This weekend, I went to the wonderfully crazy event known as Wicked Faire. To make a long explanation short, Wicked Faire is a little bit of Renn Faire, combined with a Con, mixed with a hefty dose of the local (and not so local) kink and pagan communities. It's an absolutely epic blast. For my boyfriend and I, our second year going was even better than our first. No, we weren't able to go to many of the performances (and I'm PISSED that I completely missed seeing White Elephant Burlesque perform, they're a wonderful group) but we still had a really good time.
We did our first pass of the vendors Friday night, a few hours in when everyone was set up and stuff had really gotten going. Between fondling silk and leather and oggling gorgeous hardware, we caught an amazing fire-spinning performance by Hubris. While their flaming stunts were wicked cool, the weather had also gotten wicked cold, so after their main performance was done we ran back inside, missing the encore and extras.
After watching the fire, we spent a while at a fun display by The Bee Folks. They had a mind-boggling array of handmade beeswax candles, from simple tapers to ornately carved dragons and puppies and flowers and Greenmen and... penises and boobs. Yes, really. The line was called "Mother's Special Candles," and they were hidden under a cloth so that those who didn't want to see naughty wax wouldn't have to. They were very well done, and absolutely hilarious. They also had a whole line of hand creams and lip balms made from beeswax and/or honey, which were quite decadent. The crowning jewel of their display, however, was their array of varietal honey. There was honey from bees fed from only blueberry bushes, and from almond trees, and on bamboo and buckwheat and radishes, and my new absolute favorite, from avocado trees. It's richly flavored, yet mellow. There is little to none of the dry aftertaste that some honey gets, and no bitterness, yet it isn't too sweet, either. I usually don't gush about honey, but this stuff is crazy good. (unfortunately, they don't seem to have it on their website right now. I has a sad.)
Later that night, we ended up at the ginormous display of Red Falcon Armories. I cannot say enough good things about these people. Seriously. First of all, they make wonderful, cool, amazing stuff. (check out their site: they may not be good at the whole "making a website" thing, but they know their leather!) My boyfriend got a flask and leather belt case for it, and a fun "mana potion" bottle with belt case. And me? I ended up spending FAR more than I planned on a fantastic lamb leather corset vest. It is worth every penny I paid, though. It's incredibly comfortable, the craftsmanship is superb, and it looks amazing. Plus, between the high-quality leather and the styling, I could use it for some kinds of everyday wear. Paired with a light blouse and a blazer? I could totally wear this thing to a job interview, then ditch the blazer and go dancing in it, then go home and Domme it up a little with my boyfriend. Their customer service is also fantastic - about two hours after I purchased it, the busk had a catastrophic mechanical failure. I sat down, and suddenly one of the closure posts parted company with the busk, and flew across the room, almost taking someone's eye out! I quickly unlaced and removed the dangerous garment and went back to Red Falcon, where they immediately replaced the corset with effusive apologies... then started digging around for the number of their busk provider, muttering dark imprecations upon the people who provided such a dangerously sub-par busk. No such issues occurred with the second corset, I'm happy to say, and I'm happily looking for any and every excuse to wear it.
The last thing we did before leaving was spend almost an hour chatting with Dr. Clockwork about his stock in trade, Violet Wands. My boyfriend got to feel what they can do for the first time, after hearing me talk about them for a year. All I can say is, it is now certain that when we can finally afford one, we will acquire a Violet Wand. Somehow. Because I rarely see that expression on my boyfriend's face when he tries something new, and I love it.
Saturday was long, and wonderful. To make a long story short (or an already long story not quite so endless), our shopping loot from the rest of the Faire included 15' of bright teal hemp rope (recommended by our friend the Wiccan Shibari Boy), a one-hand set of eagle talons (metal talons that attach to the tips of your fingers, for sharp sensation play or electro play), a pretty suede pouch for me to wear at Renn Faires, a stunning hand-dyed silk scarf/shawl/veil (5'x2.5' of sheer, multi-shaded purple silk. I'm in heaven.), and a lot of fantastic memories. I met new friends, reconnected with old ones, and spent time with friends I didn't even know were interested in faires/steampunk/kink/any of this crazy stuff. I was invited to an absinthe party by a close friend (which I missed due to my body deciding to start getting sick), and I saw some of the most amazing costumes.
I adored it all. It was a wonderful weekend, and I wish I didn't have to wait a whole year for the next Wicked Faire!
No comments:
Post a Comment