A lot has changed at Scarborough this year. Glasnotes, a long-time favorite of the Texas Faire scene, were absent due to the untimely death of Terry Hinely in a traffic accident earlier this year. Terry Foy, Zilch the Gravedigger, is back after deciding that he prefers the itinerate life of a performer to that of faire management. Merlin the Magician wasn't there, but there were several new shows including Hey Nunnie Nunnie and The Tartan Terrors.
There is a new front gate. And the replacement stage for the old Canterbury Theatre (which burned down last summer) is smaller, and faces in the opposite direction. Some merchants did not return, but there were new faces, such as The Slashed Shoe and Kelly's Lace Crafting to take their places.
Gibbon the Troubadour announced that this would be his last faire; he's going to quit the faire circuit to concentrate on other ventures, including spending more time with his family. And Ron Bolden, who has been the Artistic Director at Scarborough for the past umpteen years, announced that he is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Many old friends did make it back. Kate and Roy Cox are back with the Free Lancers of the Cimmerian Combatives Company. Peter Andres and Chris Chapman (the glass blowers) are back. That's their daughter, Jenna in the picture. The Flaming Idiots are here, as well as Don Juan and Miguel.
Life is never static. Change is neither good nor ill, it is what we make it. With that in mind, join me as I visit Scarborough Faire!
Remember, clicking on the small picture or icon will get you the full-sized image.
The Tartan Terrors
from Canada, Scotland, eh, made their first trip to Texas this year.
With
The Rogues of Scotland
providing the music, the Terrors danced their way into the
memories, if not the hearts, of Scarborough patrons.
But they left many questions unanswered.
Are Ian and Angus regimental?
What color is Angus' hair?
If I were not a dancer, what would I be?
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Speaking of
Bryan
(well I was speaking of the Rogues and he is one),
did you know that he was voted the
#1 Sexiest Man in Texas (1998)
by the readers of
Texas Woman Magazine?
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Another one of the new acts at Scarborough this year was
Hey Nunnie Nunnie.
These are not your average, everyday nuns.
These are
singing nuns.
Besides singing, they also tell stories and
interact with patrons in a way that is simply
heavenly.
I sure hope they come back next year!
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Two of my best friends at Scarborough are
Kyle and Marita Beth.
Kyle looks really sharp in this costume, but
I think I prefer him in his kilt.
I guess I just like men in kilts.
Marita Beth is the manager for
Pendragon Costumes
and is a very talented seamstress.
She designed the costumes (well, not Kyle's doublet,
that's a Pendragon) that she and Kyle are wearing
in this picture.
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Part of the fun of Faire is making new friends.
Meet one of my new friends,
Yolanda Lea Pears.
Yolanda's home faire is
KCRF
(Kansas City Renaissance Festival)
where she is known as
the egg lady.
Yolanda is the owner of
Royal Eggs.
She makes goblets (and other items) out of
ostrich and emu eggs.
She's holding one of her creations in the picture.
In fact, that particular goblet is several years
old and has traveled with Yolanda to different faires.
When you visit KCRF, be sure to look for Yolanda's booth!
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Families in costume are one of the best parts of any faire.
Here are a
Mother and Daughter
in identical dresses.
A young girl in this type of dress would definately have been
nobility, if not royalty.
I wish that I'd had a dress like this when I was a child.
(Well, honestly, maybe not. I was more into baseball,
horses and other tomboy-ish pursuits.)
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Despite the hectic pace of the festivities, the King still has
time to do a little shopping.
While the Queen was getting a new hair trinket, King Henry browsed
the wares at Dragon Wings.
Debra has feathered hair trinkets and marvelous
Pooch and Puss in Boots
marionettes.
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King Henry was more interested in the artistry of
Ward Grossman of the
Lady of the Lake Forge.
Ward, who is a friend of Scarborough's blacksmith,
Bill Epps,
was a visiting artist this year.
He is an Eisenhower sculpter, which means that he actually
carves metal as well as using more traditional smithing methods.
The sword that King Henry is holding is part of a piece titled
Deliverance
that took Ward 4 years to create!
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Scarborough has many other fine sword smiths, including
Lance
of
SaferSwords.
These are perfect for kids!
They can bop each other, or mom and dad, and no one
gets hurt.
I got a bright orange one for
Murphy the Water Dog.
He loves it!
I throw it in the water (SaferSwords float) and he retrieves it.
The only thing he can't do with it is figure out how to get it
in his doghouse.
He insists on holding it in the middle and the sword is just
too long to fit through the doghouse door when held that way.
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There always seems to be song somewhere on the air at Scarborough. The Madrigals of Scarborough perform period songs. Meanwhile, over at the Golden Drake, the singing pirates of Scarborough, The Corsairs, entertain with shanties and rousing drinking songs. |
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If you want to send a rose to someone,
Snowflake
has them!
Red roses, yellow roses, pink and white!
I particularly liked the lavender roses ...
I still have one in the glass cabinet in my dining room!
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The Free Lancers of the Cimmerian Combatives
were back again this year with jousting and other forms of armed combat.
Kate, Roy, Bill, John and Rob were joined by Ripper (who made his debut last year
at the end of Scarborough) and Dean (who made his debut this year).
Barchan and the crew from Maryland were also here for the Gath of Baal
Tournament on Memorial Day Weekend.
This year King Henry also took an active part in the joust, acting as the Marshall of the Lists. |
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| To find out more about the Free Lancers, visit their home page at http://www.faire.net/freelancers. | ||
20 July 1998
