Doing Scarborough 1996
with the Renaissance Faire Junkie

<--- My 1996 season pass, held together with scotch tape and crushed from being carried in my pouch.

This year I spent a lot of time photographing the Joust. In fact, I photographed 8 of the 9 jousts that made up the Fourth Annual Gath of Baal Memorial Tournament on Memorial Weekend (I forgot that there was an 11 AM joust the first day). Not only was that a lot of film, but I felt like my whole day was spent either at the Jousting arena or behind the scenes at the stables. Check out the action at the Gath of Baal Memorial Tournament featuring the Free Lancers of the Cimmerian Combatives Company.

Scarbough is hot, dry and dusty this year. So, M'Lord and M'Lady, you had best fill your tankards to the brim and quaf heartily and often as we take in the Faire this day. Listen ... you can hear the wail of the bagpipes and the Huzzah of the crowd! The merriment has begun!

First, we must stop and pay our respects to King Henry and Queen Anne. The King is in a jovial mood this day; see how he is smiling! And the Queen looks ravishing in her new gown (all thanks to P.J., the Queen's costumer).

Bagpipes? Did I mention bagpipes earlier? The Scottish Rogues are piping and drumming for us today. And the women of the clan are dancing for us as well. Keep an eye out for Virginia. She sells CDs and tapes of The Scottish Rogues' music. But if you buy, you have to kiss the most important member of the clan. No, not Bryan the Belligerant, the clan sheep! Don't forget to visit The Rogues home page.

Tights, tights, tights! All good Rennies have tights, and the best tights (OK, so I'm biased), come from Faire Paire Tights and Such. Lady Ginger, the owner of Faire Paire, has decreed that when you own 12 pair of tights (24 for couples), you are an official Tights Junkie. Sniff, sniff ... I've only got 11 pair, including my new Bordello Red crushed velvet and my blue zebra ultras (ultras, in case you don't know, are 6 panel tights with lace up the sides). I guess I'll just have to visit Marshall (Franc couldn't make Scarborough this year, but she will be at Bristol) at Faire Paire and order another pair of tights. You can email Ginger or visit the Faire Pair Tights and Such home page.

The world of Scarborough is full of wonder, and one of the most wonderous individuals of all is MarcoM the Mountebank. He is a master of deceptively simple marvels that please the most discerning palette. Another source of wonder are the carvings created by Teddy at Hermit's Hollow. Besides this unicorn, Teddy has pendants, knives and fetishes.

One of the coolest places at the Faire, and one that's always a hit with the kids, is the Mud Show. This year the Beggars of M'Earth premiered a new show: The Viking Show. Chunquie played the part of the brave Viking warrior while Scratch played the Viking chief. Willie Witnot was the wicked Monster who came to steal away the Viking women (that's the last Viking woman in the picture with Chunquie).

I'm told that in all of North America, there are only a dozen or so performers of the dying art of sword swallowing. This year Scarborough was honored by two practitioners of this art: Johnny Fox (pictured on the left) and Thom Sellectomy (performing on stage with Johnny). Actually, if you count Walter, the Flaming Idiot who swallows ballons, there were three "sword" swallowers at the Faire this year!

If you stop by the Golden Drake Tavern around the hour of 5 and 30, you will find Gibbon the Troubadour leading the Gibbonian Chorus (a fancy name for a bunch of imbibing revelers indulging in a scatalogical sing-a-long) in a thunderous pub sing. Stop by and find out just what you can do with a drunken sailor early in the morning.

Faire-goers consume a massive amount of food. And Victor Smith provides some of the best. From the Fish n'Chips stand near the Mud Pit to Prince Pasquale's Kitchen, Victor has something for everyone. Chips by the pound! Fried Peasant Bread dripping with honey and cinnamon sugar! Gnocchi so good it literally melts in your mouth! Cappucino, sliced apples smoothered in caramel, calzone .... mmm, good! You can send email to Victor and let him know how much you enjoyed his tasty treats!

Over at Dragon Wings, near the Jousting arena, you can often find Eric at work stringing puppets. Debra added one-legged pirate cats to her stable of Puss in Boots this year (I have pirate cat #2, Capt'n Bligh, aka Capt'n Cat or Capt'n Mao the Black). I asked Debra to create the Salty Sea Dog who took the leg of my peg-legged Pirate Cat. After making Wishbone, the first Sea Dog, she swore she would not make any more dog puppets. A week later, after I'd spent a weekend walking Wishbone The Avenger (that's him in the picture) around the Faire, so many people had asked her about them that they are now on the standard price list. And now she's found a source of parrots for the Pirate Cats to wear on their shoulders and fish for the Sea Dogs to carry.

Down the lane from Dragon Wings and across from Pendragon Costumes, you can find Stewart and Arnold. This father and son team of buskers performs feats of juggling and knife throwing. Stewart has had a few close calls as the target for his father's knife throwing. That's why he acts as the shield for the obligatory volunteer from the audience.

At Wee Peeple you can find Kendra and her dolls. Kendra's dolls are soft-sculpted spiritual images such as shamans, nature spirits and devas. She also creates fantasy dolls like the Cat Peeple shown here. Each one has its own unique personality.

As you wander about Scarborough, you will find Commedia dell' Carte. This troupe of actors performs classic commedia dell 'arte with wit and a lack of reverence that is sure to entertain. Look for them in any shady grove with enough room for their cart. Or visit their web site at http://www.commedia.org.

All of the nobility (and some of the not so noble as well) are here at Scarborough today. The Lord Mayor of Scarborough and his Lady wife have welcomed King Henry and Queen Anne. They've even made Lord Blackadder and his cronies welcome! (No, Lord Blackadder doesn't normally wear wimples; he and his friends were just trying on some women's attire. Why? I don't know.) That's Thomas Blackadder (James Thomasson), in the blue, in the black and gold is Lord Henry Fitzalan (Daniel Guinn) and in the black and maroon is Edmund Blackadder (Greg Holman).

Everyone loves a parade, and the revelers at Scarborough are not different. Musicians, the King and Queen, performers and villagers all join in. Everyone, that is, except me. I much prefer to stay in one spot and take pictures of the parade.

Crafts and craft demonstrations are a large part of any Faire. Spinning and weaving demonstrations are continual. There is also a cooper demonstrating the making of wooden bowls, buckets and utensils.

Of course, the religious community is well represented at Scarborough. Sister Dismas, everyone's favorite nun, is a bit of a musician. And Father Victore Taylor, that very earthy prelate, is present at all the Highland Games. Here he is blessing the particiapants in today's Games.
Feet tired? Can't walk another step? Then hop in one of the cabs available at the Faire. You can ride in comfort from one end of the Faire to the other. I don't know if they will take you out to the fields where the horseless carriages are tethered, but that may simply be because no one has asked!