I visited the NY Ren Faire yesterday. It was a different experience than the last time.
The most important difference is that I didn’t have any significant health problems. I arrived at about 10AM, and didn’t leave until about 7:30PM. I did not feel weak, and there were no problems with my feet when I got home. My legs ache a bit today from all the walking I did, but that just means I got some exercise. This is another bit of welcome evidence that I’m over my “health crisis” of last year.
I visited Mystics Way, which had been an important part of my life for 14 years. Once again I was welcomed, and received offers to come work there again. My old booth has been replaced by a new one that’s better than the one I had; I wish the readers who use it luck and success.
I spent too much money, buying a new candle, some garb, and CDs. One of my favorite artisans, Silvertree Designs, is retiring from the Faire; she’s the one who made the stained-glass pentacles that adorn my walls. She’ll still do private work, and I hope to keep up my purchase of one new pentacle every year.
I had a chance to see shows that I never got to see while I worked at the Faire, plus a couple of new ones. The Living Chess Game was as exciting to watch as it had been twenty years ago. I finally got to see Jayna Lee in action; up until now I only knew her from a couple of quick chats as she walked by my booth. I’d never seen Vixens En Garde before; they started at the Faire after I left.
To be honest, a couple of shows were disappointing. Most Ren Faire shows have a few pop-culture references, but “Chit-Chat” was nothing but references, parodying something (videos? TV shows?) that I’d never heard of before, not even by reputation; I didn’t understand it (or maybe I’m just too old). “Julius Caesar Undressed” was high in energy, but low in humor, consisting of one homoerotic joke after another. (Those of you who’ve worked at the Faire can guess who the star was.)
Will I be back next year, as a patron? Probably.
Will I come back to work there? If one of the readers asked me to fill in an empty slot once in a while, I might do it just to keep my reading skills sharp. Otherwise, I think that phase of my life is over.
I’m glad you had the opportunity to go. I haven’t gone this year due to work obligations, making it the first in three years I haven’t gone (I’m a n00b) If you can handle all the walking that the Faire requires (and more important, the parking lot) then that’s a great improvement in your health.
So looking at the phrase “that phase of my life is over,” how do you feel about that?
It’s a mix.
On the one hand, the Ren Faire was an important part of my life for 14 years: emotionally, socially, magically. That’s why I wrote all those posts with the tag “leaving” in my blog.
In the same hand, I haven’t quite found something that replaces the Ren Faire.
On the other hand, I’d plateaued at the Faire. I wasn’t going to move any further emotionally, socially, magically, or physically. I don’t know how, where or why I’m going to grow from this point on, but I wasn’t going to do it there.
Interesting how you have changed, grown, and become someone new.