We decided, despite yet another hot forecast, to head up to Norton, MA for this first year faire.  Its a very pretty venue, with lots of shade and pine needle-strewn paths.  It took a little while to get used to the free roaming animals ("did those donkeys get loose???"), but I have to admit that it gave a bit of an authentic feel to the faire.  We met up with a surprising number of friends, and caught a few shows, but unfortunately m'luv was feeling a bit ill from the combination of heat and not eating, so we ended up leaving a little earlier than we had originally planned.

I really think that this faire has some great potential..... it just needs to work on a few things:

Parking:  The parking lot (which we initially passed) was a very tight squeeze.  Doug ended up moving a friend's car for her because it was almost impossible to back out with the other cars parked so closely around hers.  I don't think that a lot of planning went into the parking lot logistics, but there also didn't seem to be a lot of space with which to work, either.

Food:  There wasn't a very large selection of food, but since I tend not to eat at faire (I can never eat while all trussed-up in a bodice!) it really didn't bother me much.  The few selections were vegetarian in nature -- which makes sense, given that the place is an animal sanctuary.  It would certainly be in poor taste, no pun intended, to rescue these poor animals and then serve them up in a bread bowl, but it would have been nice to have some selections for the more carnivorous-minded patron.

Patrons:  Except for the local (and some not so local) rennies, it seemed that most of the patrons had come for the petting zoo and happened to stumble upon the faire as a bonus.  I don't recall seeing any kind of advertising other than on NERennies.net, and I only saw one small sign that said "Faire -->" on the way there.  A little more promotion would most likely have resulted in a higher turnout.

We did end up having a pretty good time, and will look forward with interest to see how things go next year.

Next on the agenda:  the Fourth of July Boombox Parade in Willimantic, CT!!!

..... was ridiculously hot!!!!!

It was nice to see so many friends, but between the heat, the humidity, and the unrelenting sun, we only lasted about two hours.  I started feeling a bit of discomfort in the ol' kidney, and we were both starting with headaches when we decided to leave.  I didn't even get the chance to see Veronica to discuss the "lady pirate" garb (I'll email you -- I think you have exactly what I want!!!).  To those of you that we missed on our way out -- see you at the next faire!

Speaking of the next faire, it looks like we just may be getting to Long Island next weekend.... as long as the weather will be OK and the dog-sitter is available.  Yes, yes, I know --  any "die-hard" rennie would deal with whatever Mother Nature chooses to dish out.  However, considering the price of gas and hotel, as well as the aggravation of a long drive, I'm not about to make the trip so that I can either sit in a tent to avoid the r**n or only hang around for two hours because its too flippin' hot.  Know what I mean?!?!?!?

If we do go we'll be driving down on Friday to help set up the Guild Hostel, and staying at the Best Western in Woodbury overnight.  We're planning to spend Saturday at the Pirate Fest and then head home that night -- gotta be home to see Dad for Father's Day!