Healing Fireball

Our roving pirate reporter MUM the pirate cook has returned from his day at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and he filed this report.

Arrr! it was a fine day to revel in all things piratical.  The sky was clear and the weather cool and the breeze gentle.  Once I got in to the village I made a line for the tap room and the Swashbuckler’s Stage to see the bawdy shows of the Sultry Sirins of Sin and the Rakish Rogues.  I had me a plate of fine gourmet cheeses and breads for lunch and sampled the pubs finest Privateers Gold Ale.  Then me lads I journeyed over to O’Malley’s Pour House Stage to see the rowdy Celtic band Coyote Run and the magician Sir Isaac Fawlkes.  As the weather started getting cool I went over to the Royal Tea Shop and got me a glass of Ice Wine Tea to warm the bones.  On me way over to the Globe Stage for closing I stopped at the Pirate’s Treasure Ship and picked up an interesting dagger that also works as a pair of scissors and a pearl-handled strait razor that should help with the whiskers.  The finale at the Globe Stage was a raucus party worthy of a pirate, including fire breathing, music performances and dancing.  Finally on the way back to the ship i stopped by the wine shop and got a taste of warm spiced winter wine which was a fitting end to the day.

Well thanks for that great report, MUM, sounds like a raucus and rowdy pirate festival as always.

~Christopher Baldi “The Healer”~
~October 13, 2008~

It’s time for another pre-faire rundown.  It’s another Pirate Jamboree!  Our new roving reporter and resident pirate cook, Mum, will be attending the PA Renaissance Faire‘s Pyrate Invasion this weekend.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the PA Faire, it is set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and, like the Maryland Faire, they have a different theme each weekend.  The faire is located on the beautiful Mount Hope Winery in Manheim, PA.  So come down and meet us, matey!

~Christopher Baldi “The Healer”~

~October 9, 2008~

Capping off a busy week, Chris and I traveled to the much-anticipated Collingswood Book Festival.  My favorite part about this festival is always the Town Book.  As usual, it was something I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own.  This year’s selection was The Stolen Child, by Keith Donohue, a novel that delves into the concept of identity while the narrative follows a band a changling fairies and one of their own who has taken the place of another.  The festival hosted a book discussion last Tuesday and the author was there on Saturday to give a presentation and autographs.

We ended up bringing home more books than we have space for, as usual.

Despite the rainy weather, our roving pirate reporter MUM the pirate cook attended the Adventure Pirate Weekend at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and filed this report.

Arrr! Ye can drench me bones but ye can’t soak me spirit.This weekend was the pirate Adventure Weekend at theMaryland Renaissance Festival.This is always one of me favorite times of the year and even though the ground was muddy and the sky kept dumping on us intermittently I was not disappointed.All me favorite acts were there, from the Pyrates Royale, to the Hooligans to the O’ Danny Girls and, even when the rain was pouring, the acts continued and got even more rowdy for the weather. Then there was the peasant bread. For those of you who do not know, peasant bread is a fried piece of dough that has been stretched thin. The result is a crunchy wafer that can be used to hold fruit topping, honey, sugar, or just be lightly salted. Reminds me of a dish me grandmother used to make. Finally the day ended as always with a rowdy pub sing at the White Hart Tavern. Well that’s about it me lads, another fine celebration of piracy – I can’t wait till next year.

Well, thanks for that report MUM and we hope to hear more from you in the future during other pirate events.

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
~September 30, 2008~

As promised I’m back with another installment of the Faire and Con Report.  This time I am hear with a preview of our next faire, the Maryland Renaissance Festival.  For our readers that have not visited this one, here is the rundown of this larger faire’s stats.  This faire is set during the reign of King Henry the Eighth and every year features a story about his reign.  However, that’s not the only theme; each weekend has its own subtheme and performing acts and shows related to that subtheme.  The faire itself is located in a comfortably shady glen in Anne Arundel County in Crownsville, Maryland.

This year I am proud to announce that our resident pirate and newest roving reporter MUM the pirate cook will be attending the fair the weekend of September 26 to join in the Adventure Weekend and celebrate all things piratical.  This fair is always one of our favorite fairs and this year is sure to be no different so if you’re in the neighborhood come out and see it.   
~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
    ~September 26, 2008~

As I mentioned in the last Faire and Con Report, we were off to the Village Renaissance Faire in Wrightstown, Pennsylvania last Saturday. We had another fine sunny day for the trip and were glad to see that this fair just keeps growing. This year the children’s area was even larger, with castle blocks, a bubble table, a music area and balance platforms for foam sword fighting on. Round Table Jousting with our friends from Period Productions put on another fine jousting show which ended in a little intrigue and was quickly followed by a bar brawl at the tavern. But the real gem of the show was Shakespearean chess where Shakespeare’s tragedies took on his comedies. This was done brilliantly, using the lines from the individual plays as the dialog on the field and the starting rundown of the plays was very funny. Then there was the food. This is another fair where they let in almost any food vender and your taste buds will thank you for it. While I stuck with the simple cheese sticks and a hamburger, Carol on the other hand had a cross between a quesadilla and an empanada [That would be an “empanadilla.” – ed.]. All in all it was a fun day.

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
~September 23, 2008~