I’ll start this post by saying, “Getting old sucks.”
This last weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed as Pirate Adventure and it is one of my most favorite weekends of their season. It is also a favorite of many people.
For this weekend, I had an assistant working with me. I usually get about 500 pics per weekend and I thought since I had help, I would get close to 1,000 pics for the weekend. We didn’t even come close.
We also had big plans to campout in the campgrounds and capture the action at the bonfire and also at the Call of Booty camp.
On Saturday morning, my assistant was 2 1/2 hours late in meeting me. My day started off badly. Sitting in a gas station parking lot for 2 1/2 hours will tire a person out. So before my day even started, I was frustrated and tired from waiting.
When he showed up, we went into the campgrounds and found a spot to set up camp. We were one row away from the bonfire. I had high hopes for the weekend.
Now to where getting old sucks. We made it into the festival at about 1pm. We worked until 7pm. I ended up with my quota of 250 for the day but my assistant only got about 62 pics. Much lower than I expected from him.
I also shot video of the Tease of the Seas show at the Thirsty Pirate Pub stage. More about that later.
When we got back to our camp, I was tired but willing to cover the night’s activities in the campground. I laid down for a quick rest. When I looked up in a few minutes, my assistant already had his PJ’s on. I thought, “So I guess we’re not doing anything more.”
We even had tickets to a party in the campgrounds that featured a Pirate costume contest. After I saw that he was dressed for bed, I dosed off again and woke up at about 3am, and we missed everything.
I’ll try and camp out again by myself and try to get some coverage of the campgrounds.
When we arrived at the festival on Saturday at about 1pm, there was a line to get a pic on the throne so I passed on that.
The previous weekend, Lourdes had told me that she would give me a dish of the crawfish mac and cheese if I wanted to try it. That was the first place I went on Saturday.
It was delicious and I’ll have that again before the festival is over. Lourdes is a sweetheart.
I always stop by the food stands and I definitely make sure to stop by Julie’s stand to get her pic. Others have commented on how beautiful she is. I agree.
Kylie works at a nearby stand and is Julie’s daughter. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I love seeing families working at the festival.
The French area is always packed with people eating the great food and drinks. It’s one of my favorite areas.
I had heard that the attendance for Saturday was around 32,000 people.
Last week, I misspelled Blaise’s name. I thought it was Blaze. She has a very cool name to go with her good looks.
Bandanas and corsets. What’s not to love about Pirate weekend?
Alex is always so nice and never refuses me a photo of her.
The Red Lion Tavern has some good shows and I plan to shoot video of them soon. They always have a packed crowd. And great BBQ.
Haley was looking as cute as ever in her Pirate outfit. I liked the skeleton hand coming out of her shirt.
I also plan to shoot video of Saxon Moon again this year.
A nice group enjoying their day at the TexRenFest.
I stopped by the Wyrmwood Public House for my daily kamikaze from Mickey. In his real job, he is a teacher of young kids. He told me that the discipline problems are getting out of line. Kids today are wild.
Monsieur Bunny prefers to be called Daddy.
This pic makes me laugh. He’s a randy fellow, lol.
I ran into Ms. Lilly Bontemp, aka the High Seas Barbie. I always enjoy getting her photogrpah.
This is what the patio of the Wyrmwood Public House looks like from ground level. It’s a great place to view the festival and all of the goings on.
The thousands of patrons were enjoying their day, seeing shows, eating and drinking.
The Sea Devil Tavern always has a big crowd.
Lots of Old School Pirates are found here.
Love the beard and pipe.
You may notice that I spend time around the Thirsty Pirate Pub. I just love the building and the area. It has drinks, food, a stage and great shows and lots of people having a great time.
It is a great addition to the Kingdom and I’m a fan.
And going from the Royal Mint to such a money making investment is a success story.
On Saturdays, there is always a crowd in the upstairs area.
It has a great view of the stage area.
And yes, beautiful women.
You had to know that I’d get a pic with them.
I even like the design of the ceiling.
Three more lovely ladies enjoying their time at the pub.
More skeleton hands grabbing tatas.
The staff at the pub is always nice and ready to serve you up something good.
I’ve never seen a dog or baby skeleton.
If my assistant was a woman, we would have taken a carriage ride.
Another look at the Sea Devil area.
There’s always colorful characters hanging around there.
I ran into Tim and his lovely lady and had to get a pic. Very cool outfits.
I stopped by the Polish Pub and saw another packed house.
My assistant got this shot and it’s one of my favorite ones from the weekend.
Even scooter riders can be Pirates.
Lots of shows to take in while at the festival.
Another fun group.
A fine Pirate and his best gal.
This is a view of the upstairs patio of ‘Tea and Strumpets’. Another great view of the TexRenFest.
Three cute Pirates.
If you can’t smooch your gal, you’re not a good Pirate.
Photographing the workers never gets old.
Such a beautiful smile.
Later in the day, I had the grilled pork on a stick.
It was delicious.
I photographed this lovely lady last season. Showing her Call of Booty pride. Love it.
I ran into Kevin again this weekend. He’s a favorite Pirate of mine.
Kevin and his main squeeze.
I ran into Erika and her friends and was happy to get a pic with them.
Daniel is a fun cosplayer I met last year.
Always good to get a thumbs up… instead of a middle finger salute.
Love the hat and her smile.
Another favorite of mine.
A beautiful Pirate.
I really enjoy photographing people having a good time. Nice pic.
More animals that the kids can ride.
The Pirate Pub always draws in some fun people.
A fun way to get tips for the performers.
This is a pic of the crowd at the Tease of the Seas show. Another packed house.
The show was great and the ladies are as beautiful as they are talented. The videos are good.
I plan on getting pics of the show this upcoming weekend.
This is my favorite pic of the pub to date. The lights and the sky make it a good one.
I’ve said this before but it’s too bad that the festival is only 2 months long once a year.
On Sunday morning, I was up early and headed into the festival for an appointment that I had.
A look at the entrance area before the thousands enter.
The Polish Pub.
They have a nice stage and great performers.
Kasia is the manager of the Polish Pub. She was so nice and pleasant. She offered me a jello shot to start my day. Any day that starts with a jello shot from a Polish beauty is going to be a good day.
Kasia also manages the Facebook pages for the Polish Pub and the Thirsty Pirate Pub. Her day job is working at the Consulate General of Poland in Houston. Great gal.
Jacob is a nice guy also.
He told me that he has worked at TRF since he was a young teenager. He even kept his streak alive while he was in the military by scheduling his leaves so he could work at the festival.
Some of the staff of the Polish Pub.
And a few more.
These two ladies missed the group shot so I snapped their pic later.
Kasia had her staff serve me breakfast.
I had never had pierogies before and loved them.
The two groups of performers at the pub.
A fun and talented group.
The Polish Pub has a great stage area where there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
Love the dresses, the hair and the hats.
Another keepsake pic.
The Pirate Pub before the crowds arrive.
Ready to entertain.
Chris is married to the Spanish Queen Juana.
As I said before, every good Pirate wears many rings.
Legal brass knuckles.
A different view of the Pirate Pub.
The staff at the Pirate Pub is one of the nicest and most hard working at TRF. They serve a lot of people each day and always enjoy their work.
Rudy is always good for a nice pic.
Getting ready to start the morning dance.
I’ve seen this area really crowded with patrons enjoying their time at TRF.
On a busy day, you can see thousands from this vantage point.
The staff of ‘Tea and Strumpets’.
Alex and his weapon.
I’m glad that the food stand workers haven’t gotten tired of me asking them for pics.
It’s a favorite part of my day.
One of my favorite staffs.
A mother and daughter working together. I really like that many families work at the TexRenFest together. Family is always important.
If you don’t have a good time at TRF, it’s your own fault.
The staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Becca works at festivals all around the country. Fun job.
Greg knows a lot about their moccasins.
Vebecka works at the Asgardian Armory and is very nice and fun to talk with.
I really like this pic. Great gals and a great background.
Erika at her post.
I enjoy getting pics with Erika.
The Asgardian Armory staff is also fun and hard working.
Avalon Leatherworks.
I try to showcase different shops each weekend.
Avalon has some nice merch.
And great hats.
Also some nice leather goods.
And a friendly staff.
MJ works at Ravenswood Leather. A favorite shop of mine.
This guy was ready for Halloween weekend.
A nice Pirate pose.
This guy cooks a lot of food each weekend.
I wonder how much chicken they use for the 8 weekends.
This cheerful Pirate gives out Pirate coins to the kids. A nice touch.
Pam at her bar, the Bilge Pump.
The staff of the Sea Devil tavern.
It was Amanda’s birthday on this day.
I stopped by the Pirate Pub for a drink.
On Sundays, the crowd is a little lighter.
Kudos to whoever designed this stage area and seating.
The palm trees add to the look and make it feel like a Pirate’s Tropical Paradise.
The upstairs staff are two very cool people and I like them.
I’m sure this guy liked his pic because I framed it with the logo in it.
Michael used to work at Tea and Strumpets but now works at the Pirate Pub. He is a very friendly, hard-working guy and I consider him a friend.
This young lady posed with the funnel cake. It looked good but I didn’t try it.
With the horse drawn carriages, I’ve never seen a road apple, never.
A good-looking Pirate and his better half.
Another favorite staff of mine.
The menu board for the Red Lion Tavern.
The staff always have a smile on their faces.
Haley is on my pic list each day and never disappoints.
Another good Pirate and his best gal.
A lovely lady strolling through TRF.
I enjoy Saturdays as well as Sundays in the Kingdom.
Every day is magical with new people and experiences to photograph. It’s a photographers dreamland.
Rare to see an empty table in this seating area.
On my way out, I try to get a pic of the entrance area to show all of the people still coming in.
Face-painting is very popular and Lady Iris is always busy.
Don’t forget to get your hand stamped if you’re coming back later that day.
I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at the Pirate weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I’ll have more blog posts about the upcoming weekends so check back soon.
To see all of the pics and videos from the festival, visit the site below and click on Photos.
http://www.TheSTORMFactory.com
Spider Michaels 