1996 was the first year for Hawkwood Fantasy Faire. The Faire is north of Fort Worth, Texas, just off I-35W. Hawkwood is set in a wood, giving it quite a different look and feel from Scarborough Faire (which is south of Dallas). The folk at Hawkwood put a lot of work into making this a good faire. There were permanent buildings, several stages, lots of merchants and 2 pubs. On Saturday nights the Dragon's Flagon Pub was open until midnight. Since the Hawkwood site is outside the bounds of Texas civilization, there was no one to complain when the drums got loud and everyone joined in the pub sings.
Although Hawkwood is billed as a fantasy faire, meaning just about anything goes for costumes, the setting for the Faire appears to be Medieval England, or perhaps Scotland. Thanks just a guess based on the number of kilts I saw out there. Oh, I do love the men in kilts!
I enjoyed Hawkwood, in spite of the rain (to make up for the drought earlier in the year, August and September in North Texas were very, very, wet). Although I didn't experience it myself, I did hear stories about the parking lot turning into a mud pit, the elephant pulling cars out of the mud, and the Faire actually closed one day because the parking lot was so bad! Whew! What a lot of bad weather for a first year Faire to overcome!
Well, let's get on to the Faire! Remember, click on the small images to see the full size picture.
Our first stop is the
Dragon's Flagon Pub.
The pub looks quite new in this picture.
That's because I took the picture early in season.
After a few more weeks of rain and mud, the pub looked a lot
more inviting and much less brand new.
Adjacent to the Dragon's Flagon is the
Dragon's Flagon Pub Stage where you
can find performers like
Hawke, A Renaissance Balladeer.
From 10:30 to close, there is always something going on at the
Dragon's Flagon!
One of the acts you can find on the
Royal Grove Stage is
April Fools.
Guilliame (did I spell that right? anyway, he's the one with
the luscious, long blond hair) and his cousin Pascal
ask the age-old question:
Is juggling an art, or is it a science?
They claim to be the only juggling act performing today with
bad french accents.
Evan and Bottom (that's Evan in the skirt) are
Shakespeare on a Shingle.
They perform some of the original works of that well-known bard,
Willy Nilly Shakespeare.
One of my favorites is
Rodeo and Juliet.
This scene is from another great work,
The Shaming of the True.
After leaving the Royal Grove Stage and crossing the Blarney Bridge,
you will find
On the Wing Again.
This a rehabilitation center for injured birds of prey,
like this
Screech Owl.
Rather than a demonstration of falconry,On the Wing Again
simply exhibits the birds.
There was always a crowd of people asking questions and
looking at the birds every time I went by.
There is always something happening at Hawkwood.
This started out as a simple wedding, and
quickly became a brawl, and then a confrontation
as Isis (of
Isis and the Star Dancers)
plays a woman scorned. That's Isis holding the
sword in the picture.
Not everyone in costume at Hawkwood is a performer.
These 3 forest creatures are
Lisa, Danny and Kat,
fellow renaissance faire junkies from Louisianna.
The Aussies have arrived!
Over at
Captain Jake's Big Blow
you can find
didjeridus
and other Australian instruments.
While I'm sure that the didjeridu has been around for a long
time and that Australian aboriginis were playing them in the
13th and 14th centuries, I don't really think that
they could be found in the British Isles.
But in the hands of a master player, a didjeridu makes a
tuneful addition to the evening drum jam.
Captain Jake has a
home page!
In the mood for a fight?
Check out the action at
Safer Swords.
To be really effective with one of these, you can't just
whack your opponent.
There is skill involved, as
Rabbit (the one showing some leg) and
Lance
demonstrate.
Rabbit was on a quest during Hawkwood.
He was under a geas to exterminate the dreaded Macarena.
Everytime a person under the influence of the Macarena
passed by the booth, Rabbit grabbed a
Safer Sword
and went after them.
If swordplay, even safer swordplay, is not your thing,
why not try
archery?
You can learn to shot, or you can even participate in
the daily archery contest.
What's happening here?
It seems that a
brigand
is holding up
Phelan's House of Trade!
Luckily none of the glass flasks featured at
Phelan's was harmed by this rough character.
My favorite shop is
The Village Baker.
It looks like a lot of people agree with me, too.
Scones, muffins
and
hot bread
stuffed with cheese and onions.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
A loaf of fresh, hot bread and a mug of beer makes the best lunch at
just about any faire.
I mentioned someting about
men in kilts
earlier, didn't I?
Here's a selection of some of the men in kilts I met at Hawkwood.
You know, I like men in tights, but there's just something about the sight
of a man's bare knees (and bare chest, too!) that gets my heart
to beating just a little faster, my breath to become a wee
bit shallower ... oh, my! I think I'm hyperventiltaing! I'm going to swoon!
I think it's time to go home!
Don't forget to visit The offical Hawkwood Home Page!
21 November 1997