Don't Take Me Seriously - Book - Page 56
ESCAPE Weekly
Ale
Continued from page 13
And then the queen rides by on her
own “power scooter” — a chair held up by
several bearers. There’s no battery to charge,
but you have to feed ’em and ale ’em.
You figure it’s time for some feasting
yourself, and you wolf down a meat and
mushroom pie where the ducks cruise back
and forth, hoping you’ll catch their hints.
You ignore them. Your little pie cost $6.50
and you’ll eat every crumb.
An ale stand seems to pop up around
every corner, and you buckle down to your
job. In this way most of the rest of the
afternoon passes in a pleasant haze. When
you find yourself ale-dialing your daughters
so they can listen to the dulcimer music
over your cell phone, you figure it’s time to
switch to water — or find a friend, or both.
Another contrast presents itself. On one
hand, you have three burly guardsmen
dressed in ominous black and leather and
capes and swords. You can tell you shouldn’t
cross these guys. Then, moments later,
another trio appears. These svelte fellows are
dressed in stylish pastels, shirts open at the
chest, with ribbon-like streamers hanging
where their swords ought to be.
“Fabulous,” you think, but you wonder if
they could have safely pulled off the look in
Elizabeth’s time.
Well, maybe with some cleavage.
You told yourself at the beginning of the
day that there would be no agenda. You
April 10 - April 16, 2009 – 17
passed on the jousting this year because
you practically have it memorized. And
you’ve only caught parts of several shows,
as you didn’t want to be constrained by
a schedule. You think that, maybe, you’ll
come back next weekend and focus on
shows, leaving the ale out.
But you know better than that. Ale just
helps it all make sense.
On your wander toward the front
gate, you’re attention is drawn by Owain
Phyfe playing guitar and singing Spanish
love songs, backed by a Renaissance
fiddle and drums.
The guy is freaking good!
You plop on a hay bale and drift away
with the music. Phyfe goes through songs
in other languages, too, and he even makes
German sound romantic.
And there is an added plus. A pretty young
girl gets up and does a belly dance to every song.
You know there is no historJD
QSFDFEFOU for this, but it works at the Faire.
You’re getting sentimental again, and
when Phyfe finishes his last (Irish) song
with the line “For we may or might
never all meet here again,” you think
that might be true — and you just about
break out bawling.
It’s time for more water and a long walk.
So take some friends to the
Renaissance Pleasure Faire. They
might keep you from getting
maudlin — and you can save a
bundle on brew by sampling each
other’s drinks.
‘Fyne Drynks at the Faire’
While each ale stand at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire varies in
its oferings of ales and wines, sodas and water are always available.
Somewhere at the Faire you will ond the drinks below — and most of them
will cost you $6.50 each. If you don9t see what you want on the menu at a
particular ale stand, ask.
Mead
Stella Artois
Raspberry Mead
Miller Lite
Chocolate Port
Black Cherry Cider
Chocolate Raspberry Port
Peach Cider
Guinness
Pear Cider
Harp
Raspberry Cider
Bass
Margaritas
Newcastle
Bloody Marys
Faire
Continued from page 11
other fun activities and entertainment
for children.
New this year to the faire is RenQuest,
an effort to lure those raised on video
games into the faire fold.
In RenQuest guest participate in a live
action, real time fantasy quest. Travelers
swear fealty to a chosen faction then
begin to amass points as they journey
through the village as they participate
in various hunts and riddles.
I particularly enjoy the Maypole
dance offered up at 11 a.m. each day.
Female dancers weave an intricate
design with their ribbons as they circle
about the maypole. Guests are invited
to participate and pair up with an
experienced dancer as the ribbon gets
closer to the bottom of the pole.
A trip to the faire is not complete
without a sighting of Queen Elizabeth
I. She can usually be spotted at the
Michele E. Buttelman / The Signal
All manner of real and mythical creatures inhabit the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.
Queen’s Joust (2 p.m.) at the jousting
arena and at the new Queen’s Show (3
p.m.) on the Maybower stage.
The faire also features special themed
See RENFAIRE, page 18
