I was blessed to grow up about an hour away from a rather well run Renaissance Faire. Sterling was a wonderful place. Wooded. Top notch entertainment. Wonderful vendors. Then it was sold to a slumlord.
We figured out early on that if you make eye contact with the actors, they'll play with you.
So here we are, in high school. I'm at Sterling with 2 of my friends and my brother. Early in the day, we catch the eye of the "Barbary Pirate." he pulls us aside and asks us to help with with his plan.
"You bring the knife," he says to me.
"You bring the gun," he says to friend number 1.
"You bring the sword," he says to friend number 2.
"You bring..." he started, and my brother interrupted. "The mace and chain? The canon?"
"No!" He laughed. "The tablecloth to hide the body! Lace please. With a candy dish to do in the middle!"
He gave us a signal to use when we saw each other. Thumb on the nose, wiggle the fingers and say "oggie boogie."
You know, we saw each other all day and gave the the signal. it was the best day! In the years since I've been a "playtron" and then working for a vendor. In the years since, we've moved to an area that sadly doesn't have a renaissance faire within an easy drive and that makes me sad. I miss it.
Once the pandemic is over I need to make a point to take some weekend trips to some regional faires. Pennsylvania and Carolina maybe?
Would would like to come with me?
