I am on the lookout for a Panther tent, used and in good condition.  I can't afford a new one, much as I desire it, but I am just a poor starving artist.  I'm tired of damage to my artwork from rain under the Caravan tent........ *sniff* its very frustrating.

If anyone knows of someone selling or giving away a panther tent that is a reasonable size (not HUGE) please let me know, I would be forever in debt.

This faire was recommended to me by Gale, so I figured, why the hell not!  Its at the right time of year, its affordable, and better yet, they have cabins which allocates the stupendous hotel costs this season truckin' around my whole family. 

We arrived friday afternoon sometime just after five, and had a little confusion finding out who we went to but since Gale was like -right- there at the gate basically, she pointed us to the right personages.    First and foremost, they allowed us to park our trailer behind our tent, this was a huge bonus.  My stock is labor intensive to bring in and out, and is weather sensitive to the tenth degree, so the ability for quick stashing in the evenings or if ran rushed in was a blessing indeed.

Second, as my little one noted as we waited outside our cabin for a key, 'It looks like an elf house"...... and it did, it was adorable.  Though the bunks squeal when you move in the night, they are comfortable and the cabin was very clean and cute.  I actually want one in my back yard LOL.

Other than the handfull I already knew, Gale, Ruth and the Troop, I felt definitively alienated on the first night.  I said hello to everyone, sometimes I would get a hello back and often got looked at like "and who the hell are you?".   I considered this as we started settling in for the evening, I have to admit, it was an unusual sensation I'd never had at a faire before.  The Vendor coordinator was very friendly, but we had serious problems knowing who worked there, and who we went to for what.  No one showed us around (except Gale of course later), where we could find what...... even where to go to smoke we had to "figure out"..... it was a little uncomfortable.

I attribute a lot of this to the fact that I knew other vendors and I suppose a lot was assumed i'd be shown the ropes by "someone"....... (lol, poor Gale, my tourgide of life!).

This all, however, dissapeared the minute the morning came and I set up my tent.  Once the blistering day began, there was a different vibe going on...... I'm not sure why.  Maybe a lot of people were pre-occupied the night before on set-ups and travel.  God knows I was lol.

The faire, for all intents and purposes, has a lot of potential.  I am not very familliar with LARP, (though I am familliar with role playing as I do it), so some of the premise was a bit foreign........ and when that popped into my head, I realized perhaps that slight alienated feeling was in part due to that.  I wasn't exactly part of the LARP crowd.  I'm a die hard rennie lol.

Patronage was slow, but I attribute this to two factors, it was the first weekend and more attractions will be there this coming weekend....... and the ABYSMAL HEAT.  We're talking africa hot.   This seems to be my albatross, weird ass weather follows me to every faire, I swear.    I think you could have cooked an egg on my head, and people were passing out (one taken by ambulance!).

This weekend the temperature should be more bearable....... let me tell you in that swelter, no one wanted to walk around a lot let alone shop.  I felt bad for vendors, performors and the promoters....... who knew we were having this faire in a convection oven!!!

So, I'll save any diatrabe about the faire until after this weekend, I want to give it a totally fair shot.   No way I could guage it with us all sweltering in an unexpected sauna!