Arrr Matey, Time to Plunder Treasure at the RenFest!

For our second venture to the Texas RenFest we chose the Pirate Weekend and what fun it was!  And in picking an earlier weekend we had our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be as cold as the first time we went.  We still had the set up with the tent, air mattress and electric blanket.  I’m a high end camper.  Then we lucked out the second night as friends who joined us then had a heater safe for tents.  Score!

I had fun picking out my costumes.  How often do you have the chance to be a saucy pirate?  Without getting strange looks?  This was my costume on the first day.

Renfest 1 2014

It is so fun wandering round people watching.  For the most part the costumes are great.  Though this year it seemed that Games of Thrones was popular.  Unfortunately some thought dressing like the unsullied was a good idea.  Just the leather loin clothe and face mask.  Um, no.  Not a good idea!  Saturday was the best for costumes.  For some reason, a lot of people who went on Sunday were in modern clothes.  No fun!

Renfest 2 2014

Aside from food served on sticks and decent beer we go for the shows.  Tartanic is a great one of bagpipes and drums.  I dare you to sit still through that show.  Fabulous music.

Renfest 3 2014

We see Iris and Rose twice when we go to RenFest.  First their regular bawdy show then we go to the last on on Sunday as it is interactive with people contributing jokes, limericks, and the sort.  Here is the thing, I am always amazed at how many people bring their kids to the RenFest.  They do have things for kids but most adults are there to let their hair down which means some costumes are holy moly, and many of the shows are adult themed.  This doesn’t stop some parents though.  All the shows that are not kid friendly will remind the audience of this.  They say this is not for kids.  I have lost count of how many parents just sit there.  And you’ll see some kids just squirm.  I believe that kids need sex education but this is not the way to go about doing it!  But Iris and Rose, if you are old enough, is a must see.  They make your sides hurt.  🙂

Renfest 5 2014

The second day of pirating was a bit warmer so that was the corset day!  Our friends were concerned with my Casper the Ghost skin so I got sprayed with very cold sunscreen.  But it did the trick.

Renfest 6 2014

Adam Crack is another fun show.  They added some things to the show so it’s not all whip cracking but still fun.  I would not want to be the assistant because she would hold things in her mouth that he would split with the whip.  No thank you!

Renfest 4 2014

Fireworks are always a big draw.  The first night we sat in the cold to watch them.  The second night we sat by our campfire and looked on from a distant with all our layers on.  The days were warm but once that sun went down, brrr.

One show I didn’t get a picture of was Arsene Dupin.  He is a silent juggler, comedian, and magician from Paris.  He’s genius and always makes us laugh when we go see him.  He doesn’t speak until the end when he introduces himself.  Just an amazing talent.

We’ll be going in a few years again, it’s always a blast.  And I’ll admit, I love dressing up!

Texas Renfest 2012

It all started with a corset.  And I found myself camping in 36F weather.  What happened?!?

Back in 2011 we were visiting our friends in Austin. They are huge Renfest fans and love to dress up in medieval costumes and camp to boot.  They also sew their costumes and one of our friends made this beautiful corset but it was too small for her and as it fit me she gave it to me.  Hence, the now you have to wear it and come along.  🙂  So we picked a weekend to go back down this past November.  The weekend we picked was the Highland Games weekend.  Though funnily enough we didn’t see any Highland games.  But there was a lot to see!

We drove to the outside of Houston to set up camp.  Now I’m not a camper in the best of times.  I like plumbing and comfort.  As they want us to do this again we got quite the set up!

renfest 1 2013

Air mattress, electric blanket.  Though I  have to say at 36F it was still really cold.  We figured out on the next night to put the pillows under the blanket to warm them up as it was a bit of a shock putting our heads on the cold pillows.

My favourite part of camping would be the camp fire.

renfest 2 2013

As most of you who camp know you have to be creative with cooking so we “toasted” our bagels in a skillet.  🙂

renfest 3 2013

Once we got ready it was time to head into the Renfest.  We started off the day watching people compete in the dancing contest.  It was a sight to see….as no one knew how to do the dance.  LOL  And unfortunately one guy took to heart the idea that there should be nothing under the kilt.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.

renfest 4 2013

We had fun with the food and drink.  The turkey legs were tasty but a bit much.  I gave it my best try.  My husband went another route with chicken on a stick with hot peppers.

renfest 5 2013

Our friends provided the tartans.  I was hoping to find a store that I could get my clan pins for my bag.  No such luck.  Ah well.  I’ll plan a bit better next time.  Our friend also made the flower wreath I wore for the weekend.  She has some really good sewing skills, I have to say.

The Renfest had loads of shows we could check out.  Most of them bawdy.  🙂  This guy had a fabulous whip show.  The flames were quite something.  He also did a night show that was impressive.

renfest 6 2013

We also got to listen to bagpipes.  I absolutely love bagpipes.  Just an amazing sound.  And these guys were as good on their instruments as they were bad at the Scottish accents.  🙂  So we had some incredible music.  And I’m a huge fan of drums as well so this was great.

renfest 7 2013

And here is the corset that started the whole saga.  🙂

renfest 8 2013

We really enjoyed ourselves.  It was great letting our hair down a bit and just enjoying the sights.  We would definitely do it again but here’s to warmer nights!  🙂