Faire Times in Louisiana

Falconer at LA Ren Fest

After 3 years of planning, Joy and I finally made the pilgrimage to Hammond, LA, to visit their Renaissance faire. Sara Dunlop and her daughter have booths there ... as do several other people who we know from other faires. The trip proved rather long; the directions from Google were accurate, but without a map you never quite know how far you've driven (or how long you have to go). We stopped several times after dark because we didn't know where we were -- well, we knew we were going east on 190, but we didn't know where Baton Rouge might be. It turned out that we were driving along the northern edge of the Achafalaya Swamp. We crossed the mighty Mississppi and then started looking for a hotel ... and I knew we were not in a good neighborhood. It felt like Oak Cliff -- but whether it was the safer side like the older neighborhoods near Sunset or the rougher side like Roosevelt's, we couldn't tell at 10:30 at night. All I know is that the Motel 6 had a security guard who warned off a shabby-looking dude who approched the night clerk's window. 'Nuff said.

Fog haunts the state. It crept up silently as night fell and stayed until the sun was high in the sky. The drive into Hammond was uneventful ... We passed the high school and rounded a corner -- and there were the signs!

As we drove up, I noticed a guy in a kilt. It looked like -- yes, it WAS Marc Gunn playing his autoharp. Alas, we were stuck in the opening ceremonies, whether we liked it or not. Other playtrons wore garb, so we didn't stand out ... Finally, Queen Elizabeth welcomed us into the town of Albright, and the Faire was on!

Inside the gates, we passed Marquise & Ima Nutt from Foolhardy. They had performed at Four Winds years before ... they looked well, but they were going to greet patrons (and we didn't quite fit that bill). Next, we were accosted by Gypsy Storytellers (no problem -- everyone needs the shills to start the day) before we once more ran into Marc talking to 2 fans. The faire stretched both ways -- we could see the lake (alas, much depleted by the summer drought), so we strolled along its edge ... and there was Deb's shop (and Jeff) from Four Winds and Sara's doll shop. Many greetings and conversation, then we wandered on our way ... and ran into Arlene who has a shop 2 doors down from us ... Her friend Larry also has a shop (We saw him later.) on the other side of the lake. We shopped a bit, mainly looking since most of our money had gone into travel expenses ... However, Joy found a small Christmasy owl to go with her Roddy griffin puppet; I got a print by Sara's friend. After years of "squashed fairy" mugs, she has rediscovered her love for illustration.

We eventually found the falconers' tent; Joy took a photo with their Euroasian owl Artemis, then we stayed for the show. The theme song is "Ladyhawke" by Julia Ecklar ... Unlike the man who's the head falconer at Scarby, the woman at LARF treats her birds as if they're friends -- maybe pets with very sharp beaks and claws. As one who's been bitten by cockatoos, I can sympathize. She showed kestrels, hawks, a barred owl (above) in the free flight show. Alas, their lovely peregrine was killed by a hunter ... a hunter who knew that he'd done wrong because he cut off the bird's talons to take the jesses & transponder. They're posting around the faire & in town -- and now the Feds are involved because falcons are a protected species. Handsome birds and friendly handlers create a great show.

Then we watched Foolhardy's show ... I remembered it of old. Marquise & Ima worked the crowd with all types of bad puns and feats of magic. The audience (young and old) loved them. We missed the "Untrained Dog Show," but I know it was hilarious.

Eventually, we circled the lake and, to our surprise, we found Neid Fyre playing her violin. Although it was the end of the show, we settled in to watch ... and talk a little bit after the crowd dispersed. She's coming to Four Winds in April 2012, so we can talk more about her little daughter and personal doings then. Ah, we'll waddle up to the new tavern for marvelous music.

After some homemade soda (carbonated sugar water with great flavors), we returned to Sara's booth. Everyone seemed to wander in and out; she's the fairey grandmother at LARF as she is at Four Winds ... even moreso because we spotted younger people coming in and out. Marc stopped in to say good-bye to her; the owner dropped in ... all sorts of folk wanted to speak with her ... Joy and she talked about BJDs. (We had brought her some 12" bunny boys to dress.) The sun slowly set -- and we realized that it was almost closing time. Bidding Sara, Rod, Deb and Jeff farewell (at least until March 2012), we headed into the mundane world.

In Hammond, we didn't find our original highway, but we did find a nice hotel. It was an early evening -- and I crashed before 9 o'clock. So sad ...

Monday saw more fog, plus a long trip home. This time, we went through Houston; the directions were quite simple, but the distance was longer and added another 1-2 hours. Still, we got home before the heavens graced us with some rain. Tired and content, we settled in with birds (Joy) and kitties (me). There's no place like home.