Every year, over near Sandstone… er, sorry, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater they hold the local KC Renaissance Faire. I’ll likely have more thoughts available to you on the whole issue of so many time-honored things being renamed after corporations, but for now, a few thoughts on the aforementioned Renaissance Fair.

In the 12 years I’ve lived here, I’ve only missed one year going to the Fair. My first year, it was magic. As it was my second, and subsequent next few years. I remember distinctly the music of Maid in the Myddle and the wondrous sounds of the Hammered Dulcimer. I remember the fun of the jousting events, laughing at the jesters and "lepers" that populated the grounds. The angry executioners and the Royal Parade. I remember Sean O’Donnell and I prancing in, looking for the art, the crafts, and the music, while a friend (who’s name escapes me now) wanted only to find the swords, armor and blacksmiths. Now, I’m honestly more interested in the latter than the former, unless the former has some sort of utilitarian value, like the pewter mugs, or period dress.

Something has changed however. I’m not sure if it’s me, the fair, or more likely a little of both, but it seems so much less a merry gathering of like-minded folk, as it is simply a theme mall, held outside in semi-permanent wooden shacks. The crowd really got to me today… it was just as crowded as a typical mall during Christmas season, but that’s just me growing more and more like my Dad. We both hate crowds with a passion. They give us headaches. However, I couldn’t hardly find any of the little sideshows and scriptless characters that wandered around b/c of said crowd. Maybe they were there. I don’t know. The scheduled shows and events are cool enough, but it’s the people just wandering around in costume and character that give the place it’s personality. All I could see today, however, was the overwhelming tide of the mindless masses. That’s not personality, that’s tedious. Even Mel got tired of the crowd… she was the one who actually brought it up first and wanted to leave.

What I don’t think is entirely me is the sense that the fair really has become little more than a place to sell your wares. Maybe it’s always been that way. That’s actually fairly likely, no pun intended. Still… maybe it really was something "special", only to succumb in the last few years to the pressures of the almighty dollar and commercialism, while I’ve only just grown curmudgeonly enough to finally see it.

What I do know without an iota of doubt is that I didn’t get my goddamn turkey leg today b/c the line was 50+ people too damn deep every time we passed. *grumble*

I want my old, barely populated fair back. It was fun then. Now it’s just crowded.