Location Taken: Maryland Renaissance Festival, Crownsville, Maryland
Time Taken: October 2010
Did you know I work at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in the fall? Probably not, since I haven’t mentioned it before in this blog (or you do, since you know me in real life. Or are from the future. You’re from the future, aren’t you?! I knew it! How’s the zeppelin traffic doing today?)
I’m not a performer or selling my art or anything fancy like that. I sell Italian ices, from a cart. It’s a nice cart. The ice is placed on top of half an orange, and it’s really tasty. Comes in two flavors, too, orange and strawberry. You should come and buy one when the Renn Fest’s on. I’m by the Royal Stage.
I actually rather like this job. I’m outside all day, but the spot I have is quite shady. I only get shifted to another location when the weather’s bad (Ices just don’t sell that well in the rain for some reason). I’m good at my job too. I’ve got the right level of quietly chatty that works for the customers. In other words, when all you want is an ice, I’ll get it for you without gabbing off your ear, but if you want to chat, I’ll chat right back. Well, assuming there isn’t a line. Some of those hot days at the start of the season, there are lines that last for hours. I’ve sold over 500 ices in a day before, when the demand is high. Other times, there’s not a person seeking an ice for miles around.
Those are the times I watch the people going past. A lot of my coworkers get bored working the carts, preferring the other food places where they can chat away with each other. Me, I’m patient and enjoy seeing the world go by. I’m right by one of the stages, so I can watch the show sometimes. There’s a blacksmith right by me, and they’ve got an anvil and forge and give demonstrations fairly often. I can hear the singing coming from the White Hart Tavern. I’ll even sing along when the Pyrates Royale are singing their songs, as I’m rather fond of their type of music. And that’s saying something, since I have a horrible memory for lyrics and can’t sing along to just about anything. I’ll chat with random people and give directions to people who look lost. And every so often, one of the traveling groups of performers will come by and put on a show.
The village militia (the ones in the photo) are a pretty common group in my corner of the Festival. They’ve got a few skits, all of them quite amusing. Frequently, there will be a bit of swordplay, usually accompanied with large quantities of witty banter. It’s always fun to watch them go at it.
If you ever do stop by, seek me out. And buy an ice! They really are quite tasty!
