Show Review: Glimmerdark 2017

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Yeah, I am way behind. Glimmerdark was in February, a fantasy and dark fairy convention that took over from Wicked Faire. It had it’s issues as a new/revised event, but I look forward to seeing what it becomes.

So to catch up more easily, I’m just going to sum it up in pictures. Enjoy!

IMG_20170203_181000 — All set in the ballroom. We had to be a little creative since our booth opened on three sides.

IMG_20170203_180940 — My new lightup cloak! Playing with sheer materials for the fairies.

IMG_20170203_180920 — Masks and light up blades. The light ups were a hit – one area where occasional darkness was to our benefit.

IMG_20170203_180911 — New sign, and lots of cloaks.

IMG_20170203_180905 — Green fairy backpack flask.

20170205_110847_001 — Happy barbarian fae with her new club!

20170204_204607 — A view down the aisle, for a bit of the show feel. We don’t get out of our booth much.

Event Review: 2016 Pagan Pride Days

December 2, 2016December 2, 2016 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

One of the highlights of our September is always Pagan Pride Days. These are lovely one day events all over the country where various people of pagan leanings come together. This year we made our way to three of the events: Frederick MD, Northern Virginia, and Belmont NC.

This was our second year at Frederick Pagan Pride, and I am happy to say much less rainy than last year! Actually, it was a beautiful day. The event took place on the front lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Frederick. It was a wonderful setting, welcoming and friendly. And speaking of, we happily got to meet up with various vendor and fair friends as well.

20160917_100730 — Our booth on the hill! Nice collection of ritual tools and cloaks.

20160917_100759 — A bit of the view from inside the tent.

20160917_135648 — Happy customer with our horn-tipped spear, black fleece cloak, and short crystal wand.

20160917_153420 — The beautiful front lawn and its gorgeous willow tree.

20160917_181833 — It feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere here, and it is so peaceful.

20160917_182619 — I’ve had a thing for willow trees since elementary school. Here’s the view from under the tree back towards the church. And a bit of the sunset as we’re all packing up.

20160917_182633 — Kids unfortunately tore down a number of the willow branches, but we got permission to collect what was on the ground to make something out of. So here’s Nathaniel goofing off while collecting them for next year!

The following Saturday was Northern Virginia and Belmont NC Pagan Pride Days. I went to NoVa, Nathaniel to NC. So I only have photos from NoVA. It was a little weird being back on my college campus – that had been a while! The setting gave this festival a definitely different feel. And I started off the day with our canopy, which had already been stressed by the winds at Steampunk World’s Fair, breaking as I went to set it up. Thank goodness for PVC pipes and duct tape!

20160924_101024 — This show set up with small blocks, so every space was a corner. So a fun different display.

20160924_101031 — Nope, that ceiling isn’t sagging, really! Thank you show staff and Mark for salvaging that!

20160924_101047 — A better view of my leather leaf clips. Though I think I need a new wig. This was the first nice wig I ever bought and it’s showing the wear.

20160924_101056 — Another inside the booth view, and a view beyond to some of our favorite booth neighbors!

Virginia Renaissance Faire 2016 Wrap-Up

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

One of the challenges of doing faires and festivals is weather. It is completely out of your control, but your sales can depend on it. It can make a show vary a lot from year to year. So this year, five weekends and only one of them without rain… well, it did not make for a great Virginia Renaissance Faire this year.

We still love our small-ish state renaissance faire. We made great new friends and had a lot of fun. Hopefully next year the weather will be with us again.