Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Madame of Local 73

  • November has come!

    Happy November First! The last day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival was yesterday, and while I am sad that the season is over, I am happy to be free to devote time to some other parts of my life. This season of the festival was one of the best I can remember. Wench Collecting took off this year in a way that was unexpected and led to our local growing almost doubling in size as the season moved on and more wenches are planning to join in the off season. We were able to sponsor five wenches into the guild, and have the money for several more. Being the Madam for the local is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever taken on and I am so proud of what this group is becoming. And we have so much more on the horizon, including the groups first election since 2018 when we formed the group and I became madame. I have no idea if any of my fellow wenches would like to take up the mantle and run to be madame next year, but I know that whether I am madame again or I am unseated the impact of this inaugural privy council has laid an amazing groundwork for the leadership to come.

    Beyond this I have a lot planned for the month of November. One I am participating in Nanowrimo this year, but rather than a novel my goal is to blog every day for the month of November. In the past I did Blogtober, but I just couldn’t swing it this year so I decided to do November instead. I am also doing my first walk in a long time on Thanksgiving, a five mile Turkey Trot. I am attending the Witches Ball, doing a lot of holiday crafting, attending some other events with wenches and the lady gang. Who knows what I might get into? I hope you will come along for the ride, enjoy the scenery and keep me company along the way.

    On the first day of November I am thankful for my amazing husband who took all of the photos below for me without complaint, following me around the Festival as I chased down all the wenches. I love that man with my whole soul and I don’t know what I would do without him.

    So many Wenches!!!!

  • 19 Days of Blogging

    19 Days of Blogging

    In the past couple of years I have become friends with some absolutely amazing people, and a couple of people have asked me how I make friends as an adult. I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea, lol. I have become the kind of person who will just start talking to people, and just kind of put myself out there. I do not know where this came from because if you had asked me I would have told you that I was a bit shy and reserved. Now, however I am the kind of person who will just walk up say hi and ask if we can be friends. It is not subtle, lol.

    My husband, Seth, says that I have a vast reserve of emergency bravery that I access when it is needed. This is a pretty accurate description for what happens when I turn it on, because I will be nervous with butterflies and anxiety until it is time and then suddenly I am outgoing in a way that I have never been before. I manifest self-confidence in the strangest way and I kind of love it.

    A big part of this change in my demeanor was becoming the Madam of Local 73 for the International Wenches Guild. Suddenly I am just approaching people to introduce myself, being a welcome wagon, pitching, getting people to play games, and offering cards and info to bad ass future wenches. I have pushed myself so far out of my comfort zone, that I forget what my comfort zone was. It is a strange thing to realize that while I might have once been shy, now I am the kind of person who hands out cards and asks people to come play with me, really.

    This is also the guiding force to when I decided to start a skating group during the pandemic. I just put it out there and then took charge, something that young me would never have done. I got to meet some amazing people that I never would have met if I hadn’t just put it out there.

    I decided to make this year the year of Badass for myself, but I honestly think I have been on my way there for a while. I just didn’t notice because I was having too much fun.

  • The Wenches did a thing!

    The Wenches did a thing!

    The lovely ladies of International Wenches Guild Local 73 did a pass the cup/ wench up video. I am at 1:48. We (well I) also set up a youtube channel, so we will be doing so many more things. We don’t know yet if there will be a Renaissance Festival this year, but that won’t stop us from playing.

  • I Am Featured on the Ohio Renaissance Festival Blog!

    One of our lovely new Wenches, for International Wenches Guild Local 73 is the primary blogger for the Ohio Renaissance Festival. She let us know that she would be writing about the Local on the blog and since I am the Madame she asked me to write a bit about how I came to be Madame and how I got involved in the Guild. There is also a video from December and the Krampus Parade where I talk about the guild and what it means. You can check it out Here.

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