MN Renaissance Festival 2012

Well, we all survived.  It was slightly overcast all morning with sun breaking through around noon.  It was about 50 F, which means that my fingers and nose were chilly but with all the layers the rest of my body was warm.  I really bundled F up under her costume, so I think she stayed pretty warm too.

I was really proud of F all day, this was her first festival, and she walked all day, and didn’t even want me to pick her up much at all.  It was great not to have to drag a stroller around out there.  She really liked the music and dancing, and she spent the entire belly dancers’ show running around with them on the manor green.  It was harder for her with the shows on more delineated stages, because she couldn’t climb up on stage with the performers.

( More photos )

I met a group of folks I used to dance with (that one year I worked at the festival, um. . . 2005?) and one had a son just F’s age, so they spent some time playing together, which was nice.  She also talked to an older girl for a while, a daughter of one of the belly dancers, which was sweet.

We had a couple minor meltdowns involving the swing ride and the expensive hand-painted doll she wanted to take home that I said no to, but it was around 1:30, just before we left, so I will chalk it up to tiredness.  Four hours is a long time for a little 3 year old to walk around in a crowd.

Also, we were not allowed to sit down.  F got hysterical if we tried to.  I didn’t mind standing all day, so I let her have that one to avoid fuss.

Everyone loved her costume and she got tons of compliments.  I loved the dress; I thought she looked perfectly adorable all day.  The coif was pure genius, I think.  It kept her warm and gave a nice authentic touch to what might have been an otherwise kind of generic faire costume.

I didn't get great shots of HB's costume or Lainey's either, but she has some photos that I hope she'll share with me soon!  I'll probably make separate posts in the next couple days to record all the costume details.

Despite the bumps, I think we all had a great time, and it was so worth it.  I am really glad we waited until she was old enough to walk all day on her own and enjoy it.  My only regret is that I don’t have more photos of F and me together.  Sometimes it seems like everybody other than me has a photo of themselves with my child, and I just want more tangible evidence that I am the mom!