We spent all day the 8th at the Ohio Renaissance Festival and then came home and were in bed exhausted by 8pm. It was a beautiful fall day and Viking Weekend which led to possibly record breaking numbers at Ohio Ren. Plus we had visiting wenches from Michigan who invaded and were part of Wench Collecting this weekend. It was a busy but fun day.
I got to wear my new custom Journeyman Leather Corset. It happened because last year we walked in so my mom could pay for her custom bodice from them (it has the Breast Cancer ribbon on the back). Morgan, the man making pieces for them last season, was looking for pink leather in the boxes of leather and came out with this deep brown fringe. He said he had no idea what they would do with the fringe because they got it in a big lot of leather they bought. I raised my hand and said, “Um, If I were to buy a corset could you put it along the top?” And he thought a minute then said, “Yeah, we could do that. Do you want it on the top front and back and the bottom as well both sides.” Of course I said yes. It turned out amazing!!
This past weekend Ohio Renaissance Park hosted Celtic Fest 2021. The day featured many regional, national and international bands, dancers, etc as well as vendors and just general good times. I went in an effort to see and talk to as many wenches as I could as well as just to spend some time in one of my favorite places. The night before, so Friday night, storms cut through the area where the fest resides and this lead to insane flooding (waist deep in places) and a lot of panic amongst the vendors and performers who were spending the night onsite. It also caused a power outage that lasted until about 2pm on Saturday.
As we headed out on Saturday morning, we were honestly not sure at all what we were getting ourselves into. I just knew that after the night they just had we needed to go and support some of these vendors we love. We got there about 11:30 (Gates were set to open at 11) and found out that the gates had been held until noon due to the power outage while they worked to get generators running to work the sound systems. Jameson’s Folly played at the gate as we waited for opening.
Once inside we walked up to A Wired Viking where I picked up a pendant I purchased in advance and a necklace for my sister for her birthday both made by the lovely Felix. We also picked up a large beard bead for Seth, a ring for him and a bracelet for me. I forgot to get photos with the three wenches who work in that booth, because I suck.
After this we walked around, said hi to many friends and wenches, got free commemorative Guinness Pint Glasses, took pictures, watched a couple of acts, gave cards to potential wenches, and generally had a great time. Here are far too many photos.
Saturday was the final day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival’s Magical Days, Madrigal Nights and it was an absolutely magical day. For this final adventure it was just me and my friend, fellow wench and lady gang member, Susan.
We arrived about 3:30 and almost immediately ran into friends who were attending for the first time this year (I managed 4 out of 5 somehow). We arranged some custom pieces from the glass artist, recruited several new wenches with any luck, sat and spoke to friends, sang a bit, conferred with witches and ended singing incredibly anachronistic songs at the pub sing in the Three Fools. It was a beautiful end to the season that wasn’t, but also kinda was. Here’s a health to the Company…
If the world was as it should be today would be the opening day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Seth and I would be making our first wander around the grounds saying our hellos to our Rennie family. We would have gotten there early in order to finish dressing in the parking lot, and would have met up with friends by the opening gate where the Queen and the cast would lay out what this year’s story is. I might have had game boards to hand out to patrons for wench collecting, holding my blackboard with some clever saying to gain people’s interest. I might have been handing out business cards for the guild inviting women to join us in our shenanigans. I would have hugged my friend, fellow wench and madame of vice, Sarah, in her booth the moment I was inside the gate and we would have caught up for a few minutes before the rush of patrons hit to begin shopping. I would have wandered to the Vikings hoard to say hello to the vikings and so Den Mom could tempt me with some beautiful new fur to add to my collection.
This year there will be no faire as I know it. I am feeling the absence in my soul like a great weight which is fueling my anxiety and making my life feel shockingly off kilter. Faire has long been for me a place of escape and succor, and to lose that is a strange thing indeed.
Seth and I had already made the decision in July to have our season passes rolled to 2021 because of the pandemic. With Seth working in a school he is already in a higher risk environment and we did not want to make that risk any greater by being in such a public space, even with the precautions they were taking. When they cancelled completely in August, though, it hurt. Partly because even with our passes suspended we had planned on attending at least once or twice during the run, and partly because it made the threat of the pandemic seem even that much more real.
On the plus side, OhRen has created some limited ticket smaller events called Magical Days, Madrigal Nights and I have tickets to two out of three days,including tickets for the Madrigal Feast on Octber 10. IWG 73 is planning to meet up to perform the Hexenbrut which we can publish on our Youtube channel for Halloween. And I am sure we will find some other things to get into as well.
There will be things that will fill the space on my calendar that faire is leaving behind, but I am not sure about the space in my heart.
Here’s to a better, healthier 2021. Hip, Hip, Huzzah!
Today was the last day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival for 2019. This was an amazing year for me. The wenches guild is growing and developing into something wonderful and the fact that I am a part of that is a massive source of pride for me. The wenches of Local 73 are some of the loveliest and kindest women and I am proud to be among them.
I tried to get photos with as many wenches as possible today, and I have a collection of photos to share. I am sharing here first. 🙂
And on the forums at wench.org I met many new wonderful women from all over who were from all walks of life. Including my lovely friends Gellis Indigo (Jean) and Grace (Sarah). In 2006 I worked for a booth at the Ohio Renaissance Festival for several weeks with a coworker, and Gellis and Grace came by to meet me in person with Gellis’ rogue husband Kyas (Pete). This photo is of the three of us a couple of years after this first meeting.
As time would go on Jean and Sarah would become the Madame and Vice-Madame of IWG 57 which was the local for Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. We would travel together to Michigan to be with our fellow Local 57 wenches because Ohio Renaissance Festival at the time was not open to an active Wenches Guild presence. We had fun, but there was always the underlying feeling that we were outsiders. We tried to get unofficial wench events together at home but never got the response we would have liked.
Fast forward to 2018 when my friend and fellow wench Susan says to me that she would like like to start an Ohio Local for the IWG. I agree and the two of us set out on a mission to create an Ohio local and to get permission from the Ohio Renaissance Festival to be part of faire. We met with some resistance from our formal local, but eventually we were granted the designation of IWG Local 73 – The Wenches of Myth. We got our official status just before opening day 2018. After our first vote I would be voted Madame, Sarah would be Vice Madame and Susan would be our Arbiter.
The 2018 season at Ohio Renaissance was spent networking, meeting wenches, and finding out how to get our official status.
In Spring of 2018 Susan and I had a meeting with the entertainment director of ORF. We talked about our vision for the wenches at ORF. It ended with us feeling really positive that we were going to get the blessing to be part of Faire. The official word came in July, we would be welcome at ORF. The first official Ohio local would be an official part of the festival.
Sarah, Susan and I began plotting and planning. We came up with ideas for games and events. I came up with the idea for a game that would end up being called wench collecting. We would have a meet up to decorate our Collect Me pins.
Since the beginning of ORF labor day weekend we have given 3 toasts in pub sing, walked in several parades, played wench collecting twice and had 5 new wenches join with promises of many more. We are beyond proud of how successful our first season has been and hopeful for many many more!
Did you sing that title? I did. Thanks Simon and Garfunkel.
It was the September of 1995 that my mom bought tickets and took me for the first time to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I remember walking through the front gate that day and thinking “This is it. I am home.” It is a feeling I still get to this day. We watched The Swordsmen, belly dancers, the Washing Well Wenches of Willy-Nilly (Ohio Renaissance is set in the mythical English town of Willy-Nilly on the Wash.), human combat chess and Full Mounted Joust. Some of the acts from that year are no longer active, and others are still going strong, but all of them penetrated into my 14 year old brain.
I auditioned and was a cast member in 2003, when I was 22. I was Emma Cricket the town gossip. I was paid I think about $250.00 for the full season, plus “peter pounds” an in faire currency that could be used for food and drink. I spent close to $1500.00 in costuming, etc. So I came out at a solid -$1200.00 for the season, but it was worth every penny. I loved talking to patrons, and especially playing with children who were attending with their parents. I had several fellow cast members (Sue, Jen, Ashley, and Lynk as well as many others) who I would walk about with and spend the majority of my days. Jen was playing nobility while I was very lower class, and we had fun with me acting as something of a servant for her while also teaching her fun peasant things.
It was while I was on cast that a fellow cast member told me that I would be an amazing wench and that I should look into it. He was a member of the brother organization the International Brotherhood of Rogues, Scoundrels and Cads otherwise known as the Rogues Guild. I did some research into what the International Wenches Guild was and how it worked, and immediately sent off for my pin and membership. Several months later I received my certificate declaring me a certified wench, and my wench pin #2648. It was 2004 and I was 23 years old.
This weekend is the 16th annual Ashville Viking Festival in Ashville, OH. Seth and I have been attending for at least 10 years, and we always have a great time and spend far too much money. This year we are having meet ups for the International Wenches Guild both days as well as having Wench breakfasts both mornings.
The festival has grown so much since we first attended so long ago, and it is something I look forward to doing every year. Here is a look at some of the past festivals with more photos to come this weekend.
Betsy Snow White Bibliophile 