Oh, these boys. They love the Renaissance Faire.
But can you blame them?
It's such a magical place, filled with fairies and pirates, knights and ladies, adventurers and rogues. It's a place where they (and their imaginations) can run wild. Oh, and the gigantic boat structure in the kid's area helps, too!
This time, we met up with some friends who (quite literally) spend all of their summer at the faire. They have an outrageous number of costumes and fairy wings. They know all of the faire volunteers' first names - but still prefer to call them by their alter egos. They know the location of the best rides and who gives out "magic rocks" in the shape of fish. They are able to get discounts on tickets and even know a few local hotels (because, of course, they'll want to come back Sunday, too).
Balin loves to dress up for any occasion (he doesn't need a reason to get fancy and often wears his Jawa outfit "just because") and although Arthur is not very excited about donning a costume, he will for the faire. Last time, the boys were knights with PVC pipe swords and tunics that I had made for them the night before. This time, they wanted to be pirates - arrrgh! - so I spent a good portion of the night before making felt pirate hats for them. We even took a trip to Janesville in order to find pirate swords. (We did find one - only one - and I didn't want to get two different swords. I don't know why.) A quick trip to our neighborhood Shopko proved more fruitful: we found two foam pirate swords for a total of $4, on clearance. One needed a bit of glue but they became the perfect accessories. And if the boys happened to destroy them then they were cheap enough that there would be no harm done. The volunteers at the faire loved their costumes. I loved that they dressed up - most of the boys who attend the faire don't bother.
A couple of Robinson's co-workers mentioned that they love to give their children dollar coins as spending money at the faire because it suits the time period and, well, it's a bit more exciting than carrying cash. We thought it would be adorable for the boys to carry sacks of coins with them to complete their costumes...unfortunately we did not expect it to be such a hassle to obtain the coins! Robinson visited two or three banks before he found one that even had over $20 in dollar coins.
We explained that the money was theirs for rides, souvenirs, or special treats - whatever they wanted, really - but once it was gone, they were not getting any more. Balin, a typical three-year-old, wanted one - sometimes two - of everything, but Arthur, a mature six-year-old, thought very hard about what he wanted and constantly changed his mind. Do I want to go on another ride or do I want ice cream? Do I want to play another game or do I want a root beer float?
Some of the vendors balked at the coins. A few thought they were quarters. But these boys, proudly holding out their coins for a ride or treat, felt so grown-up to be carrying their own money. How special!
Arthur also danced a maypole dance with one of the faire volunteers. She helped him weave and turn, duck and twist, until the ribbon was completely wrapped around the pole and then repeated the opposite movements to unwind the ribbon and start the dance anew. Arthur's partner said that he was an excellent dancer.
I am at a loss for costumes for next year, however. Robinson and I joke that Balin should wear his Jawa costume, brown shoes, a gigantic crucifix and carry a staff. He'd make a perfect monk. Balin disagrees. He's more excited about getting a pair of purple fairy wings and wearing those. As for Arthur, I wonder if we'll even be able to get him into a costume. It might be far easier to dress him in something he's already been than encourage him to wear something new.
Blessed be.
But can you blame them?
It's such a magical place, filled with fairies and pirates, knights and ladies, adventurers and rogues. It's a place where they (and their imaginations) can run wild. Oh, and the gigantic boat structure in the kid's area helps, too!
This time, we met up with some friends who (quite literally) spend all of their summer at the faire. They have an outrageous number of costumes and fairy wings. They know all of the faire volunteers' first names - but still prefer to call them by their alter egos. They know the location of the best rides and who gives out "magic rocks" in the shape of fish. They are able to get discounts on tickets and even know a few local hotels (because, of course, they'll want to come back Sunday, too).Balin loves to dress up for any occasion (he doesn't need a reason to get fancy and often wears his Jawa outfit "just because") and although Arthur is not very excited about donning a costume, he will for the faire. Last time, the boys were knights with PVC pipe swords and tunics that I had made for them the night before. This time, they wanted to be pirates - arrrgh! - so I spent a good portion of the night before making felt pirate hats for them. We even took a trip to Janesville in order to find pirate swords. (We did find one - only one - and I didn't want to get two different swords. I don't know why.) A quick trip to our neighborhood Shopko proved more fruitful: we found two foam pirate swords for a total of $4, on clearance. One needed a bit of glue but they became the perfect accessories. And if the boys happened to destroy them then they were cheap enough that there would be no harm done. The volunteers at the faire loved their costumes. I loved that they dressed up - most of the boys who attend the faire don't bother.A couple of Robinson's co-workers mentioned that they love to give their children dollar coins as spending money at the faire because it suits the time period and, well, it's a bit more exciting than carrying cash. We thought it would be adorable for the boys to carry sacks of coins with them to complete their costumes...unfortunately we did not expect it to be such a hassle to obtain the coins! Robinson visited two or three banks before he found one that even had over $20 in dollar coins.We explained that the money was theirs for rides, souvenirs, or special treats - whatever they wanted, really - but once it was gone, they were not getting any more. Balin, a typical three-year-old, wanted one - sometimes two - of everything, but Arthur, a mature six-year-old, thought very hard about what he wanted and constantly changed his mind. Do I want to go on another ride or do I want ice cream? Do I want to play another game or do I want a root beer float? Some of the vendors balked at the coins. A few thought they were quarters. But these boys, proudly holding out their coins for a ride or treat, felt so grown-up to be carrying their own money. How special!
Arthur also danced a maypole dance with one of the faire volunteers. She helped him weave and turn, duck and twist, until the ribbon was completely wrapped around the pole and then repeated the opposite movements to unwind the ribbon and start the dance anew. Arthur's partner said that he was an excellent dancer.
I am at a loss for costumes for next year, however. Robinson and I joke that Balin should wear his Jawa costume, brown shoes, a gigantic crucifix and carry a staff. He'd make a perfect monk. Balin disagrees. He's more excited about getting a pair of purple fairy wings and wearing those. As for Arthur, I wonder if we'll even be able to get him into a costume. It might be far easier to dress him in something he's already been than encourage him to wear something new.
Blessed be.
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