Victorian Heritage Festival recap

Cpt. Frye leads the cavalry.

This isn't much of a recap of the annual Port Townsend Victorian Heritage Festival since I was only there one day and worked most of it at the Old Consulate Inn (a fabulous place). I helped out with the parade as a cavalry "outwalker" and then rushed down the hill to shoot pics and video of the Gatling Gun demonstration. Next year I hope to be more involved...beyond just doing all the graphic design. I'd really like to have gone to some of the panels, and it's been ages since I've been able to get to a ball. 

Next year...

Col Marshall explains the gatling gun.

Cpt. Frye distracts the press at the gat demo.

Cpt. Frye and Mrs. Snow

Port Townsend Victorian Heritage Festival 2014

My writing in general, and blogging specifically, has been a bit spotty lately as I've been teetering between nursing a bad back and grinding out graphics for the looming Victorian Heritage Festival in Pt. Townsend, WA. If you're interested at all in history, and in the Puget Sound area weekend after next, come pay us a visit!

How does the Faire fair?

The Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire will actually go on this year (yay!)...but it will be in far-away Buckley (boo!), so I don't see the Warhorse Guild participating this year. We never make book, anyway, and commuting that far would be more than the pocketbook can allow. That, plus "Lady Devon" is still recovering from her ghastly hospital stay last Fall, and not really in any condition to donn armor, pick up a Zoppe-weight lance, and charge down the tilt.

I had an attack of the sillies and made a little "what if we DID decide to do faire this year?" short, which I present here. Fans of the Richardson version of "Charge of the Light Brigade" will get the obscure "noddles/doodles" reference.

School of the Renaissance Soldier: North Country Muster

Finally put the canvas away today. It's been hanging in the garage, drying since we returned last weekend. Yep: the first rainy weekend of the Fall is the weekend we decide to do a 16th century campout. Got some more footage. Now I have no excuse but to put a video together...

Update: Gordo's report

Tall Ships Festival - Tacoma

The boys (and girls dressed as boys) of our Military Guild (Goode's Company of Foote and the Renaissance Military Society) turned out to support the Nina replica at last weekend's Tacoma Tall Ships Festival. Apparently it went well, and the public was treated to the sight of actual Spanish Conquistadors of a sort.

19th Century Ramblings

This weekend has been the annual Civil War shindig in the town across the bay from us, so we paid a few calls. On Friday night we rode into the woods and met up with a party of Union soldiers on patrol. They very appropriately "asked" us to accompany them (after checking to see if our weapons were loaded, being good soldiers), and we marched with them for a bit. I surreptitiously shot a few seconds of video in the deepening twilight. There would be more, but I didn't want to wave a camera around and "pop their bubble". Yes, we were in full 1860s civilian kit, including the horse tack. They were doing a "primitive" total immersion operation, and spent the night bivouacked in the forest. We rode with them for a few miles but eventually bid them good night, much to their surprise as they thought we were with the Civil War organization, and rode back to the trailhead in the dark: an adventure for us and the horses! There was a bit of a moon last night, but between clouds and deep forest, it was verrry dark and spooky. I'm glad horses have good night vision, because I have none at all.

Today (Saturday), we visited the camps as the characters we portrayed last night and had fun visiting with folks we had met on the trail. Later, we went home to change into evening kit, and I magically turned into a girl. In SL I can magically snap a photo whenever I want, in RL I actually have to pull out a camera, so of course I didn't get anything of the dance from which we just returned. These shots of us back at home will have to suffice.

Gordon is a bit trans-decade with his Mexican war jacket and Indian wars cap and boots, and I'm wearing my 1860s tea gown with an 1850s hairdo. How's that for being eclectic? We still looked pretty spiffy, I think (so do the cats, apparently).