TSF
That's Texas Scottish Fest
I spent many hours there today. Activities included visiting a Thriller at her clan tent, getting my hair braided, attending a scottish country dance workshop (the fist dance kicked my butt, I need to excercise more), visiting the clan tent again even though she was gone the second time around, eating my annual scotch egg, listening to performances by a variety of celtic musicians including Clandestine, Ed Miller,John Taylor and Brian McNeil,walking and walking and walking.
Highlights: Visiting with fiberaddict, spinning shetland wool, men in kilts, getting my hair braided, the music, more music, even more music, my friends, getting some sunshine and excercise, dancing class. I could go on and on. I went to the opening ceremony on Friday and as I approached I got misty as soon as I heard the bagpipes. Its wierd, but as soon as I hear that sound I know I have a home for the moment and I have found my people. It is a very cool feeling indeed.
Lowlights:
Vendors, an overall lack and occasional inapropriateness. One vendor was selling African pieces. Not a bad thing, but not why I shop at a celtic festival. Also there were two vacation getaway/time share companies and a gutter system vendor there. WTF? Oh, and a "green" electric company. It's one thing to have them there, in which case I can ignore them, but the fact that every time I walked by I was accosted by their sales people, having pleasant conversations interrupted and raffle forms shoved at me. I found it distasteful.
SCA didn't show up. A friend is checking up on this to find out why. Seems like a bad move for local PR to have a full page about the society printed in the program, get a tent set up for you, then not show up at all. It is not the group for my geographic area, but still, it reflects poorly on the entire society.
Sunscreen in my eyes. First it was my left, contaminated by rubbing my eyes without washing my hands after applying. An hour or so later that eye felt better and I sweated into my right eye and that got irritated. It eventually worked itself out and I don't need to have my eyes open to listen to music.
I'm planning on going back tomorrow if I didn't do too much damage to my back today.
I spent many hours there today. Activities included visiting a Thriller at her clan tent, getting my hair braided, attending a scottish country dance workshop (the fist dance kicked my butt, I need to excercise more), visiting the clan tent again even though she was gone the second time around, eating my annual scotch egg, listening to performances by a variety of celtic musicians including Clandestine, Ed Miller,John Taylor and Brian McNeil,walking and walking and walking.
Highlights: Visiting with fiberaddict, spinning shetland wool, men in kilts, getting my hair braided, the music, more music, even more music, my friends, getting some sunshine and excercise, dancing class. I could go on and on. I went to the opening ceremony on Friday and as I approached I got misty as soon as I heard the bagpipes. Its wierd, but as soon as I hear that sound I know I have a home for the moment and I have found my people. It is a very cool feeling indeed.
Lowlights:
Vendors, an overall lack and occasional inapropriateness. One vendor was selling African pieces. Not a bad thing, but not why I shop at a celtic festival. Also there were two vacation getaway/time share companies and a gutter system vendor there. WTF? Oh, and a "green" electric company. It's one thing to have them there, in which case I can ignore them, but the fact that every time I walked by I was accosted by their sales people, having pleasant conversations interrupted and raffle forms shoved at me. I found it distasteful.
SCA didn't show up. A friend is checking up on this to find out why. Seems like a bad move for local PR to have a full page about the society printed in the program, get a tent set up for you, then not show up at all. It is not the group for my geographic area, but still, it reflects poorly on the entire society.
Sunscreen in my eyes. First it was my left, contaminated by rubbing my eyes without washing my hands after applying. An hour or so later that eye felt better and I sweated into my right eye and that got irritated. It eventually worked itself out and I don't need to have my eyes open to listen to music.
I'm planning on going back tomorrow if I didn't do too much damage to my back today.