Maryland 1998
Otters and Weezows! Oh, my!

I didn't mean to do it. I scheduled my trip to Maryland long before Invasion Weekend was thought of, much less mentioned in the newsgroup (which newsgroup? The newsgroup ... alt.fairs.renaissance). But the fates decided that I would be joined by over 90 other renfaire junkies in the First Annual Maryland Invasion. It was a busy weekend as I ran from show to show, stopping for the frequent gatherings of otters and weezows and still trying to find time to visit with all of my Maryland friends. I took so many pictures that I need two web pages for this year's visit ... check out The Otter Playground for more Maryland fun.

The weekend started with a scare ... rain on Saturday morning as I was getting ready to leave for the Faire. But the clouds parted and the sun came out and the rest of the day was beautiful. And Sunday was just as grand. I had fun and I hope you do, too, as you join me at The 1998 Maryland Renaissance Festival!

My first port of call in Revel Grove is always the Dragon Wings booth to see what new toys and finery Debra and Eric have available. This year it was dancing piglets, dressed in scarves and feathers. Here a trio of piglets performs for the crowd. Give those pigs a piper, and they sure do dance! Of course, I had to shop while I was here. Debra made me an extremely extravagant feather headdress to go with my new court garb. I didn't get to wear it at Maryland, but I did wear it at Ohio. Let me tell you, traveling with that headgear was very interesting. It had its own box that I had to carry through various airports (fact: traveling with garb more than doubles the amount of luggage one needs).

Just down from Dragon Wings you can always find Mr. Wiz's Wands. These fantastic bubble wands are created by Stephen Bennett, who also owns The China Shop (fine pottery and china) in Stub Toe Lane. Children of all ages, but particularly the little ones, love playing with bubbles. Cats like to play with them, too. Although they aren't too keen on getting wet when the bubbles pop.

My second port of call is always the Cimmerian Treasures booth where I say hello to Kate Cox. It's a bit hard to see in the picture, but the mannequin is wearing a venus plate and breast cups made of brass instead of the more common stainless steel. I think it gives the pieces a softer, more elegant and richer look. Just my opinion, of course. Kate has quite a collection of chain mail headdresses and clothing. My new chain mail headdress is one of Kate's creations (I got it at Scarborough this year). Greg (who works for Kate at Maryland) chided me for letting my headdress get dirty and then cleaned it for me. It really sparkled when he was through!

My sister Virginia joined me at the faire on Sunday. We really wanted to see The Daring Devilinis, (they happened to be at Ohio this weekend) but instead were entertained by the amazing feats of Michael Rosman. Michael juggles (yes, he does the obligatory flaming torch juggle) his way through various situations such as balancing on a bowling ball or walking a tightrope. He is talented, funny, and cute!

Although she wasn't listed in the program, Maylinda was one of the guest artists at Maryland the week I visited. She is the proprietress of Innish Isles, a very good source for favors, leather hair gear, stockings and other accessories for the discriminating gentleman (and gentlewoman).

One of my favorite Rennies is Charles, the Pretzel Boy ("pretzel man" just doesn't have the same ringing sound as "pretzel boy"). Ladies, Charles loves to flirt and he's very good at it! He also is handy with a sewing machine. If he only did WinDoze ... ooops! 'scuse me! ... windows he'd be perfect.

Stephanie and Laura are Scarlet & Kissandra! Women of Whimsey. I wish that Stephanie and Laura were based in Texas so that I could see them more than once a year! Since that is about as likely as me moving to Maryland, I have to settle for taking home their CD. Maybe some day there will be a Women of Whimsey World Tour ... until then, visit their web site and listen to a sound byte or check out their schedule.

I am a fan of the Joust, and most definately a fan of The Free Lancers . This year there were quite a few "local" jousters joining Roy and Shark in the lists. Barchan, riding Great Ceasar's Ghost, went up against Roy Cox on Silver Dancer in a battle of titanic proportions (what else do you call a directed collision of close to 2 tons of human, horse and armour?) that left the ground shaking. But the earth literally shook for Tarmac McAdams (Scott Chairs) as Robert von Swartzwald (Robert Spencer) convinced him to part company from his steed (Ceasar again ... another day, another knight) in a pass that left Sir Tarmac "well struck!"

Chance Darewithal is a professional Risk Taker. Unfortunately, I have to claim ignorance as to just what a Risk Taker does. I never got the chance to see Chance perform (heh, heh ... well I thought it was a funny line). But he was obliging enough to let me capture him in a rare, restful moment.

As I strolled through Revel Grove I met a lot of interesting people such as this gentleman. He was striding very purposefully with some destination in mind, where I don't know. Maybe he was on his way to the pub sing. Or maybe he was on his way to see Mimi the Mime. If so, he was bound to be disappointed as Mimi was out and about herself. Mimi makes it look so easy to walk on those stilts. She just glides along. If I tried it, well, let's just say that I would be very vocal, and very black and blue!

Besides being invasion weekend this was also the weekend that I finally got to meet my friends Gayle and John from Ohio. We spent the entire summer chatting with each other, and even introducing each other to our friends at other faires, all through the glorious medium of email. But this was the first time that we actually met each other.

Over at the K. Dopita booth I found these two gorgeous gentlemen. They are affectionately known as The Handsomes, a name given them by my good friend Xandriel. Xan and I had to coax (well, I pleaded and she directed ) these two out from behind the counter long enough for me to take this picture. Ah, I just love men in tights, don't you?

Every year I try to see at least one show I've never seen before as well as all of my old favorites. This year the honor of being "first time" fell to Master Li. Master Li's forte is knives. He juggles them (he juggles flaming torches, too). He also cuts small vegetables laid across the abdomens of willing audience members (do these people really know what they are doing?) ... yes, folks, it slices, it dices, it's GINSU. Ok, that was a really bad joke, and I apologize for it. My sister went with me to Master Li's show and we were both properly amazed and astounded. I'm going to have to put this one on my "must see next year" list.

One of my favorite shops at Maryland is Wolfstone Kilt. The shop has expanded, and has something that I have never seen anywhere else - a "pleating table". This is a heavy wooden table, about knee high, with a place to hold a folded great kilt on either side. The kilt can then be pulled across the table and pleated without the person doing the pleating having to grovel in the dirt. It's also nicer for the customer since all they have to do is step up on the table and lay down. Very nice.

Here are two of my best friends at Maryland, Lauren (on the left) and Regan (on the right). Lauren is one-half of Whipflash! Regan is the genius behind The Maryland Renfest Withdrawal Syndrome. Photography after dark is always difficult; it's really hard to focus without any light and using a borrowed flash doesn't make it any easier. Lauren helped by holding up her lantern so that I could focus first and then take the picture.

My standard disclaimer: I am not associated with the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I am but a simple patron.