January, the month that is birthed, saturated in optimistic resolutions that are equivalent to actually making a lemonade/kale/acai berry smoothie with those overpriced lemons from Whole Foods. Then adding a pint of vodka, because when life gives you a paycheck to buy lemons, you make that produce as enjoyable as possible because you are a functioning adult.
I myself have always found January to be a month created for thick, knee-high socks, heaps of coffee, and hiding myself away in a onesie with the stack of books I have neglected all year. 2017 has been different for many reasons, and I find my weeks following a steady cycle of work, work, work, followed by the occasional horror flick, and sneaking in a few pages of 'Salem's Lot on my 15 minute breaks at my desk.
I myself have always found January to be a month created for thick, knee-high socks, heaps of coffee, and hiding myself away in a onesie with the stack of books I have neglected all year. 2017 has been different for many reasons, and I find my weeks following a steady cycle of work, work, work, followed by the occasional horror flick, and sneaking in a few pages of 'Salem's Lot on my 15 minute breaks at my desk.
After a weekend of bitter 20-something degree weather, I found myself sipping a Two Hearted Ale, wistful for the late summer/early autumn weekends in Hollygrove. Now that I am armed with both a working camera and laptop, I felt the need to share some moments I happened to capture at Sweet Endings, the last weekend of the Michigan Renaissance Festival (under the influence of cider, I may add).
Flashback to 2015: I have always been a huge fan of faire, but I had never had the opportunity to partake in the way that I had always hoped to. After moving home in August of 2015, my very close friend Dani took me with her to faire and ever since then, my experience has been vastly different. I began camping at the KOA in Holly, MI with the rest of the Rennies as well as landing a gig selling CD's for Bocca, and then later on selling merch for Stone Clover. This past year I unfortunately wasn't able to attend as much as I would have liked, but I ended up having a blast taking photos until my camera met its ultimate death the very last weekend.
What makes faire so wonderful? Seven weekends of drunken debauchery aside, it is a place for people to enter a world of dragons, fairies, pirates, gypsies, wizards, and whatever other clever identity the participants and performers come up with to escape the often mundane and hectic realities our daily lives weigh us down with. Some performers work full-time jobs during the week, and perform multiple shows all day on weekends. Others travel the circuit, working faires all over the country throughout the year as their full-time job. Chatter around the campfire at the end of the evening varies from daily shenanigans, to heartfelt stories of loved ones living in other states.
Like most communities, there can be a few hard-to-handle individuals, but honestly most of the Rennies I have encountered are the most open, and welcoming people. Everyone from the fire-breathers to the patrons who dress like pirates and tailgate in the parking lot are the nicest assholes you'll ever meet.
What makes faire so wonderful? Seven weekends of drunken debauchery aside, it is a place for people to enter a world of dragons, fairies, pirates, gypsies, wizards, and whatever other clever identity the participants and performers come up with to escape the often mundane and hectic realities our daily lives weigh us down with. Some performers work full-time jobs during the week, and perform multiple shows all day on weekends. Others travel the circuit, working faires all over the country throughout the year as their full-time job. Chatter around the campfire at the end of the evening varies from daily shenanigans, to heartfelt stories of loved ones living in other states.
Like most communities, there can be a few hard-to-handle individuals, but honestly most of the Rennies I have encountered are the most open, and welcoming people. Everyone from the fire-breathers to the patrons who dress like pirates and tailgate in the parking lot are the nicest assholes you'll ever meet.
2017 has started off pretty busy for me, and my schedule seems to be pretty steady from now until June. Between loads of overtime at Vesco, tons of Stone Clover gigs, as well as my very first trip to Portland in two weeks, I have to say my days of Netflix + PBR are very few and far-between. Still, I find myself pinning ideas for new garb on Pinterest, trying to figure out how to wear a corset casually, and wondering what is the point of Fireball without Fall Woodchuck to accompany it.
Until then, fare thee well.
*All photos by myself (except the one of me, taken by Mariah).
- 9:21 PM
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