Dandelion Festival
Dandelion Festival was May 15. It was my second year attending. Given the amount of fun I had both last year (with Marian of Heatherdale and Marihannah) and this year, I have clearly erred by not having made it a priority to go for all those years. This year Piers and Rose of Avalon came too.
I wore Viking garb in honour of our Viking King and Queen and so that I would look right while telling a Viking tale at feast. The exception was my feet. I ended up wearing my suede desert boots because it turns out that my Viking shoes need new toggles/fasteners. (Note to self - fix this before you forget and discover it the next time you plan to wear Viking.) Piers joked that Viking was good for me since with 2 layers of wool, I would finally not be cold at room temperature. I think he was right.
Dandelion was above all a day of wonderful surprises.
The first surprise was that there was archery. Had we known, we could have brought our equipment. Edhan set up a small area for people to practise. Piers shot once with Edhan’s 35 pound bow and I shot twice with his 25 pound one. Marina got to do archery as well, and apparently she had a much long gap since the last time she shot. Mine is measured in month and hers is apparently measured in years.
Marina was the second surprise. I hadn’t asked around to figure out who was going and who wasn’t. It is always wonderful to sit and talk with her. Ironically, we hadn’t got together since Coronation.
In addition to Marina, I got to talk with Baroness Rozalynd who is a fitness inspiration as well as a costuming one. Siglinde is doing a triathalon, which makes me feel silly about dithering about whether or not I can handle an 8K run. I got to meet Lynn from Caldrithg, for whom this was her first event. She only brought her 10 year old son, not realizing that her 5 and 7 year old daughters would have had plenty of little girls to play with. I found out that Melissa’s mom’s name is Elspeth. I got to meet Marina the scribe (otherwise known as “the other Marina”). It was her 2nd or 3rd event, but she is already doing scrolls. Piers enjoyed spending time with her.
Rose of Avalon spent the day running around, playing with younger kids, and annoying Alanna and Seraphina. Grainne was off at Brownie camp, so they became the substitute big sister to annoy. I may have to pay a visit to Ye Olde Shoppe where things cost a dollar to buy some of those over the ankle skipping things. She would not leave the ones the twins owned alone. No doubt Grainne would like one too. On the whole, Rose was well behaved. She was in a purple plaid peplos dress that was too short. I don’t have garb that fits a 4 ½ year old because when her sister was that age, I didn’t take her to events due to her beavhior. My children’s garb seems to jump from 3 to 6. I got plenty of hugs from Alanna during the day. I’m not sure what exactly I did to deserve it.
The third surprise was court. Best court ever! No one loves a puppet more than I, so I thought the sock puppet king and queen were the greatest thing ever. And I recognized their costumes as their Coronation garb. Best court moments: Quilliam yelling “Don’t look!” when the puppets were taken from Louis and Lucia's friend and their clothes fell off; Quilliam yelling out “What Happens in Skrael, stays in Skrael”; puppet Quilliam wanting a SSDFC badge; and puppet Quilliam yelling in his high pitched puppet voice “You’ve been demoted” when the herald addressed them as “Your Excellencies”.
Other court moments included Eleanor getting her AoA, the presentation of the bedwarmers, and Gudrun passing the job of seneschal to Duncan. I had not even realized that Duncan lived in Tor Brant since I see him at Caldrithig events so often. Gudrun also got a beautiful scroll for her years of service in the barony.
Feast was good. The food was average; however, the company of Helen and Constance was above average. Helen bought a bottle of wine and offered me some, which I didn’t allow myself to touch until I had performed. Feast entertainment began with one of the founding members of the canton, Anastasia, speaking about it. The theme of the event was the 20th anniversary of the canton. The Choir performed and they had a new piece - an original composition for the Baroness.
I told the story of Sigmund. I included a section on his twin, Signy, a strong Viking woman who agreed with repaying oath taking with vengeance (any resemblance to anyone at head table is purely that of a bard seeking to please her queen), and a section on Helgi, son of Sigmund who at 15 commanded forces, killed a king and took his kingdom, thus becoming king in his own right while still a teenager (any resemblance to anyone at head table is purely that of a bard seeking to please her king). I had written out a tiny cheat sheet in case I lost my place, but it worked out that I didn’t need to refer to it. Piers said I was the highlight of his event. He hasn't seen me perform in a while.
I had told the story of Oisín and Niamh at a talent show in February. It was well received and I re-learned the power of a medieval tale told with no gimmicks. I love puppets and I love working with children, but I don’t want people thinking that is all I’m capable of. It is ironic that the event at which I decided to tell an authentic medieval story with no puppets was this one and for a royal couple who might have appreciated the finger puppets. Still, I regret nothing. I might have to do someone with finger puppets at an event towards the end of their reign. I wonder if they let adults perform at the children’s event in August?
I wore Viking garb in honour of our Viking King and Queen and so that I would look right while telling a Viking tale at feast. The exception was my feet. I ended up wearing my suede desert boots because it turns out that my Viking shoes need new toggles/fasteners. (Note to self - fix this before you forget and discover it the next time you plan to wear Viking.) Piers joked that Viking was good for me since with 2 layers of wool, I would finally not be cold at room temperature. I think he was right.
Dandelion was above all a day of wonderful surprises.
The first surprise was that there was archery. Had we known, we could have brought our equipment. Edhan set up a small area for people to practise. Piers shot once with Edhan’s 35 pound bow and I shot twice with his 25 pound one. Marina got to do archery as well, and apparently she had a much long gap since the last time she shot. Mine is measured in month and hers is apparently measured in years.
Marina was the second surprise. I hadn’t asked around to figure out who was going and who wasn’t. It is always wonderful to sit and talk with her. Ironically, we hadn’t got together since Coronation.
In addition to Marina, I got to talk with Baroness Rozalynd who is a fitness inspiration as well as a costuming one. Siglinde is doing a triathalon, which makes me feel silly about dithering about whether or not I can handle an 8K run. I got to meet Lynn from Caldrithg, for whom this was her first event. She only brought her 10 year old son, not realizing that her 5 and 7 year old daughters would have had plenty of little girls to play with. I found out that Melissa’s mom’s name is Elspeth. I got to meet Marina the scribe (otherwise known as “the other Marina”). It was her 2nd or 3rd event, but she is already doing scrolls. Piers enjoyed spending time with her.
Rose of Avalon spent the day running around, playing with younger kids, and annoying Alanna and Seraphina. Grainne was off at Brownie camp, so they became the substitute big sister to annoy. I may have to pay a visit to Ye Olde Shoppe where things cost a dollar to buy some of those over the ankle skipping things. She would not leave the ones the twins owned alone. No doubt Grainne would like one too. On the whole, Rose was well behaved. She was in a purple plaid peplos dress that was too short. I don’t have garb that fits a 4 ½ year old because when her sister was that age, I didn’t take her to events due to her beavhior. My children’s garb seems to jump from 3 to 6. I got plenty of hugs from Alanna during the day. I’m not sure what exactly I did to deserve it.
The third surprise was court. Best court ever! No one loves a puppet more than I, so I thought the sock puppet king and queen were the greatest thing ever. And I recognized their costumes as their Coronation garb. Best court moments: Quilliam yelling “Don’t look!” when the puppets were taken from Louis and Lucia's friend and their clothes fell off; Quilliam yelling out “What Happens in Skrael, stays in Skrael”; puppet Quilliam wanting a SSDFC badge; and puppet Quilliam yelling in his high pitched puppet voice “You’ve been demoted” when the herald addressed them as “Your Excellencies”.
Other court moments included Eleanor getting her AoA, the presentation of the bedwarmers, and Gudrun passing the job of seneschal to Duncan. I had not even realized that Duncan lived in Tor Brant since I see him at Caldrithig events so often. Gudrun also got a beautiful scroll for her years of service in the barony.
Feast was good. The food was average; however, the company of Helen and Constance was above average. Helen bought a bottle of wine and offered me some, which I didn’t allow myself to touch until I had performed. Feast entertainment began with one of the founding members of the canton, Anastasia, speaking about it. The theme of the event was the 20th anniversary of the canton. The Choir performed and they had a new piece - an original composition for the Baroness.
I told the story of Sigmund. I included a section on his twin, Signy, a strong Viking woman who agreed with repaying oath taking with vengeance (any resemblance to anyone at head table is purely that of a bard seeking to please her queen), and a section on Helgi, son of Sigmund who at 15 commanded forces, killed a king and took his kingdom, thus becoming king in his own right while still a teenager (any resemblance to anyone at head table is purely that of a bard seeking to please her king). I had written out a tiny cheat sheet in case I lost my place, but it worked out that I didn’t need to refer to it. Piers said I was the highlight of his event. He hasn't seen me perform in a while.
I had told the story of Oisín and Niamh at a talent show in February. It was well received and I re-learned the power of a medieval tale told with no gimmicks. I love puppets and I love working with children, but I don’t want people thinking that is all I’m capable of. It is ironic that the event at which I decided to tell an authentic medieval story with no puppets was this one and for a royal couple who might have appreciated the finger puppets. Still, I regret nothing. I might have to do someone with finger puppets at an event towards the end of their reign. I wonder if they let adults perform at the children’s event in August?