peteyfrogboy

This was, I think, the best Pennsic yet for me. I'll try to recount it as best I can before all the memories float away from me.

Getting There

I had my packing done well ahead of time, so my only concern when it was time to leave on Friday morning was how it would all fit in the car. It turned out that I needn't have worried about it. I wrapped the carpet and tent poles in the tarp and tied them to the strap-on roof rack, which left plenty of room in the back with more visibility than I'd expected. I even tossed in a cooler just because I had a space to fill.

The drive up to Richmond was uneventful, and I reached grinnellian2001 and jeoshua's place in the afternoon with plenty of time to spare. Driving on Saturday was not so blessed, involving a do-over after getting 30 miles down the road, but I'll et others tell that story. :) We met up with Jill and Julia near DC and rearranged cars for the final push to war.

We arrived on site at 10:30 PM and started setting up camp in the dark. My first impression of camping with the Barony of Cynnabar was an overwhelmingly positive one, as a gang of people I'd never met magically appeared to help me put up my tent. It was up in hardly any time at all, and I got all of my gear inside just as the first light rain started to fall.

The Camp

The group I've camped with the past several times is full of nice people, but they're friends of friends, and the mutual friends that I originally came to their camp with have been coming to war less and less as time went on. My old camp was also on the extreme end of the Serengeti, so I was quite happy to be invited by grinnellian2001 to camp with her in Cynnabar.

There were a number of people there that I already knew from the dance crowd, and many more whose acquaintance I was fortunate to make. Everyone was kind and welcoming. It was the most enjoyable Pennsic camp I've experienced since my early days when Bryn Madoc still had a large contingent every year. It was also only a couple of blocks from the barn and therefore much more convenient to the parts of the war that I actually care about.

desfontaines made a surprise appearance the second or third day in, as she was not originally planning to attend. Since I had our whole pavilion to myself I offered her a chunk of floor to sleep on so she wouldn't have to sleep in her car. She was a most pleasant house guest.

Though I had heard about it many times before, on Wednesday I got to experience my first Cynnabar Drunken Court. The details shall remain vague, since What Happens At Pennsic Stays At Pennsic(tm), but suffice to say that I was well entertained and touched by the genuine love evident between the Baron and Baroness and their people.

Dancing

The whole point of Pennsic, of course, is the dancing. :) I didn't go to quite as many classes as I have in years past, but I got plenty of new things to bring home and propagate. Alta Regina, Legiadra, Colonesse, and a fun new Horses' Bransle variation to name a few. I'm more comfortable with La Fia Giuelmina and Spero now as well. Bella Gioiosa and Vita di Cholino are somewhere on my list of things to learn and/or remember in the near future.

The classes seemed to go well enough, though if I am in charge of scheduling them again for next year there are definitely refinements to be made in the process. There were requests for classes on theory, technique and reconstruction to complement the more common choreography instruction, which is certainly something I'm in favor of. In hindsight I should have been more proactive in finding teachers and requesting specific classes rather than simply taking what was submitted. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to improve things in the future.

I attended every ball on the schedule, and each had its own particular flavor. I was HRM Judith's maestro del ballo for the 15th century ball on Thursday evening, which was quite educational. I'm not used to having such a large and eager dance crowd or having liv musicians, so I had to learn the finer points of pacing and communication as I went. I was most grateful for the helpful nudges I received during the evening, and by the end I was nearly comfortable with the process.

After the last ball on Thursday I was told there was more dancing to be had at Casa Bardicci. I found my way there with Julia (the only time I went down the hill all war), though we found our entry blocked when we arrived. Rather than wait to ride Judith's coattails into the party, I regaled the gatekeeper with the story of St. Hobart and gave him the last of my badges. It was crowded and occasionally muddy inside, but we managed to find our way to the dance floor where Musica Subterranea was providing music. The tight quarters were a welcome challenge, and I managed to get in a few dances before the musicians packed up and moved on. The atmosphere was hard to beat, and it was definitely some of my favorite dancing for the entire war.

I became reacquainted with many old friends and made numerous new ones. I was never at a loss for good partners. I tried to pace myself, and managed not to end up particularly broken by the end of the war. I got a blister on one toe early in the war, but after removing some overly tight socks from my wardrobe I was able to mitigate its effects.

Et Cetera

I got to meet a lot of fellow artisans this year, many of whom were LJ friends or acquaintances. I was able to take a good look at the A&S display in the barn this year, and there was a lot of amazing work there. I should have taken pictures, but I never got my camera out until the very last day of the war.

I did a fairly good job of keeping my shopping to a reasonable level. Tablet weaving cards, a pretty wooden eyelet awl, some linen thread and a big pile of $3/yd linen made up the bulk of my purchases. Most of my shopping was watching other people spend money, which is a far safer pursuit.

I went to see the I Sebastiani show at ICOD, and was well entertained, as usual.