Don't fret. The photos from the festival will be online soon. It will be worth the wait!

GENESEO SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL REVIEW
by Willa, ATF Staff Writer

The weekend started out with a 4 hour Friday night drive to what would be the most immaculate campground and bathroom we'd ever seen. It was an omen to let us know how much fun the weekend would be!

Saturday morning started out with a ride on the golf cart down the hill to the actual festival grounds. I got the supreme luck of getting the seat next to Godfrey, the evil mastermind of Shattock Schoole of Defence. He was sporting a very nice evil mastermind-ish moustache, too, I might add.

Okay, okay...move PAST the man, Willa. Move!

The fairegrounds were gorgeous! Very nicely placed near the interstate in Geneseo, Illinois (so where did they get the festival name again?), with lots of space that was really well organized. The Washer Well Wenches got to do all of our shows on the SAME STAGE! (Yes, I know I can hear you all gasping, but it's TRUE!) And we did really well with tips, which surprised the heck out of us. The crowds were really receptive and played along very well.

I think the highlight of my day was having a lady come up and say, "I was one of those people you rode past when you were on the golf cart and you made fun of our clothes!" Uh oh, I thought fleetingly, until she added, "That was a great way to start the day! We laughed the whole way down the hill!"

Oh, and lest I forget, this was my first faire of being asked for my autograph. Of course, all of the performers were, but it was an ego boost nonetheless. The organizers of the faire came up with the brilliant idea of putting together a booklet (in orange, no less) with a page dedicated to each performer/troupe so that the kids could go around and gather signatures! It was a great way to start talking to people and it made the kids feel special. Bravo Geneseo people!

Let's see...on the list of performers were the Hanlon-Lees Jousting Knights and Steeds, Shattock, WWW, Orckes and Trolles, Gael Funk (my favourite harpy), a fantastic Shakespearean troupe that I have to get the contact information for. They did something a bit like Reduced Shakespeare, but with jokes I'd never heard before. Pure brilliance! And for some reason, one of the girls knew my son's name. But I won't worry...yet.

Of course, there were other performers, but my memory is shot and it's late. When the photos are online I'm sure I'll have a better recollection of what went on.

For now, just know that this faire was a whole lot of fun. The only thing that would better it would be if it were two days long. But we're glad it wasn't this year because Sunday rained all day long.

We'd like to thank everyone who was at the campground (especially "Flaming Wood" Bill) who made the afterhours events ever-so memorable. Long live the Jiffy Pop!

Help keep us online. Book your travel here, or patronize some of these folke:

1. Des Moines Ren Faire (IA)
2. Iowa Ren Festival (IA)
3. Iowa-Minnesota Pirate Fest (IA)
4. Greater Quad Cities Ren Faire (IL)
5. Midlands Pirate Festival (NE)
6. Nebraska Ren Faire (NE)
7. Ren Faire at Sleepy Hollow (IA)

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2. threegryphons.com

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Permanent festivals in our area: Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bristol Renaissance Faire, Des Moines Renaissance Faire and Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Other ATF sites: DisneyFans.com DMHauntedHouses.com