So, today was the first day at Maryland Renn Faire.

I had a good time, even though we didn't get there early enough to catch the Royals' arrival. Poop. There's always tomorrow, though.

lostsatyr and I got to be examples for a "living history" talk by one of the performers for a little while this morning. Captain Jean Cabot, Revel Grove's local pirate queen, was explaining about how people carried their drinking cups on their belts and what sorts of materials the cups were made of, and she happened to mention leather mugs just as lostsatyr and I were walking by - "Many people use mugs made of leather, like them...."

We saw part of the royals' story today - a performance that set up the situation between Henry VIII, Katherine Howard, Francis Dereham, and Thomas Culpepper. Even though I knew what was coming, it was still interesting to watch.

We wandered the festival for a bit, and I found a hat and necklace to go with my outfit, and a new bodice puppet. I also picked up a new book by Eleanor Herman, called Mistress of the Vatican. I really enjoyed her two previous books, so odds are this one will be good, too.

My unicorn shoulder puppet attracted a lot of attention; I think I probably drummed up some business for the people who make them. :)

We also got to see a presentation on "Tudor Crime and Punishment." Pretty interesting. Incidentally, I also got to play a bit with a crossbow before the lecture; they've set up an armory at the Living History site, so I got to look at the replica weapons. lostsatyr even has a picture of me with the crossbow!

I want to follow the Royal progress tomorrow; I hope we can get there early enough to see it from the beginning.