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Last weekend I returned for the fourth year to the Oklahoma Renaissance Faire, which now took four minutes to drive to from the home I recently bought in Muskogee. The Faire wasn't the only reason for my changing my residence to here, but it's what brought me here for the first time so I could eventually discover some other things about this town like incredibly low real estate prices, especially for one who is experienced in construction trades and is willing to put in some renovation energy.

The weather both days was unseasonably cool, as it had been all the preceding week. Opening day was mercifully sunny after starting out in the 40s, but it never got above the 60s. Sunday was cloudy most of the day, and I started carrying around an umbrella starting about noon because was looking like it was going to start raining. But this act I am sure insured that it didn't all the rest of the day. But it still stayed cool enough for wind to chill.

In the courtyard not much bigger than a school gymnasium where, in the half hour before the gates are opened they have most of the 120 cast members scurrying about and surprising sometimes bewildered but usually laughing patrons in mundanes, while at least three groups of musicians as well as Gypsy dancers all going at the same time, I got to again see the main thing that this faire is good for. It is an actor's jam session where all the players are encouraged to wing it. The pregate scenario sort of followed a preordained script, but it was more of a skeleton for the performers to hang lines on that were different each day.

Standing by a man in black clerical garb with a cross around his neck and a large black book that looked like a Bible in his hands were two women each holding a sign on a stick: "Anti-brothel committee ", and "Keep our men home". After "His majesty King Henry, the eighth by the grace of God to bear that name" (still played by John Auld in his friendly haughtiness) was announced as well as his sister, Queen Margaret of Scotland (still played by Lisa Pronovost ) they implored their majesties to close down the brothel. (There has been for a few years a small two-story house next to the castle called The Scarlet Pillow where women in lingerie revealing costumes sit in the windows and call out in sirenly manner to patrons as they pass by (but as far as I know doesn't offer the services of a real brothel)). The ladies of the evening protested the protest loudly, and most of the men, including His Majesty, could not see any reason for it not to remain open, but Her Majesty was persuaded to order it closed after her most trusted escort admitted to having patronized it. This led to an argument between their majesties that resulted to an agreement to settle it by a debate in court. (On Saturday the king messed up his lines and referred to her as "my wife", and all the actors were free to break out in giggles over it, including His Majesty himself.)

This lead to the second act of the scenario in the grand hall of the Castle an hour later, where the committee again presented its case, there was more failure to reach agreement, but a decision was made to settle it on the human chess board. But before the issue of the brothel was addressed, there were other people with matters to present to His Majesty, and on Sunday there emerged a hilarious exchange where the Spanish guard complained about a Lady's "poodle named Paddles piddling on his pointy-toed boots", followed by everyone else coming up with more and more alliterations upon P, and all the actors visibly cracking up at something that had all the sound of something under spontaneous creation.

At the chessboard that afternoon, there were again the numerous fights that frequently featured blows to men's nether regions and hair pulling between women, as well as such things as Scotsmen running off in embarrassment at being unkilted, and the defenders of the brothel emerged victorious. This was all there was to the scenario, enough but not too much, easily graspable without having to take time off from listening to music and browsing vendors and beholding all the other stuff of faire.

There had been some new construction on the grounds. They moved the name of The Golden Harp to a new building with an open second storey overlooking an end of the jousting field. (The old Golden Harp was now Gyllen's Pub). The program said that there one can "experience the Royal Joust, Celtic Family Games, Maypole Dancing, and the Birds of Prey from a truly Royal vantage point" for "$10.00 per person, or $50.00 for a table of eight for the entire day". Most of the time I passed by and looked up to the second deck I found it empty, and Karen Troeh played all her harp sets by the front door on the street rather than topside, where she was scheduled.

There was a large tree stump (made out of painted fiberglass) that you could go inside and climb a ladder to a deck on top, a water wheel by the Scarlet Pillow (that wasn't connected to anything), and a clock tower on top of the new Golden Harp with a dial on each side that had only an hour hand. The clocks hands were moved by a big clockwork mechanism on the ground floor by the door with shafts going up thru the ceiling, that was handmade, and was working erratically because a cogwheel was out of plane and a few of its teeth were missing the pendulum levers. There was a new food stand and vendor shop by the pirate ship, and according to the program several improvements to the Children's Realm that I couldn't recognize because I haven't spent too much time there1 in previous years.

There was a dearth of larger musical groups this year. There were the Bilge Pumps's six, Scottish Mayhem's four, Queen's Gambit's and The Bedlam Bards's trios, and Howlo's duet, then all the other ten musicians mentioned in the program were doing solo acts. But the Grey family was back, this time all in maroon and gold, occasionally surrounding Karen Troeh and her harp and treating us to "Among the leaves so green-o". Scottish mayhem was basically The Rogues back together, but with a different name. Lars and Jimmy were still playing the same intricate bagpipe tunes with a new man and with Bryan out in front insulting the English as well as anyone leaving the show early.

Commedia Sans Arte, the comedy improv group was back, but emaciated compared to last year. They were down to three people, and some of their popular routines like Translations and Corners they couldn't do. They compensated with some new ones requiring fewer, and once I saw them joined by The Incontinent Players, another trio of improv actors whom I otherwise had to be lucky enough to catch on the street, as they had no scheduled gigs on a stage.

I had my harp in the van the first day, but wound up remaining in butterfly mode, just letting myself happen in on good happenings, and not bringing it inside the gate. On Sunday I had it at the maypole for the first dance in the morning, but the second one was right at the time it was looking like rain and I went out to fetch my umbrella, and by the time I got back to the pole the dance was half over. I didn't play it any more that day. But I will be bringing it back. It was a good start to another run that I will be able to attend every day of.

-Butterfly Bill

"Greetings milord, or is it milady? or, um..."
"So did you lose the bet? No, I won it. He bet me I wouldn't"

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