Weekend 2 is behind us. Weekend 3 cometh.
Well, we finished Weekend 2 of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.
WEATHER WEATHERED.
Damn, it was hot. Over 90, I’m told. The heat pretty much hit us like a ton of bricks on Saturday, as I don’t think any of us actually check the weather this early in the season. We just sort of expect it to be cool and overcast. On Sunday, however, we were ready for the heat: extra water and Gatorade, lost the doublets and jerkins when we were able.
We got to sing for two special functions this weekend:
DUELING MADRIGALS
At 1:00 pm on Saturday, the Boggards, along with the Merry Wives, Commedia Volante, the nobles, and a few others, traded madrigals before Her Majesty with a group of high school students from Pasadena who also sing madrigals.
I risked being late to our 1:30 pm show, because I really wanted to hear how they sounded. When you’re a middle-aged madrigal geek, you wax nostalgic about those early, formative years as a choir nerd. And more importantly, I wanted to encourage them (with applause) to continue pursuing what for me is a very rewarding hobby.
They performed Fa una Canzona by Orazio Vecchi. Sang that song in High School, myself. They sounded great. Probably try to steal a few of them once they turn 21 and fatten up a little.
THE FAIRE’S AIDS QUILT PANEL
On a much more somber note, the Wives joined us in singing “The Parting Glass” to commemorate the unveiling of the Pleasure Faire’s contribution to the AIDS Quilt. Can’t find a picture of it on the net, otherwise I’d post it here. It depicts the Faire’s Sun-with-a-face logo, but her eyes are closed. The names of Faire participants who’ve fallen to AIDS border the outside edge.
It was a brief, poignant moment in a day full of screaming dirty songs, and we were honored to be a part of it.
WEEKEND THREE IS COMING
The weather forecast is looking a lot milder for this coming weekend — current predictions show high 60s. We’re missing someone this weekend. Don’t remember who, but I’m sure someone’s going to cover his solos.
Sometime around 3:00pm every day, we’ve been wandering around faire, looking for places to sing. We refer to these times as our Drunk & Stupid Tours. About half of the time, we end up at St. Ives. We tried to go the back of Faire two weeks ago, but everyone seemed so terribly busy, so we found an empty booth near Rogues’ Reefe and took it over.
We can’t reliably predict where we’ll end up on our Drunk & Stupid Tours, but we’ll be around.
Hope to see you all out there. Remember our show times:
Rogues Reefe:
11:00am
1:30pm
4:00pm
Drunk & Stupid Tour:
location randomly selected
3:00pm
Royal Music Stage:
5:00pm