This was an especially fun year at the Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair, perhaps because we spent more money than usual….
First, they lure you in with free samples of everything: mead, jam, syrup, vodka, rum… Once you’ve been sufficiently liquored for free, which is basically the best part of this small fair, you’ll be much more likely to spend money. We bought ourselves kombucha (good for the tummy), samosas (delicious and heavy on the vegetables), and spices from Auntie Arwen’s, of which we own too many.
Our under-dressed friend bought himself a comfortable linen wardrobe, while another friend bought a bottle of mead an a hand-carved wooden spoon. In all honesty, the vendors were so entertaining this year that we only caught one performance/demonstration of armored combat. We make it a point to try and watch anytime people are going to hit each other as hard as they can, otherwise, we may not have taken a break to see any entertainment!
Our costumes consisted of many purchased pieces with a few home-made things thrown in the mix. Notably, my new Celtic harem pants made their public debut. I love the way they make my knees look hyper-extended, which is the exact opposite of what they do in real life. My naturally straight knees always look bent, much to the chagrin of every dance instructor I’ve ever practiced with. I also made the leather pauldrons, bags, and various rags that ornament this outfit. My armor received compliments, especially the shoulder pieces, which is great because that’s what I made!!
Two more noteworthy accessories here, first, the pewter tankard on my belt. I bought it for $10 at a neighbor’s yard sale, and all she knew about the piece was, “that’s real.” When investigating how to clean pewter I discovered that lots of old pewter contains lead. Drat. I want to drink out of it, but I don’t want lead poisoning. So I went on a long and intensive search through all the dingy pewter forums of the internet. Looking over scanned books of pewter hallmarks from the past 3 centuries trying to track down the manufacturer and year. I discovered, and confirmed by email, that my tankard was made by A.E. Williams, who has been in business since 1779 in Bristol England. Cool. The current Williams at Williams reported that this piece was in fact made by his own grandfather around 1920 and was guaranteed lead free!! Huzzah! I am honestly surprised because the dark tarnish on the piece suggests lead (which I learned during my hours researching pewter). But I am now very excited to further polish my tankard and drink from it with confidence at my next fair. I didn’t receive the good news until the Monday after this festival.
The second noteworthy accessory is Jake’s high-carbon Silversmith sword. A fully-functional, live edge blade, it’s this weapon’s first time at a fair, but surely it will not be the last. Here he is “floating” on our box of spices. It has little to do with the sword, but you get a good look at it from this angle I suppose.
