Scarlet Fest

A must-see event!

The full name is actually Scarlet's Mid-Winter Renaissance Festival. Lane and I attended this event because Dotti’s two belly dance troupes were dancing. She had warned us it was kind of weird. Man, oh man! We all came to the conclusion that they hold this thing just so they can have a reason to dress up in their costumes during the off season. And I don’t mean just the participants. A great many people who had simply come to look around were in costumes. There were the typical things you’d expect to see … Lords, Ladies, wenches, etc. There were some really great costumes and some that people had just barely made a pass at making a costume. And then there were all the …. um ….. “others”.

* Pirates were the largest representation by far. I suppose pirates at least fit into the era in which this event is supposed to represent. Jack Sparrow himself was there. Honestly, this guy had the look, the costume and the movements down! All except for the jeans he was wearing. Seriously. If you're going to go to THAT much work to duplicate a character, why would you not find some breeches? Not to mention that faire rumor is that the guy really thinks he's Jack Sparrow.

* We observed at least two Ninjas. This seemed "off" but then again, no one said this was limited to Renaissance Brittan.

* Zorro? Ditto the above I suppose

* A few men in kilts, including a Braveheart wannabe who slapped on a kilt with his work boots and Fruit of the Loom tee shirt and painted half his face red. Still, you'll hear no complaints from me on this one as I love a man in a kilt.

* A couple of revolutionary war soldiers. These just missed the renaissance by nearly a century.

* A cave woman. This chick missed the time-line mark by several millenia.

* Mermaids. Well, mermaids are just timeless, aren't they?

* A bear-trainer with his bear which was both cool and appropriate. Except that the bear actually acted like a bear. He was never cute and friendly with the myriad kids who came up to see him. So, was this guy very good in sticking in "character" as a bear? Or like Jack Sparrow and thinks he's really a bear? Seriously, at most events you would assume the former. At this one .....?

* A guy in a fox costume that is generally believed to be a “furry”. This would have been kind of funny (in a creepy way) except that, at one point, Lane said "I think that Fox is staring at me." And we think maybe he was.

* Several people that we had no idea what they were trying to be. One girl was wearing red and white striped socks that came up over her knees, a short, black skirt that had points and made you think of someone trying to dress like a sexy witch, a kimono blouse with a bustier over the top and a pirate hat. It's anyone's guess what she was supposed to be.

* Last, but not least creepy, was Marilyn Manson. Seriously, it had to have been him.

Honestly people, if you leave anywhere near Oklahoma City, please go to this event next year. It's fairly (pun intended) small so not a lot of things to do. You won't need them. Park a chair in a corner and watch people walk by. I promise you no end of amusement.

EDIT: Some chick posted this very shaky video of some of Scarlet Fest on You Tube. Sadly, most of the nuttier characters are not featured. You do, however, get a brief glimpse of Marilyn Manson and, more importantly, my beautiful sister dancing. At about 4:21 notice the one on the left in the purple. That's her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZ4MYY7ahg