Saturday morning dawned bright, clear -- and COLD! To my utter astonishment, there was considerable hoarfrost on all the open fields around our motel. A hard frost??? C'mon! I mean, this was LOUISIANA! It's not supposed to FROST in Louisiana!!! On the bright side, that meant that billions and billions and billions of Louisiana Tiger Mosquitoes and biting Black Flies perished overnight from the cold. Even better, it meant that temperatures at LRF would be right comfortable all day. HUZZAH!!! So Regina and I grabbed a hot breakfast in Lafayette, then pushed on to Hammond as the day warmed up. Once there, we checked into the Friendly Motel -- they really are! -- unpacked our gear, garbed up and headed off to faire. Unfortunately, this weekend Regina was not able to play her Faerie persona, Aviana, for simple lack of wings. Although a diligent search of her storage unit had turned up most of her Faerie costume, her original pair of Fey wings were still missing. So Regina and her mother tried to build a replacement set. Regretably, the wire they chose for the new wings -- even tho it had the "look and feel" of their original wire -- proved far too soft to bear much weight, causing this new set to droop and sag. At that point, it was too late to start over again, so Regina wore her black Peasant garb (Photo, Above Right) to LRF, instead. Even so, I still thought my young friend made a most attractive photo subject that weekend!

We just missed Opening Gate, but we had plenty of time to see Smee & Blog, AKA "The Singing Executioners," at the Queen's Stage. Regina had never seen Smee & Blog before, so we found some shady seats and together we enjoyed their hilarious -- if somewhat morbid -- brand of humor. At that point, I was both surprised and delighted to spot my photographer friends Kim and Dana, AKA "The Stalkwells," in the crowd. I really shouldn't've been so surprised. This year had already proved to be "The Year of the Stalkwells," as we kept meeting each other unexpectedly at every faire I attended in 2002! So after Smee & Blog, I introduced Regina to Kim and Dana as we all slowly strolled down the lane toward the King's Stage, exchanging news, taking pictures and checking out all the shops along the way. Now both "Zoltan the Adequate" (magic (Photo, Upper Right) and "The Duelists" (comedy duelling) were performing at the King's Stage that day -- and since these entertainers were also brand-new for Regina, we all found comfortable seats in the shade and enjoyed their shows, together. Afterwards we parted company, with Dana and Kim heading off to the Adult Pub and the Jousting Field beyond, while Regina and I went down toward the games area past the "Crazy King's" new tower. There we encountered a crafter/demonstrator making "stone" mushrooms by pouring quick-setting concrete into shallow depressions in the sand, then quickly sticking a pre-formed "stem" into the upside-down "cap" before the concrete hardened. Once thoroughly set, all he had to do was pick them up by the stem, turn them right-side up, brush off the excess sand and there was a brand-new "mushroom". Everyone who passed by got a free sample (Photo, Left: including Regina, shown here holding her own "pet" 'shroom, while looking over a "Faerie Circle" set up by this crafter). It was definitely something new and different for LRF!

The mushrooms also reminded us that it was well past lunchtime by then. Now neither of us had eaten anything for at least six hours as we were simply having too much fun to think about it, so we were both getting just a tad hungry at that point! Since we had to pass by the Food Court on our way to the Jousting Arena anyway, Regina and I decided to stop off and grab a bite to eat (Photo, Right: while I ordered up our food, Regina made friends with another young fairegoer at LRF). Then refreshed and refueled, we swung around the Royal Lake to catch the Tortuga Twins -- there are THREE of them! -- at the Adult Pub beyond. We caught them doing their "Little Red Riding Hood" skit, which was uproariously funny but definitely PG13 (Photo, Below: the slightly misnamed Tortuga Twins warm up the audience at the Adult Pub Stage just before their show)!!!

Standard Disclaimer: This webpage is strictly an *Unofficial* look at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival held near Hammond, LA in the Parish of Tangipahoa. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Louisiana Renaissance Festival (OFFICE ADDRESS: PO Box 220, Robert, LA 70455-0220) and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own. LRF logo courtesy of the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are copyright ©2000-2003 by George Laking.