... you open up your email and one of the messages is titled "Trebuchet For Sale"

Pam Silver, beloved entertainment director of the late '90s, crossed the veil on Saturday.

In an era when management changed every year or two, Pam was pure gold. I always had the sense that she was in my corner - in the corner of every entertainer, really. She was one of us, not just the Lady In Charge. I'll miss seeing her in the lanes.

Gentle journeys to you, Pam. You're missed already.

It's Friday, and I'm not packing for Fest.

There's something wrong with this picture....

The Awesome of Saturday:



- Peasant Plague Pile. Basically: peasants, in a pile, pretending they have the plague, and bunches of people coming by to mess with them. It sort of accidentally turned into a zombie army, but that was fun too.

- Getting to do a bit of baby-wrangling for Corwin and Dee during one of their shows. Yay happy toddling Brustlet. We had fun looking at apples and babies and dogs.

- Feather Fan Lady. There's a shop that sells feather fans - she'd said last week she'd look to see if she had any of the brown-tipped white feathers for me. She didn't find any, but said to stop back on first weekend next year, as she'd keep her eyes open as she was making her stock, and if she found any really good fluffy ones she'd put them aside for me.

- Vilification. BJ and Chrysto are apparently running for office in '08 - endorsed by Your Mom. They have buttons. I now have one. Yay for random cool Fest bling. (Trinket went toddling over to him and made her fingers in a button-size-shape and babbled something plaintive, whereupon he passed one over... and she gave him a huge hug and kissed his shoulder like twelve times before bouncing off.) Oh - and I got to help hold the banner. Trinket kept trying to hide behind the pole for the really bad insults. It didn't work.

- Coffee. Having a joe backstage under the oaks is just cool.

- Shakin' it for the parade. I went for the dancing, and as there wasn't much of anyone to pull up, Trinket was bored. She likes the part where you get to shimmy for the ENTIRE DAMN PARADE, though.

- The weather. It was absolutely perfect out. The only down side to that is that somehow it seemed to make the impending end more poigniant - and I was very acutely aware that I had no idea how I'd be able to deal with going to work on Monday, knowing there wouldn't be this awesome world waiting for me at the end of the week. Like, the sort of reaction you'd get from somebody who's terrified of heights being forced to make an emergency jump out of a plane with no promise that the parachute is gonna actually open.

- Queen's Pub Jam - I picked a comfy rock and tucked my knees up under my chin to soak in the music, which was awesome as always. Big hugs to the troll for poking around the corner to see if I was okay.

- Cast Party. For the first time in forever we weren't hopping puddles. Food was a tiny little thing of nachos and a slice of lemon cake - and the guy behind the counter trying to guilt people into putting a tip in his jar because he was working while we all had fun. Call me old-fashioned, but that narked me off. (And dude - he wasn't doing it THAT LONG - the party was still raging when the food booth was empty) Apparently not even Cast Party food is freely given anymore. You know what? There used to be four booths' counters - AT LEAST - filled with the leftovers from all the CKC booths, and as I recall there wasn't anyone serving. You just went and got some. I'm jut sayin'.

- Awards Ceremony. Always cool to see people get a moment of joy. Especially the Unicorn folks.



The Awesome of Sunday:



I GOT MY FEATHER BACK!!!!

I was making my rounds in the morning, making sure I got to give folks last hugs before I got all distracted and time got away from me. One of these stops is, of course, Como Cottage (not that Trinket wouldn't be scampering by several more times to pet the snakes). Rick asked me to hold his mug for a moment so he could grab something from inside. So, sure - I figured he just had to grab some turtle food or something.

He came out holding my plume.

Apparently the tortoise handlers had found it, and when they made it back to Como, Rick recognized it. I spent the rest of the morning doing the happy-got-my-plume-back dance.

Yes, dance. Jiving all over the streets, as I have discovered that Trinket really doesn't need music in order to dance... although she really likes bagpipes, which were following the peasants in the parade (Trinket danced the ENTIRE PARADE)... and Drunk & Disorderly's version of "Gin & Juice" which had her rockin' out on that hill by the Mead Booth.

Yeah. I put on the grey/black outfit Sunday hoping it'd slow her down so I'd be able to get out of bed on Monday.

That didn't work AT ALL.

I give up. All my garb are belong to Trinket.

(yay overused geek reference.)

Other highlights of the day:

- Mist on the drive in. Great, rolling clouds of it.

- Swing Low. I should note this as a high point every day, perhaps, but it's one of those beautiful little things you just start taking for granted.

- Hugs. Billions of hugs. Last day is completely made of hugs.

- Drunk & Disorderly's last show, which filled Mac's Pub with transcendent harmonies

- Two Children Left Behind. Three words: Erotic Mad-Libs Hamlet. Plus, you can't argue with comedy that ends in death... and Flying Spaghetti Monster jokes (complete with some random uncooked spaghetti that came flying over the wall from backstage - yay for last day when everybody starts messing with each others' shows). Now that I finally caught one of their shows this year, I'm even more pissed I didn't watch the clock closer so I could hit all the other ones.

- Playing on the streets with Purple Gypsy. And getting a taste of Egyptian mead. (mmmmyum - Trinket likes mead, gods help me)

- My wooden duck. Purple Gypsy asked what sort of random stuff Trinket was accumulating for her rear, and ended up suggesting rubber ducks. I said I was trying to keep it a bit more period - and so she gave Trinket a wooden duck. I'm going to have to devise a harness-type thing for it to hang from my belt (it's a little too heavy for the netting of the skirt), as Trinket was horrified at the concept of just tying a piece of string around its neck and letting it dangle.

- Privy Revels. The standard "Five Constipated Men" complete with privy door percussion. I played in a privy - my year is complete. (There were plans for a privy pack later in the day - but I never made connections *sigh*)

- Privy Run. I actually saw someone execute one of these for the first time in probably a decade. Or more. The middle-aged woman who was the run's victim looked like she was having the time of her life.

- Run-by musicianing for peasant country dance. Note to self: next time, find out if they have a set stopping place, or if they'll just keep going until you quit playing. Oops.

- Unicorn favor. I know some faires are big on passing out favors as tokens of appreciation, but ours isn't generally one of them. I just played for the unicorn party because I thought it was fun, and I wasn't busy - so this was unexpected and extra cool. It's too nice to go on Trinket's butt, though, and I fear for it on my bodice or vest strap (I've lost too many nice pins to my recorder sling and shoulder-bag).... hat, maybe?

- Post-parade show. Erin's been "stealing" people's stuff all year, and apparently someone arranged it with the king that some Royal Justice would be meted out, and Erin would be forced to carry everything she'd stolen for the rest of the day. This is especially funny, as right before Parade she made off with the Royal Navy's boat... which is a boat without a bottom, and with rope shoulder straps, and I think it takes at least two (preferably three) people to carry it comfortably. Those who knew what was coming were laughing around corners, and it made the comment I heard behind her of "Sofia, are you're sure you've thought this through?" even funnier. Yet again, however, Erin completely stole the show. I don't think anyone expected her to have a list of everything she'd swiped. (Good god, that woman's been busy) The king did have to modify the decree so that the queen got her crown back, or it would've spent the rest of the day in the wagon-basket. And with a true step of flair, she ordered several peasants to carry the boat and the wagon for her. I felt like I should grovel at her feet for her sheer awesomeness... except, since she's Villain of the Year, I should probably be doing that anyway.

- Vilification Tennis. Final Vil is always utterly unpredictable and terribly funny - but I think this had to be one of the better ones. Holy crap was Antonia on top of her game - that off-the-cuff stuff just about made me fall off the trash bag frame I'd claimed as a perch so I could see over the throngs. Also funny: Hayrold and Chrysto coming up in suits and tailoring things a bit to make it like they were political candidates... including Chrysto kissing a baby. (As it was his baby, however, I'm not sure it counts.) Of course, they had bodyguards... Angus with his claymore, and Taffy in full M.P. gear. (Or, if it wasn't FULL gear, it was still damn impressive) Funniest part was when the flipped peasant landed heads and Pog mo Thoin had called tails - and Taffy went over and looked menacing, whereupon he threw himself on his face.

- Assisting two lovely grey-haired women in their quest for bean. I ran into them around nine in the morning over by what used to be the Hand Maid Sweets tower and asked if they were lost, as they had their maps out. They said they were wonderfully lost, but only had one problem - they hadn't had coffee yet and didn't know where to find it. So I escorted them to Tillie's, asking what they'd done so far, and they regaled me with the fact that they'd learned to make paper. And books. And they were going to make books and fill them with wise sayings and complete drivel. They figured the drivel would be fairly easy, but they might have to ask around for wisdom. They were sad that Tillie's only served in paperboard, but I think by the end of our conversation I had them convinced to find a good pottery mug somewhere in the village and use that, as there was such a beautiful diversity about. I rather hoped I'd run into them again, but never did. I hope they had a fantastic day - they seemed like they were all set for it.

- Pipes and drums jam over at the drum shop where the BLT used to be. Trinket REALLY likes bagpipes, and damn they're cool with a good tribal beat.

- Running across Aragorn. I didn't play with him - and in fact haven't had the chance to see him much at all, but he's one of those folks who when you see him walking down the lane you know unmistakably who he is... and you BELIEVE. It's like he carries his own bubble of reality with him. Always a pleasure, even in passing.

- Closing Gate show. Improv chaos at its finest... my one regret was that I couldn't hear the Dregs rewrite of "End of the World (Fest) As We Know It" - only one line from the song "YOU CAN'T SAVE FITZ!" wafted back, but I'm betting the rest was hysterical.

- The Final Festivities. Drum Jam descending, Master Shakespeare, the Royals - "Health to the Company" and "Parting Glass" and the tolling of the bell and a beautiful half-clouded sky. I only wubbed a little... until the queen started singing a song that's new to the liturgy of Festival's ending. Not sure what the title was, but the refrain was "Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again." (I'm a bad Pagan - this might be something terribly common, but I never go to group things...) THEN I lost it.

I stalled leaving. A freaking lot.

Gathered hugs from folks still milling in the Front Gate area, chatted with Barb under an oak in the Stocks lane, and then finally I wandered toward the car.

Oh. Hey. Lights in the Queen's Tea tent. Of course I had to swing by to see if there was anyone to hug... only to find that there were a LOT of people to hug... Gretchen & a couple others from the serving group, plus a whole passel of Brusts: Corwin and Dee and the kids, and Steve, who was in town today. And there were instruments. And Steve knows the funniest songs on the planet, so of course I had to stick around a bit... especially since apparently other people would be coming and bringing THEIR instruments....

When I finally wandered for my car, it was with music from the tent wafting after me. It started raining as I got to the parking lot, and was coming down at a good clip by the time I hit the highway.



Mist in. Rain out. And knowing there were people dry and full of music, playing in an oasis of light amidst the darkness and packing-up of the rest of Fest.

Best. Year. Ever.

So - a really mixed weekend. The good parts were really awesome, and the bad stuff sucked rocks. Which is why it's taken me so long to post, because I really wanted to avoid turning this into a whiney rant.

The bad stuff first, as I want to end on a good note.



- Getting ambushed at Front Gate by someone I'd sincerely hoped to never see again. Ever. (Thankfully I didn't run into her a second time.)

- Getting stood up by various people. Again.

- Obnoxiously drunk people.

- My hat broke. And, worse, my feather disappeared. This really, really torques me off, as it was the finest of all feathers - a prime example of a plume, white, with brown on the edges and a bit of a curved sway at the tip. I noticed almost immediately, and tracked down the very small area in which it disappeared (between Como Cottage and the coffee booth) - but someone had already snagged it. I was less than impressed at the treatment I received when I went to the shop to remedy the entire situation. The lady tried to sell me a mangey-looking feather with the floof all gone from the tip... and tried to convince me to buy an expensive hat decoration... and then told me to disassemble my hat when I got home, borrow some glue from my dad, and put it in the screw so I wouldn't have to bring it back for repairs again. Maybe I was just really cranky by that point, but it seemed condescending to tell me to ask my father for glue. I'm thirty years old. I have my own, thankyouverymuch. And I shouldn't have to disassemble my hat and alter it in order to make sure their workmanship doesn't continue to fall apart.

- It was WAY hotter than it should be this late in September... and a headache came to join the party. Boo.



But! The good things:



- My 15 year Service award. One of the pleasures in life is to have folks cheer that you've been around an extended period of time. It's like a birthday, only you've had to work for it. (Although somebody miscalculated, so my start year on my certificate is listed as '93 instead of '94. All the 15-years were like that; not sure about any other group. Don't know why they didn't just look at the forms we had to turn in. They are not, of course, being reprinted.)

- The group of folks in front of Bad Manor's steps - one was trying to take the picture of the other two, so Trinket shooshed her up to join her friends and took the picture for her. She gave Trinekt a huge hug after we were done and wished her/me/us a joyous day.

- People with maps out. They're always so grateful to have someone tell them where to go.

- The Secret Garden - it seems that the realty crisis has hit the fairy housing district. There were little "condemned" signs on most of the houses, along with tiny yellow eviction notices that were, it would seem, recipes for sugar plums if you read the fine print. Best, though, were the little "Fairy Mac Realty" signs - "#1 in A Sales - #2 In A Box"... I took several friends through there, and went down a couple times on my own as well because it was just fun to hear the patrons giggling over them.

- The Investiture Ceremony for the Order of the Garter. Not that I know anyone involved, or how the recipient is selected, or any of that - but many I respect have the garter, and I imagine it must be a great honor to have it bestowed. So I like to show up and cheer anyhow.

- The joke Carr cracked at Cast Call about having Gary Parker write a new song for opening gate. He did a little sing, consisting of only two words: "Hello, hello" - and you could look around the audience and see EXACTLY who had gone through Parker's Academy, and who had not. They were the opening words to this little jingle-song we all had to learn (with choreography) on the first day. It was like those Sesame Street songs that twenty years later, you still remember all the words... (and just thinking those few opening notes, I remember the the hardwood floors and the tall windows and sweltering July heat/humidity of the old McAlastair Student Union - and the elation of knowing I'd been Chosen and was in training to be a Real Rennie, like my friends)

- Vilification Tennis. Nothing particular jumps out at me, but it doesn't need to. Good times.

- Salsa proposing to Raederle at Cast Call. YAY! I love Cast Call proposals. Especially when they're people I know and like a lot.

- The peasants claiming the condemned Hall of Masters as "Peasant Hedkorterz" with "P.U. #2" on another sign.

- The young man who stopped me in the street to thank me for my years of service. Apparently he was trying to find all the people he could recognize from the ceremony to say congratulations and thanks. I asked how long it would be before I would be doing the same for him - he said it depended on how you counted things. Apparently he thought only being contracted counted. I explained that participation was in any field, not just the ones labeled entertainers. (I do think it's sad that so many people hold the belief that the contracted entertainers are the only "real" rennies, aside from the crafters. It takes EVERYBODY to make this show run.)

- Talent Show. Despite my unfortunate part of it (I really do need to get better at reading my own stuff), I enjoyed the other acts.

- Wandering about with Elizabeth - and spinach pie under a tree.

- Wandering about with Mattsiah and Gretta.

- Getting to see Leah! My gods her son Rowan has gotten big! He's six now. Wow. It really has been that long. She seems happy with life, which is awesome.

- Getting to see Tom! Again, person with kids that keep getting older and cuter at the same time!

- Katrina joining the brave... er... foolish... er... ILLUSTRIOUS! Yes! Illustrious editorial team!

- Hearing Ken Larson play. The things that man can do with a bodhran....

- Morning sing. I know some people hate it - but again, that Muppet hand thing just makes it all worthwhile. I keep hoping a shot of it will hit YouTube, but not so far. Ah well.



So - yes. Mostly good. Vastly good, in fact! And this next weekend will be even better yet! (Last one - have to make it count!!)