Faire’s Over

4-2-07

For another year, MedFaire’s over.

We had decent weather – even on Thursday and Friday, when it was at it’s chanciest. If a water main hadn’t broken (not once, but three times) and flooded through the south end of the Faire, the ground would have stayed mostly dry.

The north end is almost hopeless, a little bit of rain and it stays marshy for days. The whole rest of the Faire can be dry and firm ground and that one section will be a swamp, even in the drought of summer. We’ve come to expect that one portion of the Faire to be muddy and have even developed a routine for dealing with it.

Because of the unexpected water main breaks, we had standing water on a large portion of the grounds. Our crack grounds crew planted pumps and sucked the water up into nearby drainage ditches, but it was a slow process. Still, the few treacherous patches were easy enough to avoid.

The food vendors were a bit unhappy because the worst of it was directly in front of them. I didn’t notice a slow-down in food sales; the lines were incredibly long every time I looked. That’s why I always bring food out to the Faire. If I can’t get to the food vendors before 10:00 a.m., I won’t have time to wait in line. Since my shifts are usually morning shifts, I can’t get to the food vendors before 10:00 a.m.

Anyway, the crowds were huge. Lots of dogs, lots of people, lots of feet crushing the life out of the grass. With most of the vendors gone, you can see exactly where the foot traffic went. There is no “heaviest” area – it was all equally trampled. The grassy areas were the narrow strips around the tents where the tents were staked out with guy ropes, and the round spots where the trash bins were.

Some of the ground is pounded so hard it had to be tilled up before being seeded.

In spite of the mud that prevented people from driving on the grounds, we had relatively few problems. So-and-so drove their tent ropes into such-and-such’s space was a biggie. Another large problem were the people who brought larger tents than the space they’d purchased. A third were the people who forgot this is Oklahoma, land of the perpetual 25 mile an hour winds, and the tents they brought were too flimsy for the wind. Technically, this isn’t our problem unless they leave the grounds and their tent blows down onto someone else’s tent, or goes blowing merrily down the street.

We moved a few tents because of the water main flooding. Some were rather interesting to move, seeing as they were tents provided by the tent catering company and were composed of heavy metal tent poles bolted to the ground and solid. One such tent took 9 strong men to lift and carry it down the aisles to its new site. We recruited Rufus the Rude and other big and strong street performers to carry it, so they naturally hanned it up, singing work songs as they hauled this huge and heavy tent along to a cheering and waving crowd of other vendors who paused in their set-up to lend their verbal support and approval.

This is a fine example of why MedFaire is such a great place to be – we take care of one another.

Another is seeing the kids who grew up at MedFaire returning as volunteers and as vendors in their own right – it’s a generational family tradition now.

On a personal note, I bought Itzl a pair of fairy wings to wear. They’re blue with little blue rhinestones set into them. It took us a while to find the right pair of wing for him, too. Child sized wings were obviously far too large. Dog-sized wings were also rather large for him. We finally found the basket of doll sized wings and he had to go through the entire basket to find the pair he liked best. Once we found them, he wore them all day and was upset when I finally took them off. I’ve hidden them so he doesn’t ask to wear them again, but he went looking through his drawer of clothes and I know he was looking for his wings. They are much better than his dragon wings were, so now I have to remake his dragon suit with much better wings.

He didn’t want to wear his landsknecht clothes. Perhaps they weren’t flashy enough for him. I’ll add some fluttery ribbons and bells and maybe he’ll like it better. I may trade out the undershirt for a flashier color, too.

His pouch was such a hit at the Faire, everyone who had a small dog wanted one. The pouch only works for really small dogs, though, those under 5 pounds. Any larger, and it’s better to have a sling so the weight is borne on the shoulders and back and not the neck. The Mayan baby sling is a good choice for most small to medium sized dogs. Big dogs just need to get over it and walk – or be pulled in a cart.

I learned I not only don’t hear feed back at the stages, I can’t hear the walkie talkies. Fortunately, I don’t work the Faire Office alone, so the other person was responsible for all radio traffic. At the Info Booth, I know all the answers to the questions asked, so I never needed to ask for back-up on those shifts.

Of course, the biggest question was, “Where are the privies?”.

I started calling out to the incoming visitors, “Program guides! Maps to the nearest privies included!” and got inundated with people looking for them. Even though we have many, many port-a-potties out there – 3 clusters of 20 regular plus 4 handicapped, by 2:00 p.m. they weren’t pleasant to visit anymore.

The Bilge Pumps were unable to be at MedFaire – they’re expecting a wee pirette. Yes, I know all the Bilge Pumps are men, but they are modern piratical men who stay with their women when wee pirettes are born. In teir place, we had the Jolly Rogers from Kansas.

It was a bit of a change, because the Jolly Rogers lack the history with the vendors here that the Bilge Pumps have. Building them into the community was fun. I don’t know if they plan to return. MedFaire is large enough we could support two pirate crews, especially two as diverse as these are.

If you were at MedFaire and I missed you, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

If you didn’t visit the Faire and were in anywhere nearby, you missed a great time.

Schoolday at the Faire

Today was School Day – we had hundreds upon hundreds of students from many, many different schools.

Fridays are a bit different for the vendors – there are a lot of things we can’t allow them to display or sell because those items aren’t allowed in the schools. Knives. Swords. Boffer swords. Shields. Wooden swords. Fire strikers and tinderboxes. Incense. Candles. Pottery and glass. Things with “objectionable” artwork on them. Some types of jewelry. Some leather items. Art prints of an objectionable nature. That sort of thing. This makes the Faire somewhat bare.

We also have to deal with questions like, “Can I have that?”, “Why do you charge so much? All I have is a dollar.” “This is a school field trip. Why can’t you give us free samples?”, “Is that fire hot?” and the ever-popular, “Well, you owe it to me because I’m (fill in the blank). You want me to get you fired because you won’t give it to me?”

The answers are pretty easy, but after the 400th one, gets a bit tiring. “That costs $XX.xx.” “We charge that much because this is the Medieval Ages and things were expensive back then.” “Yes, you are on a field trip, and one of your most important lessons today is that these things are all handmade, and you pay for that quality.” “Fire burns, of course it’s hot.” and “You can’t get me fired, I work for myself.”

That last answer always stuns the kid who threatens to get whoever fired if they don’t fork over the goods for free.

Today was very humid most of the day, so everything collected moisture. My glasses kept fogging over when I was out of the wind, so I spent a lot of time in windy areas.

Towards the end of the Faire, we staffers gathered in the Faire office to chow down on “leftovers” – the food that was cooked but unsold at the end of the day, and tell one another the weird and wonderful things that happened throughout the day.

I was employed as a “secret” spy more than once, to investigate allegations of price gouging, people who were trying to pass wholesale goods as their own “handmade” items (I’m very good at spotting these things), and rounding up stray kids and re-uniting them with their groups/families. MedFaire has a reputation for never losing a single child. Considering we have in excess of 300,000 people on the grounds (vendors, volunteers, staff, performers, visitors, police…), and are located along one of the busiest streets in the area, that’s a pretty good record to have.

It was a good day, and tomorrow will be better.

It’s not School Day.

MedFaire

You probably had to be there, but it was funny at the time.

One of the vendors kept insisting he wanted a space right in the middle of the Faire. That spot just happens to be the crossroads of King’s Boulevard and Queen’s Avenue – paved roads within the park that is the home of the Faire.

He demands the “center of the Faire” every year.

This year, we gave it to him.

The howls and gnashing of teeth were unbelievable, and we let him carry on for a good 30 minutes about how he couldn’t set his tent there because there was no way to anchor it and how he couldn’t set up because cars and trucks were driving right through it before we revealed his real booth space. He was so thrilled to have it that he didn’t even notice it was the exact same spot we gave him last year.

No one set tent stakes through water mains or electrical cables this year. That in itself is worth an amazed laugh.

One of the other Faire workers commented she’d known my daughter since she was in diapers, and how old that made her feel. I commented that I’d known her since before she was in diapers. The other worker paused as she thought about it, then said, “Yep, you’re older than dirt.” We howled over that.

It’s great working with the same people for 25 – 30 years. We know one another’s habits, and preferences, and needs. We know to have sunscreen for A, and stashes of water for B, and to make a lunch run at 1:00 p.m. and to get extra burgers because C always forgets to place his order in time, and to pick up stray hammers, hatchets, and staple guns and place them under the table in the Faire Office so D, when he comes up complaining his latest tools walked away on him are right there to give him, and that E doesn’t want anyone touching the electrical cables AT ALL because that’s his job, and we know F wants to control all access to the grounds and parking spaces.

We have all the booth numbers memorized and we know to whom those booths belong and when we spot them coming in, we’ll have their packets ready for them before they ever get to the office.

They think we’re magic.

We are.

It’s the magic of long-term working together. We’re comfortable with one another. And new people, like G and H, they start fitting in very quickly because we share all our in-jokes. We even have our own versions of hazing.

Today, we needed to put some of our chekc-in sheets into sheet protectors and staple them together according to their organization (last name, business name, craft, booth number), but the only staplers we had were the heavy duty staple guns. So we told the new girl (I), that she had to figure out how to staple the pages together without stapling them to the tables. She solved it by stapling the pages into the ground, pulling them up, then bending the tines in with a pen. We cheered her on and welcomed her officially into the Faire Staff – a privileged company of fools.

One of the best things about our Faire is how helpful the vendors are towards one another. Because the grounds are soft from the rains we had earlier in the week, no one was allowed to drive on to set up their booths and had to hand carry everything in. The vendors got together, shared hand carts and dollies and helped one another haul all their things in and even to set up their tents. One vendor came in wearing a back brace from an accident the night before and his neighboring vendors got together to erect his booth and stock it for him. And new-to-our-Faire vendors, who’ve been to other Faires, are amazed at how people will wander the Faire to help one another set up – for free.

For this one weekend out of every year, we all meet together again, and we all become a community helping one another have a fun and successful Faire. Many of our vendors have been with us for the entire 31 years of the Faire. I myself have been a volunteer at the Faire for 30 years. Some of our newer volunteers grew up at the Faire helping their parents, and now they’re here on their own to help.

We are magic.

MedFaire Weather

The bulk of the weather passed north of the Faire. We got damp and windblown, but the temperature was warm enough to compensate for it. The worst will pass through in just a few hours and then it will be overcast with late afternoon dampness (but more likely late evening dampness) and the rest of the weekend will be mostly sunny and 70’s.

I have had several people ask about Itzl’s carry pouch and am making several tonight while the Scottish Eggs and the roast bake in the oven.

Tomorrow is School Day – every school that can get here (and wants to) will be here, and we will be spending all our time telling the kids they can’t buy this or that because they aren’t allowed to have them on school property. If they argue with us, we make them bring a teacher over to settle it.

It makes an otherwise pleasant day somewhat stressful, but we deal and they deal.

Saturday and Sunday are the fun days, and if there’s a day you’re going to pick to go to the Faire, Sunday morning is the best time – the crowds are less the merchants are eager and friendly and the performers are thrilled that it’s almost over and tend to get a bit slap-happy. Some of the best extemporaneous performances happen Sunday morning.

Home

I’m home now to do personal stuff for MedFaire.

Well, OK, not personal as in for me, but personal as in for family and friends.

I just finished a new poet’s shirt for Chantria to wear with one of her Rennie outfits. I need to finish sewing the ties for a friend’s shirt sleeves. I made the shirt last year and he lost the ties. I want to finish Itzl’s houppelande, but since he already has 4 other Rennie outfits, I’m in no rush.

Then, the cooking. I need to make several dozen Scottish Eggs, roast the buffalo hump that’s currently thawing so I can marinade it overnight, bake cookies and bread.

I am ever so grateful for having a bread machine. I can toss ingredients into it and set it on a timer, drag my exhausted self into bed, and wake up the next morning to fresh bread to take to the Faire. It’s not shaped into pretty loaves, but it is good solid bread. I tend to make German sourdoughs and pumpernickels because they go well and hold up to the buffalo and cheese. There’s no venison this year because I didn’t hunt last year. I didn’t hunt because I still have far too much left from the previous year’s hunt.

Tomorrow, I’ll be in the Faire Office all morning, checking in vendors and performers and directing the resolution of problems.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I’ll be in the Faire Office.

MedFaire Weather

It looks as if the weather I predicted last July for MedFaire is still reasonably accurate. The storms right now are predicted to be heavier on Thursday than I said they’d be, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday look to be almost spot-on.

If you go, don’t wear thin shoes or clothes that drag on the ground. It will be somewhat muddy, at least on Friday. After that, it should be hard packed and dried out enough not to worry. Dress warm for Friday, but do so in layers so as the day warms up, you can remove some of them. Bring extra socks that are dry in case your feet get wet.

The wind will be the usual MedFaire wind – I’m thinking around 20-25 miles per hour, with gusts up to 35. We may get a burst of higher wind Saturday night – maybe up to 40 or 45 miles per hour.

If you’re a merchant out there, bring good tie-downs and sturdy stakes. If not, any of the blacksmiths can make stakes for you, Elm Tree Forge usually stocks pre-made stakes – he’s on the south side of the Faire on the other end of the row of merchants immediately south of the SCA Compound, backing on to Jenkins Avenue where the cross walk is in the middle of the block.

I will have Scottish Eggs, roast buffalo, cheese, and bread to share. Maybe some fruits and cookies. On Sunday, I’ll have treats to celebrate Itzl’s birthday.

MedFaire

MedFaire is NEXT WEEKEND!

Rain or shine (but probably rain, it always rains during set up), folks will be out marking spaces, setting up electricity cords, finding all the pieces to the various buildings we erect, and sorting through the fabrics and laundering nad pressing them. This will go on until Thursday, when I get to relax in the faire office and directing people to their spaces and helping to resolve last minute issues.

Friday morning I will be in the faire office directing schools to the cool spots for kids and pointing out the First Aid station for all the inevitable bangs, scrapes, and bumps.

Saturday and Sunday mornings both I’ll be at the Info Booth on the south end of the faire.

This year I don’t have to do sound management on any of hte stages. This is a Good Thing since I can’t hear feedback, and haven’t reliably heard it for several years. All the performers would cringe when they saw I’d been assigned to their stage, with my little hearing dog. They’d make the best of it, poor things. And when the feedback got bad enough, they’d stop and send someone over to adjust it for me. The stages that had visual sound level meters and lights that indicated feedback I could handle – not great but enough that no one’s ears got blasted. I was always extremely amused that a person with a hearing problem was doing sound management.

I guess there were enough complaints last year (I should hope so – I filed several dozen myself!) that I am removed from sound management. Yay!

When I’m not at the office or the info booth, I will be at Elm Tree Forge, just south of the row of booths south of the SCA area, along Jenkins. There’s a crosswalk right by Elm Tree Forge, giving him plenty of room in case of fire – or, more likely, coal smoke embuing other merchant’s products.

I will be making me two new underdresses to wear with my old overdresses, and a new neck pouch for carrying Itzl. I’ve finished off his new costumes and have been trying to teach him some cool tricks for the Faire, but he’s not reliable in doing those tricks. He’s a hearing dog, not a circus performer, he’ll have me know. Even if he does love his pretty, froo-froo clothes.

MedFaire.

If you’re anywhere in central Oklahoma March 30, 31, or April 1, stop by. It’s free admission. And April 1 is Itzl’s birthday.

MedFaire

MedFaire is the end of March.

I need to make an underdress for the overdress I made last year, and a new carrier for Itzl to match. I may need to make several carriers because the patterns look as if this year’s weather will span the spectrum from very cold (in which case he will need a warm and windproof, and possibly waterproof, carrier) to hot (in which case I need to make him a shaded and airy carrier).

I also need to make Itzl’s Landknecht outfit, but first I have to decide on colors.

Itzl, as you can see, is a black dog, so bright colors look best on him. He’s also a very gay and cheerful dog, and he loves purple, red, blue, yellow, orange, and even green if it’s bright enough. He loathes certain shades of pink and likes others.

I’m thinking red, with an unbleached linen puffing, trimmed in black and silver, with red and black feathers in his cap.

He’ll need at least one more costume, in case it’s cold, and I’m thinking a houppelande – green, with rabbit fur lining, and an embroidered liripipe.

MedFaire

Medfaire

This is why I offer choices other than water at MedFaire to drink, and have for the 29 years I’ve worked there.

This year is my 30th anniversary with the OU Medieval Faire. You can print a map of the Faire before you go (of course, there are program guides available, too, at the Faire if you’d rather collect one at the Faire itself). If you look down the left side of the map, you’ll see a gate and “Jenkins Avenue”. Below that is the SCA Compound, then a row of booths. At the end of the row of booths is a little man standing there with one arm raised. That’s the Blacksmith’s Booth where we hang out and keep the food and drink for friends and volunteers. If the weather’s good, we’re expecting to have well over 300,000 visitors in that one single weekend, making the OU Medieval Faire the largest renaissance-type fair in the country. Weather patterns are building towards a damp Faire – mixed rain and sun, temps on the cool side (50s and 60s), overcast. We’re working on nudging the patterns, but it’s dicey this year. They’re as likely to go frigid as they are frying. I think the best bet is to simply maintain the patterns as they currently are and deal with the dampness. I’d rather have damp than ice any day. I wonder if I can convince the blacksmith to have power run to his booth and haul out a few space heaters? And remind him to bring the extra pavilion for rain shelter for his audience and shoppers?

MedFaire

MedFaire will be March 30, March 31, and April 1.

That means I need to start planning now for the food I will be preparing for it – breads and cookies to bake, Scottish Eggs to make, venison to roast, cheese and fruit to buy. Beverages. Water would seem like the beverage of choice, but actually, given how the wind sucks out all the minerals as well as fluids, water alone isn’t enough. I tend to provide herb teas and sport drinks and some soda to keep people properly hydrated.

One thing I don’t provide, regardless of how popular it is, is chocolate covered fruits. These are easy enough to do, and so many people like them. But I don’t. I like my strawberries and raspberries with heavy sweetened cream and a dusting of cinnamon. I like my apples, grapes, bananas, and citrus fruits as is.

So, I have a good selection of naked fruits.

Next year, if Faux Paws Brewing Company is doing well, I hope to have a booth of my own at MedFaire. I think it would do well there, considering the number of critters that attend the Faire with their human companions.

This year, I will work in the Faire Office as usual, and help the Blacksmith. Actually, more like impose upon him by using his booth as a meeting space for all my children, volunteers, friends, etc. Of course, they help out when they are at his booth so he can concentrate on demonstrating and get breaks.