!? You can't blame nothin' on me! :-)

Also, as I recall, St. Bacchus had some joining with the MacLeods for a while in about 1993. Wasn't the entire guild a single member or some such thing? Willem was GM then, and I think some kind of connection persisted during sstormwatch first year as GM. Then we became separate guilds again. Of course, this is my perspective as a HFCM member, and my understanding of the whole thing may be off.

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

Not *you* Craig...Down South Craig - who plays my brother at faire for my German persona. *chuckle*

I think the recollection about a connection between Bacchus and McLeod may be correct - but I can't remember the reasons for it or the time period. What was going on with that? Was it for stage shows or some such?

[eponia2001.livejournal.com]

No it was for the Scottish and English country dancing. I think we had a few core members at the time and we were co-involved for a bit before both guilds starting picking up a plethora of teens.

[docryder.livejournal.com]

I thought it was more than that. At least, that's what I recall those of us in the MacLeods being told. I recall that Mike Bebb was the primary GM of St. Bacchus at the time. I thought there was something going on with St. Bacchus like we needed more bodies for dancing but Bacchus needed financial help or wanted the backing of an older guild or some such.

It's been 15 years. I could be way off...