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Have you met the St Molden’s Invaders?

Pyrates, gypsies, wenches, and more thronged through the gates of the Bay Area Renaissance Festival as usual. Listening to the chatter, a few voices stood out, unfamiliar accents, booming laughs, shouted greetings. Faces lit up as long time friends, some meeting for the first time, exchanged greetings again. A gathering of RenaissanceFestival.com (R/F) members is in progress, a second year celebration of one member’s birthday. Originally dubbed the St Patty’s Invasion, and renamed this year to St. Molden’s Invasion after a good-natured rapscallion member was bestowed sainthood by a denizen of the forums, the Invasion is an event not soon forgotten by those attending. The toast we raised our tankards to paid tribute to both him and the invasion with cries of “Holy Molden.” Let me introduce you to the St Molden’s Invaders.

Lord Jarhead

The birthday boy who started the whole thing in 2007 is our first subject. Lord Jarhead—a 41-year-old Marine now working as a finance officer at a motorcycle dealership near Tampa—was living in Indiana last year when he decided that he was going to attend the Bay Area Renaissance Festival to celebrate his 40th birthday. When he posted his plans on the R/F forum, member Marines from all over the country started making plans to attend and help him celebrate.LJ, as he’s affectionately known at R/F, started going to Faire when friends called him on a Sunday morning and insisted that he go along with them to Michigan Renaissance Festival. By the end of the day, he had acquired a pair of simple black pants and a white shirt. His garb, now much more involved and his highest expenditure to date, currently consists of black leather armor, a maile shirt, and appropriate undergarments. Last year he attended seven different faires, sometimes camping with the Bayou Scoundrel crew, sometimes staying with friends, sometimes getting a hotel room. For this invasion, LJ and Lady Harley, his beautiful three-year-old red-nose pitbull, and their roommate, Exavieor, opened their home to many of the invaders.

Exavieor

A tiny bundle of energy, Exavieor both attends and works at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. As Captain of the Seahorse Pub, her duties usually preclude her joining any of the mischief in the shire but she always attempts to join after-hours events. This year, she took the weekend off and joined in the festivities though she did have to go in early on Saturday to deliver the sliced apples that are an integral part of the Bee Stings (cider & mead w/ an apple wedge) for which the pub is famous.

Now 26, Exavieor has been attending faire since a 6th grade trip to a reenactment sparked an interest. Doing accounts receivable during the week and operating the bar during the BARF season, she still found time to attend four faires in 2007, the furthest being Lady of the Lakes in Tavares, Florida. Having been involved in a car accident during the holidays, she sported an unusual addition to her garb this year. A scarf, wrapped around her neck support, gave the illusion of a collar, not an unusual sight in the faire world. We’ll just be glad when she feels good enough not to need it.

Staying with Lord Jarhead, Exavieor, and Lady Harley were:

Molden

There would be no St Molden’s Invasion without this character. Molden, a native of Austin, Texas, is a 45-year-old IT Project Manager. It all started for him when an old high school flame asked in a bar one night, “So what are you doing Halloween weekend and how do you feel about wearing tights?” He and Queen Shauna are still friends, camp together at Faire, and his favorite pieces of garb are items Shauna has made for or given to him.

He names the Texas Renaissance Festival as his home faire, with Scarborough Faire a close second. Last year Molden attended both those faires and drove just over 1100 miles to join the invasion of the Bay Area Renaissance Festival for LJ’s birthday. As he headed home from that invasion, he assured everyone that he would definitely be there when the next gathering occurred. He made good his promise and joined the invaders each day as we stormed the shire. However, this isn’t the furthest faire he’s visited. Honors for that go to the Minnesota Renaissance Faire where he has attended several times.

Martin

As a member of the Landschnekts reenactment group, Martin usually sticks close to his German compatriots and the Spanish court encampment. Sunday he took the day off and joined the Invasion, spending time shopping and seeing shows for the first time this season. Even the four faires he visited in 2007 were with the Landschnekts, so this was truly an unusual event.

Martin, a 40-year-old IT security specialist has only attended Florida faires to date. The trek across the state to visit the Florida Renaissance Festival is the furthest he traveled last year, though he’s been to faires all over the state. Like many, he got involved with faire via Dungeons and Dragons, though on a slightly different path. When he moved to Tampa, he started running campaigns for actors and fighters who participated in faires. Through those contacts, six years ago he became a member of the Landschnekts.

Caria

The only invader staying at LJ’s home to arrive by air, Caria flew in from Newark, New Jersey, on Friday evening. Having recently returned to school, the 33-year-old had to arrange her flights around her class schedule and even brought a book with her to study for a test on Tuesday. She laughed as she reminded me that this year was the easy year to get to the invasion. Last year, a snow-cancelled flight on Friday evening caused her to scramble to get to Tampa. She found a flight out of Atlantic City, grabbed a taxi for a two-hour trip to the airport hoping her luggage would get there from Newark, and flew in to Tampa on Saturday night.

Caria is a veteran fairegoer, having trekked 2500 miles to attend Arizona Renaissance Festival in 2007, along with four other faires. A boyfriend took her to her first faire and, by the end of the day, she was in garb. The boyfriend didn’t last but her love of faire has. The Renaissance bug bit her so badly that one year she had arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday and was at faire, on crutches, that weekend.

The Bayou Scoundrel Crew

The Bayou Scoundrels are a pirate crew led by Capt Sin, and made up of family members, both blood and chosen. They travel to eastern faires as they are able, usually driving a dually diesel pickup and pulling a fifth wheel trailer. Shaking his head, Capt Sin reminisced about trips that have gone wrong, once having to send the others home from the Texas Renaissance Festival while he stayed behind with the broken down truck and camper for 2.5 weeks. Last year at Tennessee, the camping plan almost went awry when the “campground” turned out to be a pasture beside a home, the electric provided by an extension cord. A few phone calls were necessary to secure the last campsite available for the Memorial Day weekend and that one was on a first come first serve basis.

Capt Sin & Willa Swallow

With shaved head, kilt, mustache, and perpetual squint as if he stared off at the far horizon, Capt Sin looks the part of the pirate he portrays. The 46-year-old firefighter’s furthest adventure has been to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Last year he attended four faires with the crew and was handfasted on one trip.

Capt’s lovely wife, Willa, is a 45-year-old schoolteacher who started attending faires by taking her students on day trips. She and Capt were handfasted at the Ohio Renaissance Faire, one of four they attended in 2007.

Capt and Willa first attended faire when friends invited them to go along to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. They soon bought garb and have been regular attendees at that faire ever since. They already have plans in the works for attending the RENdezvous in May at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.

Anita Goodman

Willa’s older sister, Anita, is another member of the Bayou Scoundrel crew. Doing accounting chores by day, the 48-year-old sews and makes small items for the crew to wear. Willa and Capt introduced her to faire and she usually travels with them. The Invasion trip was up in the air for a while as she waited for a new grandbaby to arrive. That worked out and even a car accident a couple of days prior to leaving for the Invasion didn’t slow her down. It did speed the trip home up a bit, though, as they had to be back for an MRI early Tuesday morning.

Grovdin Dokk

A 36-year-old copier repairman, Grovdin Dokk, started attending faires via cast members who were part of his Dungeons and Dragons group, but says he has been going to faire in his head forever. Grov, as he’s known to friends and on the R/F forum, visited eight faires in 2007, with Wicked Faire in Edison, New Jersey, being the furthest from his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though he usually camps with the BS crew, one year he took a girlfriend and her child to the Texas Renaissance Festival and they camped in the family “quiet” section. He vehemently denies that “quiet” is a word to use for that section and recommends that only those accustomed to waking three times per night to the sound of trains and air horns make plans to stay there.

Lady Rubia

At 18, Lady Rubia was the youngest invader and Grov’s daughter. Her first time at faire was a birthday present from her grandmother. They went in street clothes—commonly called mundanes or ‘danes to those who go in garb—and she said the heat was awful. There was lots of shopping to do with her birthday money, though, and she had a great time. She attended faire with Grov for the first time this past year, going to three different faires in all. This invasion trip was her first long distance traveled for faire and she plans to keep going for a long time.

Lord Jarhead and Caria, though not based in Louisiana, are members of the BS crew and go with the rest when they are able.

Eric the Green & Brimstone Blue

Eric, a 28-year-old warehouse employee from Houston, Texas, attended his first faire with his older sisters. He introduced his 26-year-old wife, Brimstone Blue, to faire though he didn’t make too good an impression that first time, leaving her to wander faire by herself not long after arriving. They tease each other good naturedly about it, he saying he’s learned better now and she saying that he’s still making up for it. Listening to the couple tell stories of faire will, and did, keep a crowd in stitches. Both agree there’s no place like it and have worked hard to be able to attend. The caring they shared while telling of saving money all year to let her buy all new garb to start the year made it obvious that they have a love not only for faire but for each other as well.

Leinad Thornwolf & Escarlata Cisneros

Originally from New Jersey, Leinad, a 37-year-old shipping specialist who recently moved to Central Florida, has attended faire off and on since the 1990s. His favorite accoutrement is a grey and purple flog from Thunderhead Leather that he wears around either his neck or his waist.

Yep, that’s right; Escarlata was one of the invaders too, both this year and at the original invasion. Now 49, she’s been attending faire since 1990 and visited ten different shires last year. The job she recently retired from enabled her to travel as extensively as she did, even attending Shrewsbury Faire in Oregon. Now she writes for FaireNews.com and is having a great time. What could be better than attending faires, researching faires, and writing about faires?

Last year the couple attended seven faires in three states and was handfasted at faire. They are planning their final handfasting for Tennessee Renaissance Festival this coming May and would love to have as many of you as can join them.

Other invaders stayed with friends, family, or in hotels.

Athena

A 37-year-old medical administrator from Akron, Ohio, who also arrived by air, Athena has been attending faire since 2000 when she made her first trip to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. The friends she went with must have been immune to the Renbug because she is the only one who has continued going. She attended five faires in 2007, including the first invasion of BARF that has also been her furthest trip to date. She almost didn’t make it last year, though unlike Caria she was able to get here for Saturday. When her friend picked her up at the airport that Saturday morning, they stopped in a Burger King, changed clothes, and headed straight for faire.

Quiet One

With eight events in five different states this past year, Quiet One has an obvious love of faire. The almost 43-year-old warehouse manager attended her first faire, the Great Lakes Medieval Faire, in 1997 and continued attending GLMF once per year until the first time they saw the Tortuga Twins in 2005. That year they were in the shire three times and discovered that faires happened all over the country. She made her first out of state trip to the North Carolina Renaissance Festival in 2005 and started buying garb in 2006.

‘Ette Tu, another R/F event held at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival in 2007, was her first invasion; she had always either gone solo or with her daughter. Being a very shy person, she sat in the car on the night of the meet and greet for 5 minutes trying to decide whether she wanted to go in. She didn’t know anyone there but finally decided to go ahead. She says she went in and met a bunch of wonderful and accepting people that night and over the whole weekend and is glad she didn’t chicken out on meeting new people by herself.

Lavender & Master Hawkins

The couple, currently living in Nashville, Illinois, will relocate to Grand Junction, Colorado, before the end of spring. He’s a restaurant manager who attended his faire at the Michigan Renaissance Festival in 2001. Her roommates introduced her to faire in 1989. They were married in 2006, last year spent ten days wandering California, attending two faires while there, and made various other trips for at total of six faires in four states.

Several other R/F forum members attended the St Molden’s Invasion, but I didn’t get a chance to meet or interview them. Everyone I talked to wondered why the weekend was over so quickly but were very glad to have finally met these people they call friends.

March 25th, 2008 Posted by Escarlata | Have You Met? | 7 comments