For the sixth weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival, the theme was Barbarian Invasion and a lot of people attend on that weekend. It’s a lot of fun and the garb that people wear is great.
I arrived at 7:15am and parked in my usual spot on row six.
Thousands will walk down this pathway to a fantasy land of Barbarians and Beauties.
I love getting to the festival first and seeing everything clean and ready for the day.
The employees blow off the entrance plaza with leaf blowers and everything looks great for the patrons.
On this day, over 20,000 people will enter these gates to the Kingdom.
Once inside New Market Village, everything has already been cleaned and looks nice.
So much activity will occur in this area once the day begins. I like seeing it so peaceful in the mornings.
I got my morning throne pic by Ace. He has gotten really got at taking my pic the way I prefer it. He told me that his friends went on my site and liked these pics. Ace told them that I instructed him how to take and he shoot them.
I usually get a photo with Ace and Willie because these are two of my favorite people in the Kingdom.
It was a little cold on this day so I wore my STORM Jacket. You’ll see more of it later.
The Beefeaters are used to me asking for a pic and are happy to oblige me. They love seeing their photos on the website.
I see Abner almost every morning. On this day, he brought several Steins for the people at the Front Gate and I was lucky enough to get one.
This is a real German Stein with a Peuter top.
I love the artwork on it and will drink hot chocolate from it this Winter.
The Royal Guard are some of the funniest people in New Market Village. You’ll see something really funny later on in this story.
I enjoy getting a pic with them when I can.
MJ was getting her face painted on this Saturday morning.
It was the first time that she ever had her face painted and she loved it. She looked great as a Barbarian Beauty.
This is the group of TRF Photographers that work at the Front Gate. They take pics of people entering the Kingdom and capture memories for them.
My morning pic with the cannon crew.
Alan told me that this little pin was made out of a metal that wouldn’t cause a spark. You’ll see why next.
The cannon is loaded with a charge that causes the explosion. This little pin pokes a hole in the gunpowder.
Then he puts a little gunpowder in the hole made by the little pin that reaches the charge.
This is where the person that ignites the cannon places the lit fuse to shoot it off.
Here is the still frame of the firing.
And here is the video of it going off.
Phil always look the part when he is at the festival and I love that.
In this next pic, I had the idea a few weeks earlier but Phil wasn’t at the TexRenFest so I had to wait until he was back. I put the camera on video and a friend shot me jumping up and down a few times. Then when I got to my office, I took a still frame from the video at the exact right time to look like he is lifting me up. My comment was, “Don’t ever get on Phil’s bad side.”
I ran into Kevin on this morning and got a pic with him. He’s a great guy.
I learned that this morning ceremony is called the Morning Proclamation. There is music, dancing and a message from the King.
The Royal Guard led the King and subjects out before the crowd.
I took a pic with MJ again. She’s always so nice.
This big man had just purchased his two new furs and they looked great on him.
I haven’t had a pickle yet this season but there’s still time.
I had an assistant with me on this day so I got a pic with Julie.
She was serving a baked potato and I snapped a pic of it.
It looks delicious.
Elizabeth, Hannah, Amber and Ariel always look great for every weekend.
I love the hat that Kelsey is wearing. It looks warm.
Haley was a true Barbarian Beauty.
Her eyes looked fantastic.
And she always lets me get a photo with her, which I like.
I enjoy getting large group shots because I get to please a lot of people with one photo.
Mickey works at the Wyrmwood Public House as a bartender and serves up some great drinks for me. He always dresses so sharply and looks great every weekend.
Opal is a Fairy and one of the most beautiful ladies in the Kingdom. The children love her.
These furries were warm in the chilly weather.
Skidmark was up to his usual self, making people laugh.
I love walking through New Market Village and hearing nice music.
I tired the Pork on a Stick at the Bread Bowl food booth from Kylee.
It was delicious and should be tried when at the festival.
I passed back by these Barbarian Beauties and got a photo with them.
A fun group of guys that were enjoying their day.
Lolo always looks super and is nice enough to take a pic with me.
I stopped by the Tease of the Seas show at the Thirsty Pirate Pub and the ladies looked and sounded fantastic.
My assistant gave me an Astros World Series ring. He got two at the ball park for free and his son didn’t want it. I was glad to add it to my collection and it is a great conversation piece.
My STORM Jacket was nice and warm on this day. 113 was my radio number as a Lifeguard Supervisor at WaterWorld that was next to AstroWorld. Great memories from my teens and 20’s.
I worked there for 13 years and was a Lifeguard Champion 13 times.
I got a photo with Shelbelle, who always dresses so well.
After the show, these lovely ladies will pose for pics with fans. I love that. This is from left to right, Cara Cherie, Valentina Jadore and Captain Abby Cadabra.
I always wanted a pic with this sign and got one finally.
Another fun group of Barbarians.
The birthday girl. We gave her $20.
She let me spin her accessory.
Only at the TexRenFest.
I passed by the Steak on a Stick booth and had the beignets, which were warm on a cold day.
So good.
Too cold for me to dress like the guy on the right.
I saw High Seas Barbie and got a pic with her. Lilly is a lot of fun.
Erika had another great hat on that looked very warm.
Taylor has one of the best smiles in the land.
The cigar looks great.
It never rained and everyone that attended the festival this Saturday had a great time.
I love being in New Market Village where everyone can be whatever their heart desires.
One of my favorite places to get a pic is on the Tea and Strumpets upstairs patio.
The TRF photographers at their posts.
Myself and my assistant had a good time and enjoyed some good food and met some fun people this day.
On Sunday, the weather was better so I didn’t need a jacket.
My morning routine pic with Willie and Ace.
Ace was taping a ticket at every gate. Kids get in for free. When a child arrives, the Beefeaters will scan this taped down ticket so TRF will know how many children visited this day.
Willie likes to get a pic with the first patrons of the day and I like that he calls me over for this.
The Royal Guard had a wedding.
“And now you may kiss the bride.” I told you they were funny.
Jade, looking spectacular as usual.
Angela, on the right, is in charge of costuming for the festival.
She always looks really good.
A morning photo with the cannon crew.
The still frame of the cannon firing. Cool pic.
The video of it going off.
The Queen and a few Barbarian Beauties.
The Mud Show guys are funny.
Their show always draws a good sized crowd.
Kristina and Jade are so beautiful.
Rudy is showing the gang sign of a Bagpipe player. Funny.
I would have loved to ride a pony as a child. So much fun for the children.
Elizabeth and Amber, two of my favorite people at TRF.
Another fun interview with Elizabeth, Hannah and Amber.
Two very nice ladies that I usually see as I walk around the Kingdom. That’s Julie on the right and I believe that’s Sara on the left.
Thousands every season enjoy the shows at the TexRenFest.
The many 400 shoppes and booths have a large variety of things for sale.
Julie and her daughter, Kylee, got an escort to the Chimney Cake booth by the Royal Guard.
I’ve never tried a pretzel but people love them.
Catalina Longview was at a different booth on this Sunday and I got her pic.
These ladies are always fun to talk to and visit with.
Getting a pic with Jessica and Stephanie was great.
I also enjoy getting a photo with the Steak on a Stick ladies.
Haley was looking fantastic again. Love her garb every weekend.
She would be in my fantasy TRF Beauty Pageant.
The Red Lion Tavern staff is one of the best in the Kingdom.
A favorite photo of mine.
This Jesus opened up his Bible and gave me a Vanilla Wafer and said, “The body of Christ” like it was communion.
Great looking outfits.
Some dapper dudes.
Crystal and David were a couple of great Barbarians.
I did an interview with them and it turned out great.
I got a pic with Crystal.
The Sausage Song sung by Vendella, Angela and Reagan at the Cajun Food booth.
A pic with Erika and Alex at the Asgardian Armory.
Two more well-dressed patrons.
Such a great photo opportunity.
Just spectacular is all I can say about this beauty.
He looks warm. Great look.
Another Barbarian Beauty.
I’ve never been on the Pub Crawl but it looks fun.
This booth always has a crowd.
Interesting stuff for sure.
Another great looking booth.
I stopped by the Royal Nuts booth.
This kind lady gave me a bag of coated pecans for free. I ate them while I was editing and loading pics later that day in my office.
Another cool looking building at TRF.
I like this pic.
George told me that he was in a band with Wendy O. Williams called the Plasmatics. Some will remember that band from the 80’s.
This building reminds me of going to parties in my 20’s. Trippy paint job.
They issued a pair of 3-D glasses to walk through this exhibit. A fun time for sure.
I love Steampunk and they looked awesome.
A funny thing about this lady on the right.
She wanted me to take a photo from behind her to show the back of her outfit. So I did.
These lovely ladies work at the Sea Devil Tavern and are a lot of un.
I stopped by the Fish and Chips booth and tried the crab cakes from Julie.
So good.
The Sea Devil Tavern has a great photo op area.
I’m sure that they loved this photo. It looks great.
Another beauty in a fantastic hat. Love it.
Barbarian Beauties abound on this weekend.
One of the prettiest ladies that I’ve ever photographed at the TexRenFest.
Another great group of Barbarians with Angela, the costume designer for TRF.
Jade was getting ready to go to the Costume Contest at the Joust arena.
Another cool couple that follow The STORM factory.
I was invited to a show and meal at the Feast Hall by the Marketing Department.
Brandywyne was there also. She is a TRF Ambassador.
Getting a ride through the Kingdom is the way to go.
Love the costume. Very cool indeed.
Todd is the Marketing Director that invited me to the show and meal at the Feast Hall.
The meal started with an appetizer plate that was tasty.
I had never been in the Feast Hall before and enjoyed it very much.
The show was very entertaining.
They gave out souvenir mugs.
Next was the salad. The dressing was very good and I liked it.
The Pride of Bedlam stopped in to sing some songs.
Next up was the potato soup which I enjoyed.
These ladies are very talented and this show should be seen.
The entree was delicious and later they added roast beef also.
Everyone was thoroughly entertained.
They then gave out whipped cream shots. They would walk by with a can of whipped cream and shot it in your mouth. I had some.
The dessert was a great way to end a super meal and good time.
The King and Queen stopped by also.
They thanked everyone for coming and had some nice words to say about the Marketing Department that invited us all.
I got a photo with the ladies from the show, which was fun.
This concludes this blog post about Barbarian weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
To see all of the photos and more, visit the site below and click on Photos.
The weekend of November 4th and 5th at the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed as Heroes & Villains, which is a Cosplay event.
I arrived early again and was first at the gate when it was opened.
I enjoy getting to the festival early and seeing the day unfold.
Being first has its’ perks.
I’ve been parking on row 6 and that is close enough for me. It’s just a short walk to the entrance plaza.
I’ve never arrived later in the day to experience this long walk from way back there. It seems like a mile long walk from the higher numbered parking rows.
As I was walking up, I saw Robert Self and Willie. Robert was first from the South side and gets to park in the preferred parking.
Two great guys.
One benefit of arriving early is that there is never a line to get a photo on the throne. I’m usually the first person to do this each weekend day.
The plants had been watered but the trash bags weren’t put out yet.
I stepped inside the gates with Robert to grab a drink. He got hot apple cider and I chose hot chocolate. Maddie is a great server.
On a chilly morning, hot chocolate is great.
I was the bad cop again on this day. When is a bad cop good?
When you can’t be good, be good at it.
This veteran said he was the most dangerous person on the battlefield. He said that he carried the maps and radio, which meant that he could call in airstrikes.
With Ace and Willie, two really great guys that love their job.
The Beefeaters are always happy to pose for me and I like that.
The Royal Guard are some busy fellows.
The King works them hard.
On this day, they were dog-tired and in need of a quick rest.
It’s a good thing that the King didn’t catch them lying down on the job.
These ladies sell programs.
On this morning, Captain Hook would be igniting the cannon to start the day at TRF.
Here is a still frame of the firing.
And here is the video of the cannon going off.
Sherry is always so cheerful.
I learned more about those purple, red and yellow badges that certain people wear at TRF. Phil Brayton mentioned that they mean a person is allowed to receive tips for photos and Sherry told me that the badge means that the wearer is a performer.
King Henry the VIII and the Royal Guard.
When the gates open and patrons enter, the TRF photographers are there to capture their photos.
Elizabeth always has fun with her job.
I ran into Kevin, a favortie pirate of mine. He’s such a nice guy and so well-dressed.
The morning ceremony is always fun to watch.
A pic with Hamish MacGregor aka Rudy, the bagpipe player.
I’ve photographed this couple before and they always look fantastic.
Such good makeup.
I think the nose makes everything else work.
The King and Queen greeting their subjects.
The patrons really enjoy the morning festivities.
Jade is always so well made up.
One of the most beautiful people at the TexRenFest.
On this day, John Pfister, from Action 5 News Houston, joined me for the day in the Kingdom.
I asked these ladies if they had seen their previous photos that I had taken of them. They told me that they didn’t make the cut. I was confused by this so I asked them what that meant.
They told me that their co-worker went on Instagram and didn’t see their pics. I explained to them that I can only post a few pics on IG and that their photos were on the website. I’m sure that they were upset when they thought I didn’t use their pics. We had a good laugh about that and I told them to set their co-worker straight, lol.
The Kettle Korn is very good.
Three bills for a dill.
These two lovely ladies work at the Polish Pub.
So does Edyta, Kasia and Cheyenne.
Baubles sells great cigars and looks great doing so.
I finally found the Chimney Cake booth. It’s number 14EF.
They have several things to choose from.
The first thing is to make the dough into strips then roll it around the cooking rods.
Next, the cooking rods are placed over the coals for cooking.
After cooking to a golden brown, the chimney cakes are covered in cinnamon and nuts.
The chimney cakes can be filled with whipped cream or ice cream. Another choice for the customer is strawberries or apple strudel. They also serve a chimney cake with Nutella.
This dessert photographs so well and looks delicious.
John enjoyed his chimney cake and would have it again.
We stopped by the ‘Become a Blacksmith’ shop.
Here, you could make a knife.
They had a lot of people watching the process.
Everyone doing it were having a good time.
Snapped a pic of the King as he was out and about in the Kingdom.
Jessica and Stephanie always look so nice.
Remi and Karlee photograph well also.
Julie looked great as Maleficent.
One of my favorite stops.
Elizabeth, Hannah and Amber.
Another favorite stop on my morning route.
These ladies were nice enough to hold up some of their food.
Beignets, cheese bread and bread pudding. It all looked so delicious.
I have an interview scheduled with these beautiful ladies for this next weekend.
Where’s Waldo?
Haley is another TRF Beauty.
And she’s always ready for a pic, which I appreciate.
I had the stone-fired pizza again on this Saturday.
So, so delicious. Yum.
Renaissance Iron Man and Loki. I have a better pic of them coming up.
Another of the children’s attractions.
All of the shows at the TexRenFest draw large crowds and they all leave feeling entertained.
Here is a favorite pic of mine. Notice that I captured 100% of their outfits. Some people will take a photo and cut off the feet. I think the footwear is important in garb or a costume and should be shown.
A pic with Greg and Kara from Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
My daily pic with Erika from the Asgardian Armory.
Erika and Alex.
A good look.
That’s a lot of green. She looks good.
Here is the other pic of the Renaissance Avengers. Another 100% pic.
After I take a full body photo, I take a mid-range pic as well.
These ladies looked great in their black outfits.
This couple was having a great time and I’m sure that they loved this photo.
June, looking fun as usual.
The crowd for this Saturday was a good size.
The Kingdom had thousands of fun-loving people in it.
They were eating, drinking, smiling, laughing and enjoying the day in New Market Village.
If I had to pic a highlight of the day it would be finding the chimney cake booth.
These photos were taken from the Tea and Strumpets patio.
This spot is a favorite of mine for a photo.
Another fun group arriving at the festival.
Steadily coming in as I was leaving.
I don’t post attendance numbers but this day saw many thousands attend the Texas Renaissance Festival.
When I got to my Tahoe, there were four police officers waiting on me to talk to me about impersonating an officer. Just kidding. They were parked there to watch people arrive and were happy to move so I could leave.
This concludes the Saturday pics. Sunday is next.
On Sunday, I arrived early again.
I could hear the blowers cleaning the entrance plaza. They make a cloud of dust for a bit.
As I was putting on my gear, the water truck passed by.
TRF waters down the path so it is not so dusty for the patrons.
Each morning, several workers walk the path and parking areas to clean up. They always do a great job because it always looks so clean.
The valet parking is located right next to the entrance plaza. Such a close walk.
I plan on entering this contest. I would love a free European vacation.
These gates see many thousands of guests each season. Some estimates are that the TexRenFest entertains 500,000 a season.
It was a bit foggy on this Sunday morning.
TRF Founder, George Coulam. A great man that has entertained millions.
Good info to know about King George.
Willie was out waiting for the first patron of the day.
Ace snapped my morning throne pic for me.
A good pic of the Beefeaters.
Willie, Spider and Ace.
The Royal Guard undergoing a morning inspection by a patron.
The guests love doing this.
All quiet before a busy day.
If the TexRenfest has 500,000 attendees, then each of these 6 gates will see 83,333 people during the 8 weekends.
I got a pic of Rudy before he was going out to entertain the patrons that were waiting for the gates to open.
The morning cannon crew and myself.
Alan getting the cannon ready.
Here is a still frame of the cannon firing.
And here is the video of it.
The Royal Guard.
The program vendors. I know Zak, Aislynn, Stormy and Rob.
A pic with the Royal Guard. Such fun guys.
A photobomb.
Captain Hook, looking splendid.
A Renaissance Wonder Woman, very cool.
“You shall not pass.”
Glinda, the good. Beautiful.
Fun ladies enjoying their roles.
Mel works in the Marketing department. Here he is with an expensive camera, capturing the morning ceremony.
The dance always looks fun.
A good way to start a day in the Kingdom.
A pic with MJ of Ravenswood Leather.
Some good yard bird.
I hope they found their pics on the website.
Karlee is another Renfest Beauty.
Elizabeth and Amber always dress for the theme and look great.
Fernanda and Tonya.
I asked them to hold some of their food.
This is the crawfish Mac and cheese, and the fried crawfish with cheese fries. Both look delicious.
Haley works at the Red Lion Tavern. Stop by for a pic.
Later in the season, I’ll make special galleries on the website that has just the Red Lion Tavern pics. I do that for several of the places that I photograph regularly.
I passed back by the Steak on a Stick booth and Tonya let me try their main item, the steak.
This is one of my favorite things to eat while at TRF.
I ran into Alexandra again this season. So beautiful.
I was glad to get a pic with her.
Remi and Karlee photograph well.
I would have loved this as a child. If I did this now, I’d be in traction for 2 months.
I stopped by Odin’s Table for some pics.
Lolo looked fantastic.
Another very photogenic lady at TRF.
The bar at Odin’s Table is very cool.
A fun pic of Haley.
Odin’s Table will be a regular stop for me from now on.
One guy said, “Not in that order” and I agree.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Another fun attraction for children.
Pirate Airships.
Pam works at the Bilge Pump bar at the Sea Devil Tavern.
Kay, looking splendid.
All the Mead you need.
A fun couple.
The King posing with a nice family.
Two more great performers.
A well-dressed couple.
Some fun games to try.
I’m not smart enough for this.
Maybe checkers.
This family was enjoying this game.
“Alas, poor Yorick.”
A great patio to grab a drink and relax.
A good photo op.
Two fantastic costumes.
And beautiful smiles.
Ronnie may be the most in shape person that works at TRF.
How is she squatting like that? If I did that my knees would sound like cereal… snap, crackle and pop.
Mindy works at Ye Olde Portraits and is so very nice.
A great looking guest.
Love it.
Erika and I.
Alex and I.
Sunday had a good crowd of people.
June and Shane are always up for a photo.
I wonder how many Turkey legs are sold each weekend. I bet it’s a lot.
The same goes for bottles of Mead.
The crowd for Sunday is always a little smaller than Saturday but still in the thousands.
I enjoy the view from the Tea and Strumpets patio.
This group was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting their photo.
This is the best Steampunk couple that I’ve ever photographed.
The TRF photographers were still hard at work capturing memories for the arriving patrons.
Jessica was ready to stamp your hand if you were returning that day.
This is the booth where the guests can pick up the photos taken by the TRF photographers.
I had another good day in the Kingdom.
The throne is always busy.
Only three weekends left to enjoy the Texas Renaissance Festival for this year.
Rob was selling programs on the walkway leading to the festival. A really nice guy.
Still arriving by the hundreds.
No police officers today.
This concludes the blog post about the Heroes & Villains weekend. To see all of the photos, visit the link below and click on Photos.
For the second weekend of the TexRenFest, the theme was 1001 Dreams. I arrived early again and got my front parking spot on row 10. For the Saturday, I shot 395 photos and 3 videos.
I added a magnetic door sign that has the logo plus the word Media. This will help with parking during the Summer’s comicon circuit.
I like all of the decals on the rear window. One of my favorites is The Call of Booty decal. It goes well with all of the others. I may camp out this season to hang with them again. Always a great time.
I enjoy arriving early and seeing the gardeners watering the plants, the grounds crew placing the trash bags and the Beefeaters at the ready for a busy day.
Willie, on the right, is one of the best members of staff at TRF. He always has a “Guest-First” attitude. In this photo, he asked me to take a pic of the first patron of the day. He then told her that I would give her a card so that she could get this pic for free from my site. I love the job that Willie does. A+.
A pic with Ace and Willie.
Each morning, I get Ace to snap some pics for me. He’s always happy to help me out and I appreciate that.
The Front Gate Beefeaters.
This is the morning cannon crew. Alan, Lisa and Kenny.
Two great guys and good friends.
Here is a short video of Kenny igniting the cannon.
These people are the ones that take photos of the patrons as they enter the festival. A short time later, a guest can purchase these photos and by Monday, they can download a digital copy. This is a good service for people that want a memory of their day.
The Royal Guard. They lead the way for the wedding processionals.
Lots of fairies and winged beauties on this weekend.
And I love great face makeup.
Jade is a favorite to photograph.
Rudy has some great clothes for a RenFest.
I made my usual stop by Ravenswood Leather to get a pic with MJ.
Taylor sells flower wreaths and looks cute doing so. Great pose.
I snapped a pic of this crew and the lady on the right wanted to hold up a piece of their chocolate covered cheese cake. Damn, that looks delicious.
I ran into Nuria. She is catching fairies with her net.
I run into Nuria at TRF each year and also at comicons throughout the year. She’s fun, friendly and beautiful.
She wanted a selfie and I was happy to do it.
The crew from the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
A cool pirate ship.
This is Jazi Love. She works at the Polish Pub. Very nice and cute with her wings.
Eva, Kasia and Danuta from the Polish Pub.
Kasia has become a good friend. She is a hard worker and gives it her all.
Elephant rides for the kids.
Baubles sells cigars. I’ll buy one from her one weekend.
Lovely ladies offering some great drinks.
Elizabeth, Hannah and Amber. So fun and friendly.
This is Bri. I asked her if her name was Briana and she said that was her government name. I laughed. That’s funny.
Jeanette and Fifi are holding their stuffed turkey legs.
The turkey leg is cut in half and filled with something good to eat.
This is their chicken. They call it Naughty or Nice.
The fried chicken is naughty and the grilled chicken is nice.
Another fun crew.
Fernanda is holding the fried crawfish plate. It comes with potato wedges and sauce. So damned good.
One of my favorite dishes at TRF.
I stopped by to get my daily pic with Hayley.
Greg competes in fitness competitions. When I saw this pic, I mentioned to him an old saying, “Sun’s out, guns out.”
Erika has some of the best clothes of any woman at the festival and always looks great.
The Asgardian Armory has some awesome merchandise and clothing.
So talented.
Mindy works at Ye Olde Portraits. Another very nice person.
Plenty of seating to enjoy a snack, meal or drink.
The Queen’s Pantry is a popular place to eat.
The festival had a good crowd for this Saturday.
The village was filled with smiling, happy people.
Lots of people in this pic if you look off in the distance also.
Kevin is one stylish pirate.
I try to get pics of a pirate’s rings.
Kevin has some nice ones.
In the following photo, I’m wearing the rings from my past.
From left to right, here are my rings… The first ring on the little finger of my right hand is a memento ring that I got when I covered the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The next ring is from when I worked in the NHRA (Natl. Hot Rod Assoc.).
Next is an IndyCar Championship ring from when I worked in that racing series with Sam Hornish, Jr. and Panther Racing.
The ring with the blue stone and the number 24 on it is a Jeff Gordon NASCAR Championship ring from when I worked with that team.
On my left hand, the ring on my index finger is a PADI Scuba Diver’s ring that I designed. I’m trying to get PADI to offer them worldwide. Currently, I’m the only Scuba Diver on the planet to possess a PADI certification ring with their logo on it.
The ring on my middle finger is a NASCAR Brickyard 400 Champions’ ring when I worked with Jeff Gordon.
The ring with the skull and bones on it is a Lifeguard Championship ring. I was a 13 time Lifeguard Champion when I worked at WaterWorld.
The ring on my little finger is a McNeese State University graduate’s ring.
When I worked in motorsports, I wasn’t concerned with collecting rings. Only years after my career did I care about memories.
Recently, I found out that I will be receiving a Daytona 500 Champions ring from my work with Jeff Gordon’s team. I’ll wear that ring in place of my NHRA ring when I receive it.
And now you know the rest of the story… lol.
Two stylish pirates.
A good pic of Kay.
This young man saw me walking by and asked for a pic with me. I took their pic first then posed with him for a pic. I thought he had recognized me from social media but when I gave him my card, it was all new to him. I guess that he wanted a pic with me because of the way I was dressed. That’s all I can figure.
Entertainment can be found everywhere at the TexRenFest.
Alex, Fernanda, Tonya and Kelsey. The Steak on a Stick staff.
Elizabeth made a cute pirate fairy.
She told me to grab her wings like I had caught a fairy. Her face makes the pic, lol.
Another cool pic from my travels around the Kingdom.
One day, I will take a carriage ride.
The facepainting tent near the main entrance is always busy.
Patrons still arriving by the hundreds.
Here is one of those photographers in action.
Smiling faces as you exit.
Ace and Willie at their post.
A pic with Todd Wold, the Marketing Director of TRF. Very cool dude, indeed.
I snapped this pic of these cute fairies as I was leaving for the day.
Stormy greets the patrons as they approach the front gate area with a great smile.
Many more cars than when I arrived at 7:30am.
On Sunday, I was at the festival early again.
By the time the festival ends its’ 17 day run, hundreds of thousands will have passed through this area.
I’d be curious to know how many photos have been taken on this throne.
Willie, Spider and Ace.
Ready for a busy day.
Lady Iris will begin facepainting before the festival even opens to the public by working on the cast and crew of TRF.
She’s loved by one and all.
These guys have a good show and should be watched.
Spider, Alan, Lisa and Kenny.
Here is a short video of George Millard igniting the morning cannon.
This is Hayden, Zak and Aislynn. They sell programs at the entrance of the festival. Aislynn asked me what I put in my hair. I told her, “Glue.” She had asked because her friend has curly hair also. I explained to Aislynn that if I didn’t use gel or spray, my hair would look like Kramer’s, lol.
A little dab to start the day.
“Dabbing” was developed by the rap group Migos and done a lot by Cam Newton during his playing days.
The Royal Guard.
Elizabeth enjoys her job and it shows.
Glenda the Good.
The TexRenFest is comprised of friends and families and they all love their jobs.
The ladies of Ravenswood Leather.
Rebel, Spider and MJ.
Such a happy young lady.
With a great hat and smile.
This shop is called Big Hat Pirates.
They have some great merchandise.
The counter looks like something out of a movie.
I love this shop and the staff.
Kettle corn being made and bagged.
This popcorn is delicious.
The kettle corn is made and bagged at this booth. They also sell it throughout the Kingdom with vendors. A pic of that will come later.
The food at the Polish Pub is fantastic.
Jazi Love and Moi.
Baubles looking cute.
Sexy pirate.
Hair everywhere.
For a RenFest wedding.
Jenna usually lets me get her pic and I’m glad.
Fun pic.
Cris asked me about tipping me or donating so I explained to her about our charitable foundation. After the weekend, she made a donation to help us offer aid to disadvantaged children in the Houston area. To make a donation also, visit https://TheSTORMFoundation.org
Julie is one of the nicest people at TRF.
On this day, she was working at the Cajun Food booth with Vendella and Reagan.
Alex and Kelsey holding their steak on a stick.
Two of the best pieces of meat in all the land. Delicious.
As I travel the Kingdom, I will chat with each group of employees at the many food booths that I stop at for photos. I hear interesting stories about the festival or the employees that I’m speaking with. Here is one such story.
A worker told me that she works in the rental car business for her day job. I told her that I bet she sees some interesting things when people return the cars. She went on to tell me a story.
She said that one time a car was returned with some weed in it and the car cleaners didn’t find it before the car was rented again. The car was then rented to a DEA agent. When he got to work, the drug dog sniffed out the marijuana and he had a hell of a lot of explaining to do. Finally, the rental car manager had to get involved to clear his name.
That story makes me laugh because finally a DEA agent was saying, “That’s not my weed!”
Great clothing.
Beautiful.
The drinkware is a great collectible from TRF.
Most will have the date on them.
Next year, these will be even more popular because it will be the 50th season.
Super selection.
Absolutely amazing.
A work of art.
Greg has some great RenFest clothing also.
Catskill Mountain Moccasins: Fish, Greg, Eric and Patrick,
A colorful group of young ladies.
The Sanderson Sisters.
This is Opal, the fairy.
Such a beautiful young lady.
She does a great job of entertaining everyone.
The Greek area.
The food here is delicious.
And the staff is very friendly.
Lots to choose from.
The smells are fantastic.
And the salads taste great also.
And you can get a salad with meat on it.
I enjoy a salad from the Greek section.
The dressing is really good.
Scott was working on leather headbands on this Sunday.
Elizabeth, Hannah and Amber.
Hayley makes a cute fairy.
Mickey served me a Necromancer.
Here is a video of him making that Necromancer for me.
Taylor works at the Wyrmwood Public House also. Very nice.
Shelbelle and Mickey.
A favorite pic of mine.
The Tease of the Seas ladies.
They have a great show at the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
I passed by the Spanish section for some pics.
Ligia has some great employees that all love their jobs.
Smiling faces.
You can try your hand at archery while at TRF.
Something fun to do.
Adults and kids love shooting arrows.
Tartanic always draws a large crowd.
A great band.
Stephanie, Tee and Hayley.
This was a fun couple.
Erika and one cute barbarian.
A great pic.
And yes, she deserves a close-up.
Here is a kettle corn vendor that I mentioned earlier.
Sunday had a great crowd.
I snapped a pic of Aislynn as I was leaving for the day.
The guests were still coming in.
This is Mel, Todd and Sara, in the Marketing Department. Notice how neat the table is.
I pick up a Media Pass and ticket from them each weekend day of the festival. Such nice people. It is a pleasure working with them.
Stormy was again the last smiling face that I saw from the festival.
That concludes this post about the 1001 Dreams weekend. To see all of the photos, visit the link below and click on Photos.
It seems like the year has flown by since we were at the TexRenfest last year. I, for one, am glad about that because I love the Texas Renaissance Festival.
The 2023 season got off to a good start with great weather for Opening Weekend. I was excited to see all of my friends from last season and also to make new ones.
On this Saturday, October 7th, I was up at 4am to get ready for the festival. I was dressed, geared up and left my place at 6:30am. I arrived at TRF by 7:20am and was parked on row 10. I was the first one to park on this side, but I wasn’t the first to arrive.
It is a short walk to the gates of the Kingdom. The staff that keeps the walkway clean always do a great job. I never see anything out of place and never any litter.
On your way into or out of the Kingdom, you can stop by this building to enter a fun contest to win a trip.
I always enjoy coming into the entrance plaza because I know fun and excitement are nearby.
I usually get up on the large King’s throne to take a few area shots. It’s a great vantage point to see everything.
A statue of George Coulam, the TRF Founder. He is a true visionary.
Good info to know about King George and the festival.
This throne is such a good photo op. I try to get a pic on it each day that I’m at the festival.
I went by the Media office and picked up my Media badge and ticket. They are always so nice to allow me to work their event. I enjoy working at the TexRenFest and would never take that for granted.
Rudy plays the character of Hamish MacGregor. He entertains the patrons as they wait for the gates to open in the morning. Rudy also plays his bagpipes as the lead of the daily noon parade. He does a fantastic job.
Jeff Baldwin is the General manager of the Texas Renaissance Festival and does a great job. Everybody loves him.
Here he is igniting the morning cannon to let the patrons know that the festival is open for the day.
This is a short video of the morning cannon going off as Alan holds it. It gives quite a kick.
The lovely Queen. This Opening Weekend was a celebration of the Queen’s Birthday. She is beloved by all in the Kingdom.
Phil has been a part of the TexRenFest for many years. I love getting a pic with him. He is a mountain of a man but a gentle giant with a great heart and personality. I love Phil ‘Tan Man’ Brayton.
I have photographed this lovely lady for several seasons. Nice pumpkins.
Quite a regal group.
Alan worked as the doorman at the Wyrmwood last season. This season he is in a management position. I’m happy for him. He’s a great guy. So nice.
Ravenswood Leather.
I stop by Ravenswood Leather every morning to get pics. This is Rebel showcasing some of their merchandise.
I always try to get a pic with MJ.
These two young ladies were happy to pose for me. I love to see smiling faces.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub is always on my morning route.
Michelle, Michael and Rosie work at the Thirsty Pirate Pub. They are all very nice.
Kristen, Shelley and Margot work there also. So sweet, all of them.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub has great decorations. This is in their upstairs section.
During the day, this area is full of pirates and partiers.
This is the view from upstairs at the Thirsty Pirate Pub. This stage has 2 shows that play all throughout the day. The shows are the Tease of the Seas and the Spice Boys. Both are good shows to see.
The joust arena gets packed several times a day to see the action.
Jazi Love works at the Polish Pub. The staff at this pub is very nice also.
Cheyenne works there also. Very hard-working.
This is Jenna. The food stand that she works at has the best cheeseburger.
Jessica and Stephanie are always ready for a pic and I like that. They are good friends.
I never forget to stop by Julie’s stand. I tried several of the food items offered at her stand last season and loved it all.
This is Elizabeth, Amber and Hannah. Fun-loving girls.
Kylee and her little co-worker have such great smiles.
Kenley, Angela, Vendella, Reagan, Gussie and Marlee. Another favorite food stand of mine. They have fried alligator, yum.
The Steak on a Stick staff are another fun group. They always dress so nicely.
I remember Harley Jane and Amber from last season. I’ll know the names of the others soon.
TRF has many things for the children to do.
Tee and Hayley work at the Red Lion Tavern. They are on my regular route each morning.
Hayley is always nice enough to pose with me.
Photobombers are funny.
I happen to catch the King taking a stroll through the Kingdom.
These young ladies told me that they didn’t need my business card because they already follow me on social media. Cute ladies.
Greg works at Catskill Mountain Moccasins. I stop by his booth to take a rest.
These guys work at the Asgardian Armory. Fun guys.
A great family pic.
This couple was interesting.
He had this on his back.
Lots of time and effort to make this. He should be applauded.
This woman looked great.
Such a great outfit and face.
Only at TRF.
This guy sells pickles. He yells out, “Three bills for a dill!” I love that line.
Dex cooks up some good chicken.
Pam always strikes such good poses. She’s a good friend. I always enjoy hanging out with her.
You will always see great pirates at the Sea Devil.
Kevin has such great pirate garb.
The Sea Devil staff is great and always having fun.
It looks like he’s saying, “You better have my money.”
A face only a mother could love, lol.
Young ladies love getting a flower wreath for their hair.
Julie was serving up some fried shrimp so I snapped a quick pic. Their shrimp are delicious.
You get 4 large shrimp with potato wedges.
And yes, she deserves a close-up.
Everyone at the TexRenFest always have a great time.
Scott and Amanda hang out at the Glory Hole and solve the world’s problems. Oh, to be a fly on the wall.
This young lady was enjoying a drink while having a seat.
Another children’s attraction.
Letting the horse eat while on a break.
I stopped back by the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Always people here.
Here are some patrons watching the Spice Boys act.
Elizabeth works upstairs at the pirate pub.
So photogenic.
And always up for a pic.
Such a fun photo.
As the day goes on, this area gets packed with people.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub is a favorite hangout of mine.
I ran into Pam and her friend. They were having a good time.
When I told this couple that they could download this pic for free from my site, she went for her money and told her boyfriend that they should tip me. I told her that wasn’t necessary because I do this for fun.
Hyle and Erika work at the Asgardian Armory. A very nice couple. So friendly.
Erika is another lady that I usually get a pic with.
Alex is at the Asgardian Armory as well.
I enjoy photos with him also.
Mickey works at the Wyrmwood Public House as a bartender. Here, he is serving me my daily kamikaze. He’s a good friend.
These ladies were happy to pose for a photo.
The shows at TRF are always great entertainment and the artists are all so talented.
A day at the TexRenFest is filled with fun, food, festivities and you leave feeling fulfilled.
Here are the knights of the joust heading to get ready for the daily parade.
That’s a cool job.
The weather was great all day long.
I’d say that Opening Day was a good success for the TexRenFest.
As I was leaving for the day, I saw this guy and definitely wanted his photo.
Then, I saw a friend, Tony.
They were there together so I snapped a pic of them.
This fine lady will stamp your hand if you plan to return that day.
The King’s Throne stays busy all day long.
This photo was taken about 1pm and you can see that the crowd is still flowing into the festival.
It is always good that the first and last face you see is a smiling one.
This concludes the photos from Saturday. The Sunday pics are next.
On Sunday, October 8th, I arrived early again.
Not many have seen an empty parking row because they usually arrive later in the day.
A clean walkway again. Kudos to the grounds crew.
As I was nearing the entrance plaza, I could see Willie already at work, entertaining the first guests of the day.
I took a photo of them with a good background.
Then, I shot them closer so they’d have two photos to choose from.
Ace and Willie are two great guys. They love their jobs and it shows.
Ace took my pic again on the throne.
It was looking like it was going to be great weather for the day.
The Beefeaters are the first and last people that you see at TRF. They are a great crew.
I picked up my ticket and new Media badge from the Media office. I love working at the TexRenFest and I’m pleased that they allow me to do just that… entertain people with my photography and videography of the best Renfest in the U.S.
On this day, I invited John Pfister from Action 5 News to come hang out with me. He took all of the pics that I’m in on Sunday. We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves.
This is Alan, Elizabeth and Kenny. Alan loads and holds the cannon. Elizabeth was the one to ignite it on this day. And Kenny is Alan’s assistant.
Here is a still frame from the video.
And here’s the video of the morning cannon going off to inform the patrons that the festival was open for the day.
The lovely Queen of the Kingdom.
June looked good in her glasses.
She and Shane, on the right, are good people.
Many patrons will get breakfast from the Queen’s Pantry before starting a busy day of seeing shows and having fun.
Cast members at TRF are all so nice and never refuse me a photo of them.
Here, a musical group are playing to entertain the King and Queen.
Having an oil portrait would be very cool indeed.
This is Eve Myles and she is the artist. And so sweet.
I stopped by Ravenswood Leather again to get some pics. Here’s MJ at her usual spot.
She sold me two leather pouches last season and I use them all of the time.
She looks like a Queen with her headdress on.
I met Rebel at a comicon and we’ve been friends ever since.
This crew was more than happy to pose for me. The young lady on the left said that she still had my card from last season.
The food at the Texas Renaissance Festival is so very good.
If I’m not careful, I may gain some weight from eating too much, but it is all so delicious,.
And the desserts are fantastic.
Here, the King and Queen are doing an interview. They are both so very good at promoting the TexRenfest. They are really great in their roles.
Such a good family pic. The mom told the baby to look into the camera and he did. Super pic.
I had to convince the lady on the left to get into the picture. I’m glad she did and I bet she is too. It’s a good memory of their day at TRF.
I made my usual pass by the Thirsty Pirate Pub to get pics of the staff.
Pictured from left to right: Rosie, Margot, Michelle, Kristen, Michael, Shelley, Katy and Marlen.
Elizabeth never takes a bad photo.
I go upstairs at the pirate pub every time to see Elizabeth.
Easy to see why, lol.
The Polish Pub is another favorite stop of mine. Pictured from left to right: Edyta, Cheyenne, Jacob, Kasia, Eva and Danuta.
This group of people are very tight-knit and work so well together.
Kasia is a great manager and such a hard worker. Her co-workers love her.
Elizabeth is another very photogenic person.
Her and Amber take a nice photo.
Kylee, on the left, is the daughter of Julie, on the right. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, they say.
Kenlee, Vendella, Reagan and Marlee.
Fifi and Jeanette.
Kelsey and Tonya.
In this pic, they are holding the loaded potato wedges and the beignets. Both so very good.
You can’t go wrong with either one.
My goal next weekend is to learn all of these ladies’ names besides Harley Jane and Amber.
Love the hats.
The drinkware offered at the TexRenfest is great. I have several pieces and use them often.
The crew at the Red Lion Tavern are great. Always smiling.
Hayley always dresses so well.
I plan to have the BBQ from this tavern later in the season. So good.
The bartenders at the Wyrmwood Public House are some of the very best. Friendly, professional and fun.
I love that Greg and Pat always dress with the RenFest theme.
They do a great job of representing Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Erika has some great clothing and always looks so awesome.
Here, an artisan applies his craft at the Asgardian Armory.
Such a happy fellow.
We look good in matching black outfits.
I asked Erika to pose with their merchandise.
She looks good with all of their leather goods.
The Asgardian Armory sells knives, swords and axes. When Erika sits out front, she will yell. “Come to Bloodbath and Beyond.” It’s like Bed, Bath and Beyond but really funny and fitting for the Armory.
The guys at the Asgardian Armory are always good for a funny pic.
Alex looks very mischievous in this photo.
He is a good photographer and does great leather work.
These young ladies were having a good time.
I love good face makeup.
I walked up and said, “Three bills for a dill.” He thought that I wanted a pickle. I had to tell him that I was just saying his catchphrase. I told him that I would have a pickle soon.
I have photographed this guy before in previous seasons. I don’t have the body for an outfit like this.
The employees at TRF are some of the finest anywhere. Always smiling and ready for a photo.
Another good face.
This couple is always polite enough to stop for a photo. And they always look great.
When wandering through the Kingdom, look for this sign and the Wyrmwood door is nearby.
Here is a short video that gives you a tour of the Wyrmwood, ending with Mickey serving me my daily kamikaze. It’s worth a watch.
This is Shiny. Last year, he would hold 2 coconuts up like they were his breasts. This year, he has become edumacated because now he’s doing Hamlet from Shakespeare. This is Hamlet holding the skull of Yorick, the King’s jester. Hamlet says, “Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio.”
Each area of the Kingdom has a sign like this that shows all of the food offerings in that area. These signs are very helpful.
I’m getting hungry just reading this sign.
Fifi works in booth 408. They offer some great food. On this day, she let me try their popcorn chicken. Myself and John Pfister from Action 5 News enjoyed eating them. So delicious. Remember, booth 408. Ask Fifi and she can help you with anything.
My stomach says yes, my arteries say no. My stomach always wins.
One of the best dressed pirates in all of the TexRenFest.
A girl and her bone.
And she deserves a close-up.
Kay is a favorite of mine to photograph and talk to because she’s nice and also very funny.
The whole crew at the Sea Devil are fun-loving and it shows.
Scott plays Santa during the holidays. Not hard to picture. He said it’s the greatest gig ever.
The daily parade starts at noon and goes through the Kingdom.
The knights come riding by.
I wonder how that job looks on a resume. “So what was your last job?” “I was a knight that fought in jousts.” “Maybe I can find you something in sales.”
The parade is one of many highlights during a day at TRF.
And everyone in it is having a great time.
MJ from Ravenswood Leather was in the parade. I think I’d prefer riding over walking in it. I think most would.
Smiles are contagious.
The parade has a lot of people in it, showcasing many aspects of the TexRenFest.
This photo is important. When I saw her coming, I got her attention so I could snap this pic.
When I returned to my office, I duplicated it then cropped in to get a closer look at that dessert. Two different people told me about it. It’s new at TRF this season and it’s called a Chimney Cake. It is made of a pastry that is shaped like a chimney and then filled with different things. The one she is holding looks to be filled with strawberries then topped with chocolate.
Alex works at the Steak on a Stick stand also.
Alex and Kelsey.
This is Gandalf the wizard from Lord of the Rings. He told me that he followed me on the Book of Face. Then, he showed me a ring on his finger that was Gandalf’s ring. He took it off and placed it in my hand and closed my fingers around it.
He then reached into his bag and when he pulled his hand out, he was again wearing his ring. I opened my hand and there in it was the ring to rule all other rings, complete with the inscription inside.
He then told me that I could have it. I immediately put it on my finger and he said, “Oh no, you must never wear it for then evil will know your location.” I put it on my Media badge where it will remain. Cool dude.
He wanted a selfie and I was glad to oblige.
I’ll think of this gold ring as a sign of good luck and good friends.
A different pickle vendor, same deal. Three bills for a dill.
The weather was great on Sunday and there was a good crowd enjoying the day in the Kingdom.
They were eating, drinking, walking, talking, seeing shows and having a great time.
Shaka, the King of Zulu Kingdom.
Facepainting is a popular thing for the kids to get. Here are some options.
Lady Iris has worked at the TexRenFest for many years. This is her 30th.
She is very proud of this, as she should be.
The Beefeaters have cool outfits and hats.
The throne was busy all day long.
And as I was leaving about 1pm, the crowd was still coming in by the hundreds. Many thousands visited TRF on Opening Weekend.
A program is a necessity when visiting the TexRenFest. It has so much valuable information to help you enjoy your day in the Kingdom of New Market Village.
A lot more cars as I was leaving for the day.
That concludes this blog post about Opening Weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. To see all of the photos, go to the link below and click on Photos.
While in Los Angeles a few months back, I visited the Guinness World Records attraction in Hollywood. What follows are some of the pics I took and a story about my visit.
The location is hard to miss as you stroll Hollywood blvd.
The entrance is well-designed and inviting.
This guy sold me a combo ticket for Guinness World Records as well as the Hollywood Wax Museum that was across Hollywood blvd.
I was planning on visiting both attractions and the combo ticket saved me some money.
This display of the world’s tallest man was right on the sidewalk in front.
Too bad he didn’t play basketball.
This is the entrance of the tour.
The first of many wax figures.
Pretty cool entrance.
This is the view of the first area.
Michael Jackson.
Some similarities but not a great resemblance.
A good display.
But not a good Elvis.
I liked this area.
This was the passage leading to the next area.
Looking back at some of the space items.
Mirror selfie.
Lots of color to draw you in.
Interesting.
This wall had lots of information.
Another cool area with several displays.
This man had seen quite a lot in his lifetime.
A Robert Wadlow display.
The smallest woman was next to the tallest man.
An overweight person display.
A lot of cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries.
A display on some exit doors.
Just plain gross.
A great stairway.
A snake coming out of the ceiling.
After the stairs, you entered this area.
Another cool way to have a tv on display.
Next was this area.
Which led to this area.
Mario is famous.
A pop quiz area.
A room to scream.
The inside of the scream room.
Looking back where we came from.
Barry Bonds was in an area of sports records.
A good likeness.
Lots of detail.
Several records by famous pro athletes.
The next area.
A good display with interesting information.
Yao Ming.
Not a good likeness.
Could be better.
Some big feet.
The next area.
A look backwards.
This would be cool to have in a man cave.
You can stand behind this display and be a fat person.
A look back.
This was a cool area.
A mock theater.
Another colorful stairway.
This would be great for a kid’s room.
A fun display.
Funny.
A wall of records.
Heading towards the exit.
Electrocuted man.
What a shock that must have been.
I’m sure this record has changed by now.
Big bucks movie star.
Looking back.
The exit was clearly marked.
I asked the employee to snap some pics for me.
This concludes this blog post about the Guinness World Records attraction in Hollywood, California. I have many more photos on the site listed below.
To see all of the photos from my tour of Guinness World Records, visit the link below and click on Photos.
When I was in L.A. recently, I spent several days on Hollywood blvd. One of the attractions that I visited was the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. Here are some of the pics that I took and a story about my day.
I’ve been to Hollywood several times over the years and saw this building but never went inside.
They have the entry area decorated well. I like the color choices.
Here is the entrance to the museum.
The first room had a lot to see and read.
Here is what I found about Ripley…
“LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! newspaper panel series, television show and radio show, which feature odd facts from around the world.”
Mirror selfie.
Robert Wadlow’s shoe. It is size 36D and 17 1/2 inches long. It weighs 4 1/2 pounds. You know what they say about big shoes…
The museum had some great displays.
In 1919, Ripley married 14 year old film actress Beatrice Roberts, a child 15 years his junior. A 29 year old man marrying a 14 year old. Let that sink in.
Great display.
Love the color.
“Ripley made his first trip around the world in 1922, publishing his travel journal in the newspapers. He became fascinated with unusual and exotic foreign locales and cultures.”
Marilyn is everywhere.
Great art.
Frank was one of America’s first teen idols.
Fact: He couldn’t read music.
“Liz Taylor’s instinctive sense of her own worth led her to negotiate the first $1 million dollar contract for an actor for her role in Cleopatra. She was also the first celebrity to launch a hit fragrance brand and became the first female social entrepreneur.”
One of her lovers said that she had the body of a porn star. I would have liked to find that out for myself if I was young with her.
“Throughout the 1920s, Ripley continued to broaden the scope of his work and his popularity increased greatly. He published a guide to the game of American handball in 1925. In 1926, he became the New York State handball champion and also wrote a book on boxing.”
“With a proven track record as a versatile writer and artist, he attracted the attention of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, who managed the King Features Syndicate. In 1929, Hearst was responsible for Believe It or Not! making its syndicated debut in 360 newspapers and 17 languages worldwide.”
“With the success of this series assured, Ripley capitalized on his fame by getting the first book collection of his newspaper panel series published.”
Made from Starburst wrappers.
Crazy.
Darth Vader.
R2D2 and C-3PO.
“Ripley prospered during the Great Depression, netting $500,000 a year by the end of the 1930s.”
“He employed a large staff of researchers, artists, translators, and secretaries to handle a deluge of suggestions for new oddities to report – and he traveled the world in search of curiosities and expanded his media to include radio and Hollywood.”
Some weird stuff coming.
I’m betting he had no teeth.
That’s a lot of ink.
Would a woman want to French kiss him?
And the female version.
Can you imagine bringing her home for Thanksgiving dinner? What would your family say?
Strange eyes.
One big Native American.
“Ripley started building museums in major cities. Funding for Ripley’s highly publicized global travels was provided by the Hearst organization.”
Christopher Reeve has been called the G.O.A.T. when it comes to playing Superman.
“Always in search of the bizarre, Ripley recorded live radio shows underwater and from the sky, the Carlsbad Caverns, the bottom of the Grand Canyon, snake pits, and other exotic locales.”
This display was great. The Terminator was rotating.
Wild.
How long did this take?
Such detail with nuts.
My girl.
Some interesting facts about Marilyn… she had a hard time memorizing lines.
She was never nominated for an Oscar.
36 magazine covers in one year. Wow!
Sometimes she talked about herself in 3rd person.
Joe DiMaggio had flowers placed at her grave 3 times a week for 20 years.
“The Seven Year Itch” is my favorite Marilyn movie. She does a commercial in that movie.
This dark area could have been better.
If you cared to eat some insects they had a vending machine.
“Ripley’s cartoon series was estimated to have 80 million readers worldwide, and he is said to have received more mail than the President of the United States.”
“He became a wealthy man, with homes in New York and Florida, but he always retained close ties to his home town of Santa Rosa, California.”
“Ripley claimed to be able to “prove every statement he made” because he worked with professional fact researcher Norbert Pearlroth, who assembled Believe It or Not!‘s array of odd facts.”
“Pearlroth spent 52 years as the feature’s researcher, finding and verifying unusual facts for Ripley.”
Guess who this is supposed to be.
I don’t see it.
“Ripley’s ideas and legacy live on in Ripley Entertainment, a company bearing his name and owned since 1985 by the Jim Pattison Group, a privately held company based in Canada.”
These mirrors are the last thing you see in the museum.
I did get some pics of Marilyn while going through.
“Some like her because she was sexy and beautiful; others because she was a funny comedienne. There are people who adore her sensitivity and others who love the way she never stopped trying to make her life more fulfilling.”
I have my own reasons for being a Marilyn Monroe fan.
To see all of the Ripley museum pics and more, visit the link below and click on Photos.
I attended the Houston Horror Film Fest again this year and had a great time. What follows are some pics and a story about the event.
This year, I received 2 Media Passes to the event and I was grateful. With as many events as I cover, it would cost me a small fortune if I had to pay for every event or attraction I visited.
I always enjoy getting a pic with their back drop.
Purgatory Scream Park had another display this year. Last year, they had a set from Stranger Things. This year, they went a bit darker. And I loved it.
I really appreciate the attention to detail. They really make an effort.
So many details to drink in with the eyes.
Purgatory Scream Park is opening soon. I made arrangements to visit this year. I’ll be there the first Friday that they open to photograph the staff getting ready, etc. I should end up with some great pics. I’ll post a blog story about that soon so look forward to it.
Their address is 1965 Northpark Dr, Kingwood, TX 77339.
I shot a commercial with Shane Glasgow, one of the owners. He told me that it takes about 30 to 45 minutes to go through their attraction.
He also said that their property is an indoor/outdoor attraction covering 25,000 sq. feet.
I wonder if they looked at this shelf and said, “I think it’s missing something. I know… toes on a string!” I love it.
Here is some info from their homepage…
“Purgatory’s scenic designs are second to none, and its’ resident personalities are unforgettable. If you are looking for the most exciting haunted house to visit, this is the one you don’t want to miss!
At 25,000 sq ft. and a 30-45 minute walk through, it is the largest haunt in the state of Texas.”
And some more info from their site…
“Come see Kill Count, Dredzo, Lester the Jester, Bendy and the crew of signature characters that have been tormenting North Houston for years.”
The artist that made this is very talented.
Here is the write-up about Purgatory Scream Park…
“North of Houston, in the city of Kingwood, lies the sleeping giant of the haunted house industry.
Purgatory Scream Park is the fastest growing horror themed attraction in Houston, and is beloved by its’ guests. This is evident by the raving reviews Purgatory receives on social media and its’ unmatched rating of 4.9 on Google.
The measure of a haunted attraction is the satisfaction of its’ guests, and it is here that Purgatory Scream Park outranks all other haunts in Houston.”
Here is the interview that I conducted with Shane Glasgow of Purgatory Scream Park. It’s worth a look.
A group from another Houston haunted house.
The HHFF offers many things, including great artwork.
Many talented artists show their work at this event.
Creepz the Clown is promoting another haunted house.
Quite a bloody group.
There were a lot of clowns at HHFF 2023 on the Friday.
Some are scared of clowns.
“Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns and is a widely acknowledged phenomenon. Studies indicate this fear is present among both adults and children in many different countries.”
I met Austin and got some pics of her. Really nice.
Here is her card.
This is Georgia, The Unique Peach.
Her make-up was fabulous. She said it takes her 4 hours to put it on.
Here is her card.
These next pics are from Saturday of the event.
Everybody loves ghoulish pirates, right?
Here is Georgia without her face done up like on Friday. Cute girl.
I laughed at her facial expression and eyes when I got home and saw this pic.
Great reactions when I asked them out on a date, lol.
This is one big Michael Myers.
Fun gals.
Look for the word Sex in this pic.
Two more Cosplay Cuties.
This is not the only pretty Freddy Krueger that I photographed during the weekend.
Moses works at the Westchase Marriott. He is one cool cat. I enjoy seeing him and he always speaks so well of me. He said that I must be taking Benjamin Buttons pills because I looked younger than last year. That was funny.
Another pic of Creepz the Clown.
13th Floor Haunted House.
Saturday is always the biggest day of a cosplay event.
You know you’ll have an interesting cosplay when it involves a straight jacket and a dolly. Remember this lady that is playing Hannibal Lector.
Always cute girls at HHFF.
How about a kiss, sweetie?
The man who played the kid in Chucky was a guest at the film fest. I saw a lot of people carrying their Chucky dolls because they had them autographed.
Lots of Scream killers in attendance.
A great Pinhead.
Saturday at HHFF was filled with lots of great people.
And many were in awesome cosplays.
This location in the main lobby was the best spot for photos because of the natural light.
Not so sure I’d want a kiss from her, lol.
Cute cosplayer with a great face.
Another Chucky fan with her doll.
From the original Halloween movie. The guy, Gillman, is portraying the Donald Pleasance character, Dr. Samuel “Sam” J. Loomis. Funny pic.
I love this guy.
But I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley dressed like this.
Amber and Alicia. The second pretty Freddy Krueger that I met.
Amber did a fantastic job with her Freddy face.
I liked this cosplayer’s look.
A great smile. Everyone was having the best time.
A funny couple. Here is something about their cosplay…
“Alexa and Alexie Grady are the names given to the twins in the 1980 film (they are not given first names in the 1977 book). They are two little girls who were murdered by their father Delbert Grady, when he was possessed by ghosts in the Overlook Hotel in The Shining.”
These two would scare me on a dark night also.
Can you imagine walking to your car in a darkened car garage late at night and you see this running at you?
This concludes the section about Saturday.
Saturday night, I went back to the Westchase Marriott at 11pm to attend the Rave to the Grave party. My Media Pass got me in for free.
The place was packed.
And the music was great.
There was also a photo op with an HHFF back drop.
When I got home and started editing my pics, I laughed when I saw this guy.
This is a short video of Rave to the Grave.
On Sunday, I got my Red Carpet pic again.
The Purgatory display was a favorite of many attendees.
And the owners and staff are so friendly.
A pic for my resume, lol.
Georgia was so nice to meet. I hope I see her again next year.
Harley Quinn is a favorite of millions. Here is some info about her…
“Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books produced by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for “Batman: The Animated Series” as a henchwoman for the supervillain Joker.”
Teenie tiny cosplayer.
Sunday was not as crowded as Saturday, but still a good crowd.
A good day to meet celebrity guests because of no lines.
Another Chucky fan and his doll.
A fun pic.
Remember the lady that was playing Hannibal lector? This is her in red. A great look.
All of the rooms at the Marriott had fans of the film fest. And they all were having a good time.
This is a crossover cosplay. It’s Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th as Pinhead. Pretty cool.
Lots of merchandise to choose from.
And great art.
The artists are all happy to take photos.
This guy had some baked goods. They looked delicious.
Cool cookies.
I love candy apples, especially caramel with nuts.
Here’s my gal again.
Such great make-up.
The Sunday Purgatory crew. Great people.
A fun couple getting into their characters.
Good detail on this guy’s face.
How did she get her mouth and tongue so black?
Spiderwoman. Pretty scary.
She has the Joker mouth and her outfit so I think this is another Harley Quinn.
The Grady twins again. I had never seen this cosplay in all my years of attending comicons and I saw it twice in one weekend.
This concludes my blog post about the Houston Horror Film Fest of 2023. I hope you enjoyed reading about it and seeing just a few of the pics that I took.
Always more to come.
To see all of the pics from the weekend, visit the site below and click on Photos.
Sid Grauman and his partners finished the famous Chinese Theatre in 1927. The most interesting thing about the theatre is the forecourt where Stars have left their imprints in the cement.
Five million tourists visit the theatre each year.
Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe from the movie ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’.
Marilyn used an earring to dot her “i” when she did it in 1953. It was stolen 3 days later. The backing still remains.
The story of how these imprints began has 2 versions.
The first is that when silent movie star Norma Talmadge visited Sid at the theatre before it was opened, she stepped in wet cement.
This is supposedly where Sid got the idea to have stars leave their hand and foot imprints.
The other version is that the dog of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks walked across their new driveway and left paw prints. This gave Mary the idea and along with Douglas and Sid left their imprints at the theatre first. That dog’s name was Zorro.
Marilyn’s imprints are the biggest attraction.
Some of the women that stepped into the wet cement wore a smaller shoe than usual.
I still don’t think Steven Seagal should be among these great Stars.
There are 2 time capsules buried beneath the forecourt. The first was buried in 1942 and the second was buried in 1977.
This area is known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’s “Forecourt of the Stars.”
I’ll come here every time that I’m in L.A.
The Chinese Theatre is a must-see destination when visiting Hollywood.
Johnny Grant was the MC for a lot of ceremonies on Hollywood boulevard, including the imprints and Stars on the Walk of Fame.
When it was his turn to leave his imprints, he misspelled his own name and only used one “n” when he used 2 in Johnny.
My first full day in Los Angeles, I met a friend and we walked up and down Hollywood boulevard.
It is an interesting place with lots to see.
Getting a pic of the Hollywood sign is a requirement.
We stopped by a bar and had some drinks and chips with salsa.
He was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood boulevard.
On another day, I visited Hollywood boulevard again.
Who doesn’t love Barney Fife?
Stars located every few steps.
The street was closed off for a movie premiere.
This lady was creating memories on a blank Star.
She had all of the letters to spell any name and all of the props needed for a nice photo.
I had to get some pics.
Some fun memories of my time in Hollywood.
As close as I’ll ever get, lol.
Fame is fleeting.
A funny story about Johnny Grant in another blog post. He is famous in Hollywood for the wrong reason and it’s funny.
That movie premiere was for The Little Mermaid.
Happens a lot in Hollywood.
This is interesting. The first eight Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame were Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrence and Joanne Woodward.
Street vendors on most corners.
Another view of the blocked off boulevard.
Mini Storm Trooper.
Tours of Hollywood are offered by several companies.
All different types of tour vehicles.
Some better, some worse.
Hollywood boulevard is a must-see place on a trip to Los Angeles.
To see more Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, visit link below.
In May of 2023, I was in Los Angeles with a friend. He was there for work and I went to play. We arrived on a Wednesday. The next day was Thursday, May the 4th.
I had heard that they were giving a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to Carrie Fisher and was interested in going.
On Thursday morning, I woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was about 10am when I looked to see what time the ceremony was being held. For some reason, I thought it would be about 3pm.
I was wrong. It was starting very soon. Luckily, I was already dressed so I got an Uber to Hollywood boulevard. I arrived right when the ceremony was beginning.
As you can see, there was no way to get up close.
This was cool.
They closed off Hollywood boulevard for the crowd.
I was able to snap some shots of Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker.
He gave a good speech.
Carrie Fisher was the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. She was born October 21st, 1956 in Burbank, CA. She died December 27th, 2016 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
This confused me at first… it is a photo of Princess Leia but it is Billie Lourd, Carrie’s daughter.
This is the view from Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
After the ceremony was over, there were several people lined up on the sidewalk to get a pic of the Star.
There were about 30+ people waiting by a security guard. The crew was taking down the tents and the guard wasn’t letting anybody in the area until the crew was finished.
On my side, I was the only one waiting to get a pic. The security guard by me was letting people in the blocked off area to go to this one store that was inside the working area of the crew.
After a while, he told me that if I wanted to say that I was going to that store, he would let me in the area and I could take my pic while going to the store.
I thanked him and stepped behind the barrier and walked to the store. Carrie’s Star was right by the door of this store in the roped off area. I stopped, snapped a few pics and went into the store.
I checked my pics and then walked back out again and was on my way.
The press obviously got the first pics of the Star during the ceremony. I was the first person to photograph Carrie’s Star before it was opened up to the public. First!
Mark Hamill’s Star, which was nearby.
Later in the day, a friend and I walked by the Star after the crowds had gone. This is a favorite pic of mine.
Being present for this ceremony was really cool and I got some great pics.
I visited several attractions while in Los Angeles and those blog posts are coming up so stay tuned.
To see the pics from my Los Angeles trip, visit the link below and click on Photos.
In 2022, I attended all 17 days of the Texas Renaissance Festival over a 2 month period of October and November. The festival is known for the great talent in all of the shows, the fantastic costumes of the cast and patrons, and the many different taverns and drinks offered.
Another very important aspect of the TexRenFest is the food. There are so many options.
This season, I had planned on trying as many dishes as I could to get photos in order to show the great offerings. What follows is my experiences.
The first thing that I tried was a cheeseburger and fries. It was freshly made and tasted great.
I met Lourdes at the Steak on a Stick food stand. I told her of my goal to try more food and she immediately offered to help me out by letting me try the food from her stand.
The first thing that I tried was the crawfish mac and cheese. I love crawfish and also mac and cheese. I had never even heard of this dish before and it was superb. I loved it.
This is a dish that should be tried by everyone that visits the festival.
Elaine was serving apple turnovers with ice cream and I snapped this pic. I didn’t try them but I will next year because they looked fantastic.
On another weekend, Lourdes let me try the fried crawfish and potato wedges. Great again and served by such a cute lady.
If you love crawfish but hate peeling them, this is the way to go.
I tried the Pork on a Stick from Adrianna. It was a favorite of mine and I’ll have it again in 2023.
Hard to beat for a meat lover.
Shelley served me the bacon on a stick. A thick piece of bacon cooked just right and so flavorful and juicy.
I was offered the pierogies from the Polish Pub. I had never tried them and thought they were great.
They come with different fillings and all were very tasty.
The manager of the Polish Pub, Kasia, offered to let me try their combo plate. Here, her co-worker is serving it to me.
The plate has hunter stew (sauerkraut mixed with a few kinds of meat, sausage, piece of polish sausage), three kinds of Pierogi: meat, potato and cheese, sauerkraut and mushrooms, cabbage roll (stuffed cabbage with rice and pork meat) topped with tomato sauce. It was all so delicious. I had never tried most of it and now love it all.
I didn’t try the funnel cake but this nice lady was kind enough to let me get a pic.
Every good festival has funnel cakes. I love them.
Later in the season, I tried the crawfish mac and cheese from Lourde’s Steak on a Stick stand again. Can you tell that it was a favorite?
So good that I ordered some cooked and peeled crawfish from HEB and made this dish at home.
One day, I bought lunch for the crew at Catskill Mountain Moccasins. The pizza is really good.
The cheese pizza is a favorite of many but I prefer the Meat Lovers.
I tried the crawfish and potato wedges again also. I love how Lourdes and her crew always dressed for the theme of the weekend.
A must try.
Kasia, the manager of the Polish Pub, began letting me try other dishes. On this day, I tried the Polish Sausage. It was delicious.
Kasia introduced me to Lady Ligia. She owns 15 food booths at TRF and is a living legend there.
Kasia began to give me food coupons each weekend day to let me try the different dishes at Ligia’s stands. Ligia runs an empire at the TexRenFest and I’m glad to have met her.
Ligia is known as The Empanada Lady because that’s how she got her start at the TexRenFest.
She offers breakfast empanadas that have bananas and then she offers empanadas filled with meat.
Ligia and I had some of both one day and had a nice chat.
Ligia was born in Bolivia and has lived The American Dream.
I am proud to call Lady Ligia a good friend and I look forward to seeing her again in 2023.
One of the places that Ligia owns is the new Thirsty Pirate Pub. It’s a great addition to the festival and offers drinks and also food.
Here, Katy is serving me the meatballs on a stick. Such a cute server with a great smile and good food.
I tried the coconut water and learned that it is good for a hangover.
Another stand of Ligia’s serves a cup with layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes. I had never heard of this either and now love it.
I met Julie while on my walks around the festival. She works in the Fish and Chips stand. She also offered to help me with my goal of trying more food in 2022.
In this pic, she is serving me the fried shrimp. So big and delicious. And from such a beautiful woman.
Another must try while at the festival.
Kasia let me try the pulled pork sandwich. Holly served it to me in a great costume.
I’m getting hungry as I create this post, haha.
Lourdes gave me their main menu item, the steak on a stick. It’s one of their best sellers and I know why. It’s fantastic.
TRF is a meat lover’s heaven.
On a cold day, Kasia served me some hot mulled wine. I had never tried it and soon loved it.
Jazi Love served me some hot chocolate and it hit the spot on a chilly day at the festival.
I tried the beignets from Lourdes’ stand. Warm, fluffy and sweet. Great beignets.
I’ll definitely have these again in 2023.
Another of Ligia’s booths serves Nachos. It was so good. Loved it. So much meat.
One cold weekend, Lourdes let me try their boudin. It was hot and delicious. It warmed me up and filled me up.
So good.
I also tried the chicken stir-fry.
Lots of flavor and chicken. Great.
The fried shrimp form Lourdes’ stand were superb. I love shrimp and these were great. The potatoes add to the meal.
My arteries may hate me but my stomach loves me, lol.
I tried the fried alligator from Vendella’s Cajun Food stand.
If you’ve never tried fried alligator, you should. It’s very tasty.
I ordered the chicken quesadilla from one of Ligia’s stands. One of the best I’ve ever had.
Cooked well and filled with chicken and cheese.
Here, Julie is pictured holding their loaded baked potato.
I didn’t try this but it looked awesome. It’s on my list for 2023.
Catalina Longview showed me their bread bowl from the Bread Bowl stand.
This looked so good. Didn’t try it but will next time.
Julie offered me their fried pickles and the were so good.
I love fried pickles and these were terrific.
I had the fried crawfish again from Lourdes. You can’t keep a Cajun away from crawfish, lol.
Super meal.
Ligia’s Taco Salad is awesome.
I can’t wait for TRF 2023 to try this again.
Julie let me try their fish and chips.
The fish is catfish and so delicious. The chips were great as well.
I had the steak on a stick again because it is so tasty.
If you can’t find something delicious at TRF, you’re not even looking.
Ligia also offers a Cuban sandwich.
I love Cuban sandwiches and this one was fantastic. I’d have it again.
I had the fried shrimp from Lourdes again. This may seem repetitious but Lourdes wears such great outfits that I had to include these pics.
I’ll be having fried shrimp very soon after seeing these photos again.
One day, I stopped into the Greek section and stumbled upon a food stand that had the best looking salads.
If you’re not into meat all of the time, these salads are the bomb. The dressing was terrific.
Ligia also owns the Red Lion Tavern that serves the best BBQ at TRF.
Is that mouth watering, or what?
This was one of my most favorite things to eat all season.
I had the cabbage rolls again from Kasia at the Polish Pub. As a kid, I hated cabbage and never tried it. Now, I’m a big fan, thanks to Kasia.
Filled with meat and covered in sauce. Unbelievably good.
Julie let me try their crab cakes.
Really good. Loved them and will have them again in 2023.
I’d like to thank Kasia, Lady Ligia, Lourdes, Julie. Adrianna, Jazi Love, Holly, Catalina Longview, Vendella and all of the rest for serving me such great food with a smile.
I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the food at the TexRenFest. To see several more pics of the food offered at the festival, visit the link below.
The last weekend of the TexRenFest 2022 season is themed as Celtic Christmas weekend and is a lot of fun. This weekend includes the Friday also, which is nice to have a third day to enjoy the last weekend at TRF.
What follows is a story for each of the final 3 days with photos. I hope you enjoy the look back.
I camped out 2 weekends this season. For every other day that I arrived at the festival, I was the first one in the parking area. I get up at 4:30am, leave my place at 6:30am and arrive at TRF by 7:30am. That gives me 1 1/2 hours before the cannon goes off to get my throne pics and pics of the beefeaters. I also enjoy a cup of hot chocolate on the colder days.
When I arrive, the grounds crew has already walked the walkway and picked up every bit of trash. For the most part, the patrons at the TexRenFest don’t litter, which is nice.
I like being able to park close so that my walk back to my Tahoe is not a long one at the end of my day.
The estimate is that 500,000 people visit TRF each season.
That is not 500,000 individual people because several people attend on multiple days, but 500,000 is the cumulative number of visits.
I usually get a beefeater to snap my throne pics. Jim and Greg are always so nice about it.
Here’s Jim. Such a nice guy.
All season long, the front gate beefeaters were happy to pose for me and I appreciated that.
I like getting a pic of the entrance plaza inside the gates before the crowds enter. It’s so peaceful in the mornings. And later in the day, there are a lot of people in this area.
I stopped by the Queen’s Pantry for a hot chocolate on this day. It really warms a person up.
Queen Juana was happy to pose with me all season long and I’m grateful. She is so nice to me and I enjoy her company.
A few barbarians and vikings. Good group of people.
Alan, getting ready to fire the morning cannon.
A cool screen grab from the video of the firing.
Capturing the morning cannon on video was a favorite thing to do for me.
The King entertaining the guests.
The Queen was always happy to pose for me and she always looked great.
These two ladies were photographed several times by me and they were always very pleasant.
Jade is another favorite of mine to photograph. So beautiful and talented.
Kristina played the White Swan and was great at it. Very beautiful also.
The morning dance with cast and patrons.
Rudy plays Hamish McGregor, the bagpipe player. He stays busy all day long with his pipes and does a fantastic job entertaining the patrons and leading the daily parade.
TRF had some really nice Christmas trees.
Tea and Strumpets has the best bacon sandwich in the Kingdom and an awesome upstairs patio.
June works there and is a new friend. Very photogenic.
Elizabeth as well.
My eyes are down here.
Gracelynn and Karlee.
Ravenswood Leather.
Rebel, Mary, MJ and Tori. Some of the best salespersons in New Market Village.
Ravenswood Leather has so many great items.
I purchased two leather pouches this season and really like them a lot.
When at TRF, you should definitely stop by this shop.
So many cool items to choose from.
Their hats are great.
I may have some custom items made.
Dex cooked up a lot of chicken this season.
Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Katy, Michael, Margot and Shane. Great people and new friends.
The Pirate Pub was a favorite place to visit all season long.
Cheyenne looked festive with her glasses.
And her outfits were always very nice.
Meeting Kasia was a highpoint of my season. Such a nice person and so hard working. The Polish Pub is lucky to have her as the manager.
The staff of the Polish Pub dressed for every themed weekend. And always looked great.
Maybe next season, I’ll take an elephant ride.
And camel too.
Savannah was in the Christmas spirit and was so nice all season long.
Julie helped me out a lot by allowing me to photograph and taste several items from their menu.
I didn’t try the loaded baked potato but it looked delicious. I’ll definitely try it next season.
Julie is one of the most beautiful women at TRF. Many others have mentioned this also. I’m not alone in this.
Her and her daughter, Kylie, are very photogenic.
Kylie lets me get her photo also and I’m grateful.
I took Jessica’s pic a lot during the season and was happy to get a pic with her. So nice.
Jenna was a favorite to photograph and several people commented on her photos.
Catalina Longview works with Kylie at the Bread Bowl stand. Another RenFest beauty.
I didn’t try the bread bowl either, but it’s on my list for next season. Looks great.
A fun group pic.
Bri is another new friend that I made this season. She always had great photos too.
The Cajun Food staff is another favorite of mine. Angela, Blaise, Vendella and Reagan.
Blaise never takes a bad pic.
I was happy to take pics of the food stand staffs. They deserve attention for the long, hard hours they work.
Kelsey and Alex. Two more TRF beauties.
The staff at the Red Lion Tavern dressed for each weekend also and really looked great.
Ty and his staff were always ready for a pic and I liked that.
Allen was so very nice to me every time that I stopped by the Wyrmwood Public House.
Two lovely ladies enjoying a drink at the Wyrmwood. Juju is on the right.
Mickey is my favorite bartender in all of the Kingdom. Last season, he introduced me to the Wyrmwood and I’m so happy he did.
He is such a cool guy and a great, new friend of mine.
Monsieur Bunny prefers to be called Daddy, so I do. When people hear me say that, they always laugh.
I took some pics of Ammon. He does the puppet show and the kids love it.
The whip show is always packed.
Kasia is so nice to me that she’s very easy to like. I consider her a dear friend.
Jessica and Stephanie were always ready for a pic and looked great each time.
I did try the fried pickles at Julie’s stand. The Fish and Chips stand has some great items on the menu and the fried pickles were delicious. Julie and I shared them.
These are a must to try if you visit the TexRenFest. And you get to meet Julie… an added bonus.
Kylie and Catalina.
Lourdes is another new, dear friend. She helped me out a lot during the season by letting me try items from their menu.
This is the fried crawfish. So good!
The RenFest has great patrons that are always willing to pose for a pic.
Hyle and Erika at the Asgardian Armory.
So beautiful.
Erika always make me look good. Beautiful women tend to do that for a clown like me, lol.
The Asgardian Armory has such a fun, nice staff that I stop by there every day that I’m at the festival.
Greg works at Catskill Mountain Moccasins. He is also very nice to me and lets me store my stuff at their booth.
Becca works there also. Very stylish.
I met Sara last season and she’s become a good friend. I like her a lot.
This staff does a great job for Catskill Mountain Moccasins. They sell a lot of moccasins during the season.
A close-knit group.
This lovely fairy is a great addition to the festival. So beautiful.
I tried the taco salad on this day.
All I can say is that it was great. I’ll have this again next season.
The Spanish Area has some of my favorite dishes.
The King and Queen of Spain.
Another fun group pic.
Ronnie is probably the most in shape dude at TRF.
Another of the fantastic Christmas trees in the Kingdom.
The French section has some great food also.
I ran into Pain Killer. He’s a fun guy.
His back looks awesome.
Santa Scott. A great look for the holidays.
Santa, I would like 2 ‘old school’ Victoria’s Secret models, gift-wrapped and under my tree by Xmas morning.
Amanda works at the Sea Devil Tavern in the Glory Hole bar. A good friend of mine.
Mickel makes a good Santa too.
The shiny, metal on her outfit is all beer can pull tabs. That’s a lot of beer to make this. Impressive.
Kids love the pony rides.
Shelley and Katy at the Pirate Pub.
Tawni and Elizabeth, upstairs at the pub.
Written in the concrete at the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
A great photo op.
Chelsea’s bird whistle stand.
She is a great salesperson and so very nice.
Three more RenFest beauties. That’s Juju in the middle.
Another great tree at the festival.
I told this couple that their costumes would look better is they went to the gym more. They didn’t laugh, lol.
I never took a carriage ride this season. Maybe next year.
I didn’t ask this Santa for my VS models because I have faith in Santa Scott to deliver.
So colorful and festive. Great costuming.
The tree in the entrance plaza. A great photo op.
Lady Iris stays busy painting faces all day long. Such a sweet soul.
After I take my morning Tahoe pics, I back in so it’s easier to leave.
This concludes the pics from Friday at the festival.
First again on the Saturday.
A little wet on this day from all of the rain overnight.
The day turned out well and it was another good day to be in New Market Village.
Morning throne pic.
Willie and Jim are great.
The entry plaza tree.
June was a pleasure to meet and I enjoyed getting pics of her.
Zoe served me my morning hot chocolate from the Queen’s Pantry.
Such a good look.
Lady Iris’ supplies to do her face painting.
Several members of the cast come by before the festival opens to get their faces painted.
And Lady Iris always does a great job for them.
Sherry was fun to meet.
I went back to the Queen’s Pantry to buy a hot chocolate for Lady Iris.
Sherry looked great in front of the tree.
Another screen grab from the video of the morning cannon firing.
On this morning, Brandi ignited the cannon. She was one of the only ones to do it correctly by covering an ear and opening her mouth to lessen the percussion to the brain.
Queen Juana, looking as good as ever.
I ran into Kevin. He’s one of my favorite pirates at the festival.
Every good pirate wears many rings.
And so do I.
I’ve been lucky in life. From left to right… Sturgis Motorcycle Rally ring, Lifeguard Championship ring, IndyCar Championship ring, Nascar Championship ring (Jeff Gordon), Turquoise for luck, Brickyard 400 Championship ring ( Jeff Gordon), NHRA Ring, College ring. I have another ring that will be delivered soon to replace the turquoise ring.
Over the course of the season, I had many comments made on the way I dressed. On this day, a lady at the Queen’s Pantry told me that she liked my sense of style.
Two damn good-looking pirates, lol.
The morning dance.
I photographed this group often and the pics always came out great.
Elizabeth looked good in her holiday corset.
I like the effort TRF puts in to create the holiday spirit.
Mary, Tori, MJ and Rebel.
I met MJ last season and added her shop to my morning route. So nice.
Mary has one of the best hats at the festival and looks great in it.
Tori was always happy to pose with me and I’m glad about that.
I met Rebel at a comicon. She’s a really good cosplayer.
Thirsty Pirate Pub.
I never saw their decorations after dark, but I bet they looked fantastic.
Shelley and Katy.
The Polish Pub staff. So cute in their outfits.
Jacob is a lucky man.
The Polish Pub is a favorite stop of mine.
Kasia is also lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
Jacob and Kasia.
Kasia is another lovely lady that makes me look good.
Cheyenne can be added to that list as well.
Jenna was a pleasure to photograph.
Jessica and Stephanie.
Julie, looking as beautiful as ever.
Catalina Longview.
Adriana was really nice to me all season long.
Blaise.
Vendella.
Reagan.
Kelsey and Alex.
Red Lion Tavern staff.
Haley, looking so cute and so festive.
I decided to start asking Haley to take a pic with me and I’m glad she agreed.
Lilly, the high seas Barbie. Such a good look for her.
Always happy to get a pic with her.
Queen Juana.
I stopped by the Wyrmwood on this day and Allen greeted me with pleasure.
Mickey and Taylor.
Two cool dudes, indeed. Ha.
An overhead view of the Wyrmwood.
Probably the coolest bar in the Kingdom.
Daddy and I.
Taylor and Daddy.
Funny pic.
Travis is another good friend.
Bri looks good in her ears.
So cute.
Becca looks great each day.
I look forward to seeing Greg on the comicon circuit this next year. He’s also a great cosplayer.
Hyle and Erika.
I’ll miss taking Erika’s picture every weekend. Already looking forward to the next season in 2023.
A favorite pic of mine.
Alex always had great poses.
I’ll meet Alex at another festival this next Spring.
Waiting for the couple that was about to be married.
Santa Scott and his main squeeze.
Another pic of this beautiful fairy.
This lovely lady always does a great job with her costumes and face.
I went by the Fish and Chips booth and Julie let me try the fish and chips. The fish is catfish and it was very good. I’ll try that again next season.
I’m amazed that I didn’t gain any weight with all of the food I had this season. Walking around the festival helped burn it off.
Cheyenne and Kasia. Two great, new friends of mine.
The Polish Pub has two great acts to enjoy while you’re there. 2 Merry Men and Chaste Treasure are very entertaining.
Another packed audience for the whip act.
I asked this group if they wanted a pic so they posed for me. Then, I said that the pic was only $20. They didn’t laugh, but I did.
Philip is the best dressed pirate at TRF and always looks spectacular.
I met these two RenFest cuties on this last weekend.
I’ve ran into these two clowns a lot over the past 2 years. Great to photograph.
I tried the steak on a stick this season and it is one of my favorites at the TexRenFest. It’s a best-seller for Lourdes and her staff.
So delicious.
I tried the Cuban sandwich on this day and I really enjoyed it.
Ligia, the Empanada Lady, has so many great dishes at her 15 food stands. I loved all of the ones I tried.
Chelsea’s stand.
I wonder how many whistles she sells in a season. I bet it’s a lot.
I photographed this lady last season and was happy to run into her again this year.
A fun group pic.
The view from the Tea and Strumpets’ patio.
This last Saturday had a good crowd.
And the weather was good.
Santa making a child happy.
Lots of kids got to sit on Santa’s lap.
Still coming in as I was leaving for the day.
This concludes the pics from the last Saturday of the festival.
First again on the last day of the festival.
No sign of rain on this day.
George is a genius and a visionary.
All hail, King George.
Morning throne pic.
Hundreds of thousands passed through these gates this season.
Willie and Greg.
Robert and a few beefeaters.
The final beefeaters pic of the season.
On this morning, I bought Lady Iris’ hot chocolate when I purchased mine.
I’ll miss taking June’s pic each day.
Lady Iris at work before the festival opens.
And she paints tatas also.
All painted and ready for the last day of TRF 2022.
A beautiful tree.
I love Gabby’s hat. She looks good in it.
I caught Rudy as he was going out to entertain the early morning patrons. Such a nice guy and a good friend.
Alan, preparing to fire the cannon.
Boom goes the dynamite, lol. That’s an older reference to something funny. IYKYK.
The video of the last cannon firing of the 2022 season.
Jade, looking as cute as ever.
Robert and his sidekick piggy.
Erin makes a great Glenda, the good witch.
The morning dance.
Ravenswood Leather decorated for the holidays. I would have loved to see it after dark.
MJ makes a good Vanna.
The staff at Ravenswood never refused me a pic and that was cool of them.
MJ is the only person to tell me to turn my credential around for the pic. I appreciated that.
I took Elaine’s pic quite often and they are among my favorites.
Katheryn allowed me to take her pic several times also. Very cute.
Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Love the hats on Shelley and Katy.
I’ll miss seeing Savannah. Another RenFest cutie.
The staff of the Polish Pub.
Great people.
All so very fun-loving and hard-working. They are an asset to the festival.
Jacob and Kasia.
I’ll miss seeing Kasia every weekend also.
I look forward to returning to the Polish Pub next season.
Three fun patrons.
And I’ll definitely miss seeing Julie. Easy on the eyes and a good friend.
Kenley, Vendella and Reagan.
Lourdes let me try the fried shrimp and I loved them. Lourdes was so kind to me all season long and I can’t thank her enough.
So good.
Red Lion Tavern staff.
Haley looks good as a red head and also as a blonde.
I was in the Greek section and decided to try a salad.
I really liked it a lot. I’ll definitely have this again next year. Superb.
Three RenFest beauties.
Lourdes, Kelsey, Tanya and Alex were the best-dressed staff for the last weekend.
I loved getting pics of Pam all season long. Such a fun person and she loves her job at the Sea Devil Tavern in the Bilge Pump bar area.
Jim MacKenzie always had a large crowd for his act.
Kylie.
Adrianna and Kylie at the Bread Bowl stand.
Cheyenne and Kasia.
Chaste Treasures. Three beautiful and talented women.
On this last day, I had the cabbage rolls again from the Polish Pub. I never liked cabbage before and had never tried a cabbage roll. Now, I’m a big fan. Love it.
So delicious.
The bird act draws a huge crowd also.
Fun couple.
Kids love climbing. Fact.
Julie let me try the crab cakes and they were great. We shared them.
One of my favorite dishes at TRF.
Sara is someone that I love getting a pic with.
Melissa in front of the Asgardian Armory.
Love Erika’s headwear. So beautiful.
And yes, she gets a close-up.
I’ll miss getting pics with Erika.
I look forward to seeing Alex this next Spring.
He always looks good.
I enjoy my pics with him also. Such a cool guy.
Two colorful, fun ladies.
Love the carriage rides. If I had a date at the festival, we’d definitely take a ride in one.
This gentleman is the owner of the Wyrmwood Public House. My hat is off to him for creating such a cool bar.
I enjoyed all 17 days of the festival.
It seemed like the year flew by since the 2021 season. I hope this off-season goes by as quick because I’ll miss my time in the Kingdom.
At least I’ll have over 4,500 pics and videos from TRF 2022 to pass the time.
I met Johnny Danger (far right) this season. What a great guy. A true friend.
I love that TRF creates so many great memories for so many people.
A great trio.
Patrons love taking pics in front of the main Christmas tree.
I ran into this lovely lady again on the last day and was happy that I did.
The last day had a good crowd.
I met Mindy this season also. So nice and such a great part of the festival.
The beefeaters are the first and last to greet you at TRF and do a great job.
Still coming in on the last day.
The only way to come in from the parking area.
TRF entertained hundreds of thousands this season. And I was among them.
Until next season.
This concludes this post about the last weekend at TRF for 2022. I hope you enjoyed the look back.
I’ll have a blog post about the food coming up.
To see all of the pics and videos from TRF 2022, visit the site below and click on Photos.
Every weekend day of the Texas Renaissance Festival season, a cannon is fired to start the day. Over the years, thousands upon thousands have heard it and it filled them with a sense of excitement to know that the day at TRF has begun.
And even though so many have heard it go off, not many have actually seen it happen. This includes the cast and crew of the TexRenFest also because when it fires, they are all around the festival in their shops and booths getting ready for the day.
Last season, I was asked several times to meet crews before the festival opened to get their photos. When I started getting into the festival early to meet these crews, I knew that I wanted to see the cannon go off.
What follows are 12 videos for 12 days of the cannon being fired. Next season, I hope to capture all 17 firings.
I didn’t capture video of the first 3 days of the festival, but started shooting video on the fourth day. This firing is for the Sunday of the 1001 Dreams weekend.
A still shot achieved by using the video and advancing it to just the right spot and taking a screenshot. With a high quality iPhone that shoots 4K video, this is possible to do.
Alan is in charge of the cannon and also works on the fireworks show at the end of the day. Alan and I found out that we both worked for the same guy many years ago doing pyrotechnic work. Small world.
This firing is for Saturday of the Halloween weekend.
I shared the gallery of these videos and pics with someone and they were amazed at what I had done to get these pics. After so many years, you pick up some tricks.
Here is what I found on cannons… “A cannon is a type of artillery, usually large and tubular in shape, that uses gunpowder to propel a projectile over a distance. Cannons vary in size, range, mobility, rate of fire, and fire power.”
This firing is for the Sunday of Halloween weekend.
Alan really liked seeing these pics.
“Cannons were first used in China. The first European cannon was in Iberia, in the Islamic wars against Spain in the 12th century.”
This firing is for the Saturday of the Cosplay weekend. A film crew was there to record it. The cameraman still jumps even though I told them all what to expect.
A great shot of the video crew getting some footage of the firing.
On this next day, the Festival Queen lit the cannon. Alan always tells the person lighting the cannon to cover the ear closest to the cannon and also to open their mouths to lessen the percussion to the head. Many times, the person forgets to open their mouth.
This firing is for the Sunday of the Cosplay weekend.
I really like the still shots.
This next guy’s reaction to the noise is pretty funny.
This firing is for the Saturday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend.
I bet this guy would love to have this photo. It’s in the photo galleries on the website, if you know him.
“An English cannon was first used during the Hundred Years War, when small, primitive cannons were used in the Battle of Crecy in 1346. The end of the Middle Ages saw the introduction of a more standardized and effective cannon.”
This firing is for the Sunday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend.
Alan always has the best pose when firing.
On this next day, it was a little wet, so Alan fired the cannon from under an awning. “Keep your powder dry” is a very old saying that refers to soldiers using older guns that utilized gunpowder.
This firing is for the Saturday of the Highland Fling weekend.
This might be my favorite pic.
“Some of the largest cannons ever constructed were of Asian origin. Some European cannons were large also, but were abandoned in favor of larger numbers of lighter more maneuverable pieces. The Medieval Great Turkish Bombard required 200 men to operate, while the 18th century English cannon only required a dozen men to fire. By the Napoleonic Wars, only 5 men operated the British cannon.”
This firing is for the Sunday of the Highland Fling weekend.
If I were Alan, I’d want some of these pics framed for the wall.
“The word cannon has been used to refer to a gun since 1326, in Italy, and 1418, in England. From 1430 onward, the word cannon was only used to refer to the largest weapons.”
This firing is for the Friday of the Celtic Christmas weekend.
Another favorite.
On this day, Brandi Baldwin ignited the cannon. She was one of the only ones that did it right by covering her ear and opening her mouth.
This firing is for the Saturday of the Celtic Christmas weekend.
Alan looks good in his cloak.
“The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 1100’s of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it.”
This firing is for the Sunday of the Celtic Christmas weekend. The last day of the festival. The Italian gentleman that ignited the cannon also did it in 2019, when the pandemic started. Alan had hopes that his igniting the cannon again would end the pandemic.
The last day of the 2022 season.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post about the TexRenFest cannon and a little history lesson. If you have enjoyed this post, leave a comment and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.
To see all of the pics and videos from the Texas Renaissance Festival, visit the site below and click on Photos.
The seventh weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed as the Highland Fling and yes, there were a lot of kilts.
This is a story from my visits on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a cold and wet day, but I made the trip to TRF anyway because I figured there would still be people there.
I arrived first again and got my usual parking spot.
I don’t usually promote the clothing company that much, but if you were interested in checking out the merchandise in the Contraband store, visit the link at the bottom of this post and click on Contraband. Lots of cool stuff.
Most may not have noticed in these photos, but my right rear hub cap fell out sometime back. I went to the dealership and had no luck. I came home and found a set of 4 for $19 on Amazon. Many times, people have bad things to say about Jeff Bezos, but he gave the world one of the best shopping websites ever.
There are a few superstitions at the TexRenFest. One is that people never say the “R” word in reference to bad weather. The previous weekend, I was talking to a TRF photographer and said, “This season has been great and no r….” He said to me, “We don’t say that word.”
I said the no-no word and sure enough, the next weekend we had r…. Lesson learned.
My morning pic on the throne.
One of the beefeaters, Jim, striking a good pose on the throne.
Rudy, about to entertain the early arriving patrons.
The cannon was fired under an awning because of the r….
Ravenswood Leather has one of the coolest buildings at TRF. The upstairs balcony if for employees only, but I’d like to go up there at least once.
The staff at Ravenswood is great and MJ is a really nice person.
All of the ladies look great posing with the merchandise. Here’s Mary looking great in her hat and fur.
I had on my STORM Factory jacket and also my STORM Factory raincoat. When I button up everything, I look like I weigh 250 pounds or that I’m pregnant, lol.
Mary had her hair down for a change and I complimented her about how nice it looked. She said that she usually wears it up so it doesn’t get unruly with the humid weather in Texas.
Kevin is a very stylish pirate and the only one I know that uses green as his predominant color with his garb. Love the hat.
I’m going to have to find a solution to the puffiness of my jackets because I don’t like looking like I just ate a whole cow.
Elaine always takes a good photo. I learned her name this weekend and she’s a favorite to photograph.
I learned Dex’s name also. I thought it the polite thing to do since I take his pic often.
I stop by the Thirsty Pirate Pub a few times each weekend day.
The staff are always willing to pose for a pic and I appreciate that. Such nice people and hard workers.
Shelly and Katy are two more people that I met this season.
Kylie never takes a bad photo. Some people are lucky like that.
Her mom, Julie, is the same way. All of the pics I take of her always look great.
Such and attractive mother and daughter. And both are really nice. I’m glad that I met them this season.
The Polish Pub is another of my regular stops each morning of the festival.
Kasia has great people working with her. Kasia has become a great new friend and I appreciate her friendship.
I said last week that I’d learn this girl’s name by this week. Meet Jenna.
The Cajun Booth has one of the friendliest staffs at TRF and they have great food.
I stopped by the Wyrmwood Public House and saw Allen at the front door, as usual.
Mickey made my kamikaze and it hit the spot on a cold and wet day.
I ran into Tim and Cameron again this weekend. They attend the festival several days of the season and always dress so well for the themed weekends.
Tim is very supportive of my efforts on social media and I appreciate that.
Sara and Abby from Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
I met Sara last year and we’ve stayed in touch via Facebook. She posts some funny stories.
Abby is Sara’s niece and I met her last season also. Abby Normal, lol.
Two tough dudes at the Asgardian Armory.
Erika has the best wardrobe and always looks fantastic every weekend.
Erika and Hyle.
I love Erika’s fur hat and I bet it’s very warm.
I’ll try and learn these young ladies’ names this upcoming weekend.
This is a fun-loving group. Very tight-knit.
The attendance was lower than usual because of the weather.
A little muddy in some areas.
Lots of rain gear and umbrellas.
Kelsey, Lourdes and Alex at the Steak on a Stick booth.
Lourdes let me try the boudin. She offered to cut it open for me but I ate it the traditional way and not with a fork. On this cold, wet day, it really warmed me up and tasted great.
The Steak on a Stick booth has a lot of great food items and the boudin is definitely one of their best.
Savannah works in the back area of the festival and I don’t always make it back there. It’s worth the walk to get her pic.
Catalina Longview always takes a good pic also.
I got a pic with Scott. Kurt Russell played Santa Claus in a movie and looks just like Scott. Scott plays Santa during the holidays.
I tried the chicken stir fry and it was good.
Good chicken, peppers and onions.
I stopped by Ravenswood Leather again and got Christina’s pic. A beautiful woman.
The patrons kept coming in, even though the weather stayed overcast all day.
I left about noon because there weren’t that many people in costume to photograph.
I snapped a pic of Willie on my way out. Such a character.
One of the funniest people at TRF.
The bad weather didn’t stop everybody from coming to the TexRenFest. Diehard fans.
This concludes the pics from Saturday.
On Sunday, the weather was still cold but not wet. First again.
If you arrive later in the day, it is a long walk from the parking area to the entrance plaza.
If you arrive early, it’s a short walk.
Such a great entrance plaza.
Much better weather than on Saturday.
A statue of the founder of TRF, George Coulam.
A great man and a visionary.
Morning throne pic.
An early morning pic with Willie. A good man.
The beefeaters of the Front Gate. They have a tough job overseeing all of the thousands that attend the TexRenFest.
Before thousands enter the festival.
The cannon was fired from its’ usual spot on this day.
Lady Iris paints the faces of TRF workers before the festival opens.
She has all of the many options for face-painting on a board so people can choose what they want.
There are many to choose from.
Lady Iris gave me a gift. It was a decorative spider and it is very cool.
Nuria as Queen Juana. Beautiful, as always.
The cast at TRF are so friendly and polite that it makes my job easier.
Rudy stays busy all day with playing his bagpipes for different occasions like weddings and the noon parade.
The morning dance with cast and patrons.
Ravenswood Leather shop has great merchandise to pose in front of.
MJ, Tori and Mary.
Mary is another photogenic person that I met at TRF this season.
I stopped by Elaine’s booth again on this day.
I learned Katherine’s name this weekend also. Very nice.
This pirate got her hat from Big Hat Pirates shop. It looks great.
Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Michelle, Michael, Shelly and Katy at the Pirate Pub.
I took some photos of the Polish Pub that I haven’t taken before.
It’s a great place to eat, drink and be entertained by their shows.
Hunters will appreciate this.
And this.
The Polish Pub is another place I discovered this season. TRF has many treasures to enjoy and this pub is one of them.
Ligia owns 15 booths at TRF, including the Polish Pub, the Thirsty Pirate Pub, the Red Lion Tavern and the whole Spanish section.
Her and Kasia are two new friends that I made this season. They are both great people and so hard-working. I respect them both and am proud to call them friends.
Ligia has a great group of people working with her.
People love Ligia and want to do a good job for her.
She is a Queen of the festival. This is her 46th year at TRF.
She started out making and selling empanadas. Her nickname is The Empanada lady.
TRF would not be as good without Ligia and her family’s hard work and efforts.
Jenna and Janie.
Kylie.
Kylie and Julie.
I enjoy stopping by to chat with Julie. It’s fun to hang out with her.
Rylie and Kylie. Two cuties.
Bri has a floof on her head. I learned that women wear floofs at the festival.
Kelsey and Alex.
Emily sells cool necklaces.
The staff of the Red Lion Tavern. Fun girls.
I saw a few Furries on this day.
My usual stop by the Wyrmwood. Notice Allen’s small hands.
The Wyrmwood also has an upstairs section.
I had Travis look up as I snapped this pic.
This girl’s name is Little Foot.
A pic with Travis.
These girls sing around the festival.
That’s a lot of faces to paint.
I’m always surprised to see guys going shirtless on really cold days. Not me. No way.
Abby and Sara.
Sara looks good in her fur.
Abby brightens my day when I see her.
TRF is a huge festival but I’ve managed to run into this couple on three different days. Nice people.
Erika, wearing a different fur hat on this day and looking great.
She is a favorite to photograph also.
Alex makes leather goods and is very talented.
He made what he’s wearing. Very nice.
Erika has been a favorite person of mine since last season when I first met her.
Alex and Erika.
Chelsea’s bird whistle stand.
She looks cute every day that I see her. One of my best friends at TRF.
Notice her floof.
A good group shot.
These ladies were having a lot of fun at the festival.
Better weather and a better crowd on this day.
No more mud to walk through.
More people in costume and no umbrellas.
I’m sure this guy liked the pic I took of him with the festival in the background.
A pirate and his main squeeze.
I started getting pics like this last season. It’s a great vantage point.
I ran into the King, who was playing golf.
This girl had on some cool pants. I asked her about them and she said that she made them.
The Spanish Court.
Getting a pic with Nuria is always on my list.
Lourdes let me try the fried shrimp and they were awesome.
Who doesn’t love good fried shrimp?
Tanya and Lourdes, two new friends.
This guy was balancing a beer on a stick on his head while playing the violin. Unbelievable.
Lots of great kilts during this weekend.
Elly was at the festival promoting different drinks. Nice girl and knows her stuff well.
They were giving out free samples in little plastic cups.
I talked with Elly for a while and she told me about their different drinks.
A good group shot.
One of my favorite pics from the weekend.
Love this pic.
I mentioned in last week’s blog post that I was going to try the fried alligator and this weekend, I did. Tastes like chicken, lol. Not really and it was delicious.
It should be on everyone’s list to try if they attend the festival.
The food stand areas always have a good crowd of people enjoying the great offerings.
With so many choices, there is something for everyone.
The Spanish section always has a lot of people getting some good food.
I also tried the chicken quesadilla on this day.
One of the best I’ve ever had. Ligia knows how to prepare great food.
Another favorite pic from the weekend.
Kilts and berets are always a good look.
This next weekend, I’m going to ask how much it costs to take a carriage ride around the festival.
Love this guy’s hair.
A much larger crowd than on Saturday.
More people equals more fun.
One of many photo ops at TRF.
Still coming in.
Lady Iris is always busy from before opening to close. And always smiling.
More Furries.
A smiling face to greet you as you leave for the day.
Such a long line to purchase a ticket.
I don’t know why these people wouldn’t buy their tickets online to avoid this long line.
Another successful day at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
This concludes this blog post. Look for another one next week for the last weekend of the festival.
To see the pics and videos from the festival, visit the site below and click on Photos.
The sixth weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed as the Barbarian Invasion. That is always a big weekend and this one was really big.
I ended up with 504 pics and 14 videos for the two days. My totals for the season are 3,418 pics and 42 videos. I will easily exceed my goal of 4,000 and will come close to 4,500.
What follows is a story about Saturday and Sunday with photos and videos. I hope you enjoy the read. I had a lot of fun gathering the media for this post.
I arrived first to the parking area again. I get up at 4:30am and leave my place at 6:30am. After an hour’s drive, I arrive about 7:30am. The opening cannon fires at 9:00am. I have an hour and a half to get photos of the entrance plaza, the front gate beefeaters and a few throne pics before the cannon goes off to start the day.
You might not think it, but these decals ended up costing me a good deal of cashola. Easily $200+.
I’m an early bird and it pays off when I’m ready to leave and tired from a long day of walking. Having a short walk to my Tahoe is nice. I’ve had people tell me that they knew I was there because they passed my ride.
Each morning, a worker brings out a long hose and waters all of the plants and flowers. Usually I wait until he is done before I take this photo. On this Saturday, I was ahead of him and got this pic before he drug out the hose.
On this day, tens of thousands will enter the Kingdom of New Market Village.
The beefeaters are always nice to me and happily pose for a morning photo.
I’m wearing my STORM Factory jacket due to the cold weather. More about this jacket later.
The beefeaters always look so organized. Willie has a great crew.
The entrance area of the village before thousands come into the festival.
Lady Iris gives Elizabeth some face-painting each morning before work. She does this for several people. She has worked at TRF for 29 years.
Queen Juana was dressed for the cold and looked fantastic.
Myself and 5 other exLifeguard friends received a STORM Factory jacket. We all worked at WaterWorld together in the 80’s and 90’s. They are all a part of the Factory.
Our lifeguard competition team won 15 consecutive lifeguard competitions. Our team was called S.T.O.R.M., which stood for Strong Team of Rescue Men. Hence, the STORM Factory. And now you know.
Alan lets different people light the cannon. One day, the Queen lit it and today this guy got to do it.
His reaction to the loud noise is pretty funny. You should watch the video.
The morning dance with the cast and patrons.
Dancing to live music is always a lot of fun to do and watch.
A very regal trio. They have told me that they love their photos.
Rebel and Mary at Ravenswood Leather. They look great dressed for cold weather.
So far, I’ve learned 55+ new people’s names at TRF this season. Rebel and Mary are two of them.
I stopped by the Polish Pub to take pics of the staff. Kasia is great at her job as the manager.
Kasia, Cheyenne and Jacob. I’ll know the other lady’s name by next weekend.
Three lovely ladies, no doubt.
The staff at the Polish Pub is a tight knit group. They work well together and have fun at their job. You can tell they love what they do and it shows.
I enjoy hearing them speak Polish to each other. It’s a nice language.
Jacob and Kasia, great people.
Blaise always has a great smile on her face. Such a beauty.
I haven’t tried the fired alligator from this booth, but I will before the season is over.
Vendella has a great smile also and looks fantastic in her beret.
I have photographed this guy and he seems to like this pose.
A fun pose by some cast members.
Allen at his post as doorman for the Wyrmwood Public House.
Mickey is my favorite bartender in the Kingdom.
The whole staff at the Wyrmwood is fun-loving and I enjoy my time there each weekend.
Travis is a really nice guy and I like him a lot.
The staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins. Greg, Abby and Becca.
All of our jackets have the STORM Factory logo and the Contraband logo.
Each sleeve has patches for our accomplishments as lifeguards. Each person’s patches are different based on what we did.
The bird whistle stand where Chelsea works. There are several located around the Kingdom. The kids love these whistles.
Chelsea is a great salesperson. She is pleasant and polite to each patron even at the end of a long day.
You may not notice this, but look at the tiny hand on her tata. Funny.
The Queen’s Pantry is just inside the gates of the Kingdom and a lot of people eat there.
I could tell that this was going to be a big day because the crowds were growing fast.
At this time of day, there is not usually this many people in this photo.
I think Barbarian weekend did better than Pirate weekend.
Tea and Strumpets had long lines also.
I’m always surprised that people come into the festival and stop to get something to eat at the first food stands, no matter the long lines. If they walked into the festival, they’d encounter great food and no lines until later in the day.
Brie and a friend. Brie works at the Asgardian Armory and is really nice.
I’ve never seen an Evel Knievel barbarian before. Very cool.
On barbarian weekend, the Asgardian Armory is packed both days, all day long.
I ran into Leos. He always looks good.
I appreciate the effort he puts into his face.
Have yet to take a carriage ride.
I think they called this 2nd breakfast. One person in this group used this photo for his Facebook banner pic. Very cool.
Just something else you might come across as you travel through New Market Village.
The staff of the Red Lion Tavern. A fun group.
Haley dresses for each themed weekend and always nails it.
Another RenFest beauty.
Kelsey and Lourdes are two of the new friends that I made this season. Such nice girls.
Lourdes lets me try different food from their food stand. This day, I tried the ‘Steak on a Stick’. It was delicious. It is one of their best selling items and I know why. It’s great.
As a meat lover, this is hard to beat. One of the best things to eat in all of TRF.
Vendella and Blaise always take a good pic.
I met Kylie this season and she’s a cutie. Really nice also.
I also met her mother, Julie, this season. Julie is as nice as she is beautiful.
I stopped back by the Polish Pub for some hot mulled wine. I had never tried it before, or even heard of it. It was great on a cold day. I recommend it.
A nice group shot of some of the barbarians.
I also tried the pulled pork and mashed potatoes sundae. The pork and potatoes are layered so you get some of each in every bite. I had never heard of this either and loved it. Look for it in the Spanish section.
I told this guy he was one horny fellow.
Pam told me to count to three and snap the pic, then she did this. Funny.
I stopped by the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Shane is another new friend that I made this season. Cool guy.
The number 113 on my right sleeve is the radio number I had at the waterpark. Others have numbers like 108, 808, and 812. Now you know why I sign off as Spider 113 on my Facebook and IG posts.
Wearing the jacket and leather pants kept me warm on a cold day. More about these pants later.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub had a huge crowd all day long.
The horses get to eat in between trips around the Kingdom.
Two cute barbarians.
One thing that I’ve noticed at TRF… no one litters. Everyone uses the trash bags and the staff are always walking around to check on things. TRF is a very clean RenFaire.
And you can sit down next to a complete stranger and have a good conversation over a nice meal.
Tartanic always draws a large crowd.
This lovely lady had on the best glasses. They made her outfit.
Mickey served me my usual kamikaze at the Wyrmwood. It’s actually two kamikaze shots because of the size of the glass he serves it in. I like that.
Emma looks great on her swing above the bar. The lighting doesn’t help in getting good pics in there.
I met Sara last year and she is such a sweetie. So nice.
Erika always looks so good for each weekend day.
She looked so good that I used her pic for the Feature Image of the Saturday gallery on my site.
The Asgardian Armory is lucky to have Erika there. She brings in a lot of people.
I shot video of these dancers this weekend. The videos came out good and deserve a look.
I ran into Karen again. She’s very nice and another RenFest beauty.
A fun group shot.
The Sea Devil Tavern will always have a good crowd. It’s an Old School hangout.
The Pride of Bedlam plays there each day for severals shows. Good band.
I snapped this couple’s photo and told the man that if he lays that jacket down, I was stealing it. He laughed and she said that it would probably fit me better, lol.
Two more cute barbarians.
Hundreds in this photo.
When I remember, I like to get a pic from this vantage point.
That is a big man.
The area just inside the gates is always packed with new arriving patrons.
Coming in by the thousands as I was leaving.
I heard a number for Saturday’s attendance. It was around 40,000 people. Wow.
That is it for Saturday’s pics.
On Sunday, I was first again.
Each morning, a water truck comes down the walkway and waters it down so it’s not as dusty for the entering patrons.
The valet parking is right near the entrance plaza.
The guy with the hose that waters the plants and flowers beat me today. They also had a guy with a blower cleaning off the concrete.
Willie entertained the first kid at the festival for a good while. The kid loved it and Willie is a natural with children. So funny.
About those leather pants… I wore them again on Sunday because it was still cold. The thing is, I liked the pants so much that I bought 3 pair just alike so I would always have a clean pair out of the drycleaners. So, same pants, but not the same pants.
The morning beefeater pic.
Willie had that first little kid conduct the morning inspection of the beefeaters.
The morning cannon.
Lady Iris doing her thing.
Nuria is a great new friend that I met last season.
I’ve known Rudy since last season as well. He’s always really nice to me and I appreciate his kindness.
He always has time for me. Nice guy.
Sholo the Nubian passed away but he is remembered and loved by many at TRF and other RenFests.
Glenda the Good Witch never tells me no when I ask for her photo. Very nice also.
This girl is very photogenic.
And yes, she deserves a close-up.
Ravenswood Leather is on my morning schedule
Rebel and Mary.
Mary has the best of hats. I love it and she looks great in it.
Before the season is over, I’ll get more pics of the Ravenswood merchandise.
The staff is always willing to pose for me and with me and the photos always come out great.
This young lady is on my morning schedule also because she always looks fantastic.
The food all looks and smells delicious.
My morning stop by the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
Margot, Bree and Shelly. I got distracted for a while on Saturday and forgot to come by for their daily pic. Bree said to me, “Where were you yesterday? We looked great.”
I was pissed that I missed that but happy to know that they look forward to my visits to get their pics.
The Sunday crowd is never as big as the Saturday crowd, but it is still a very fun day at TRF.
The TOTS ladies have entertained a huge amount of people this season from this stage.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub was built at the cost of a lot of money. It is already one of the best places to hang out in all of the Kingdom. Ligia (The Empanada Lady) and her family did a great thing for New Market Village and that should be recognized.
I heard that Kasia helped with the decorating. The pub looks awesome.
Their efforts show in the results.
This area has been photographed and posted by a lot of people this season. It’s a good scene and even has a baby and a dog skeleton.
I saw Fallyn and thought, “This would make a good photo.” Tell me I’m wrong, lol.
In the colder weather, there aren’t as many corsets to see.
I stopped by the Polish Pub and got some hot chocolate from Jazi Love. She’s another new friend that I made this season.
Holly and Jazi Love. Two RenFest cuties.
Cheyenne told me her RenFest name was Anya. I said, “As in Jump Anya”? She laughed.
Two of the three lovely ladies from Chaste Treasures, one of the two acts on the Polish Pub stage. Beautiful women, and very talented.
Cheyenne, Jacob and Kasia. Three good friends that enjoy working together to make the Polish Pub a special place at TRF.
Jacob and Kasia are two new friends that I made this season also. Both are so nice to me and I thank them for that.
Kasia is a very smart lady. I like intelligent women and she’s definitely one of them.
On my ‘To Do’ list this next weekend is to learn more names. I’ll have this young lady’s name by the next blog post. She’s another Faire cutie that never refuses me a photo of her.
Kylie and Julie work together some days. TRF is a family affair for many people and I like that.
Catalina Longview’s pics always get responses when I post them on Facebook.
Catalina and Adriana. I’m happy to have met them this season. They always take good pics.
Kelsey and Alex. I knew Alex from last season and learned Kelsey’s name this year.
I had this guy try a different pose for a change.
Haley makes a cute barbarian.
These two nice gals work at the Wyrmwood. I’ll learn their names this upcoming weekend also.
Mickey with my kamikaze. He doesn’t charge me for my shots anymore. I guess because I take a lot of pics of their bar and staff. I gave him $20 to put in their Tip Jar.
Such a fun staff.
Sara is very photogenic. I enjoy taking her photo.
And getting pics with her as well.
I met Becca last season and we’ve become better friends this year.
I kept calling Abby by the name Ally. I finally remembered a way to recall her name. Dr. Frankenstein had his assistant go out and get a brain for the monster. He got the brain of Abby Normal… abnormal. So Frankenstein’s creation had an abnormal brain. That explains a lot.
Greg is a great salesperson for Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Vebecka and Melissa are two friends that I met last season. They work at the Asgardain Armory also and are very nice to me.
These guys always have a good pose. That background is great for sword pics.
Erika’s face looked better on Sunday than it did on Saturday. She added some white and it made her face really stand out. Great job.
And yes, a close-up.
Erika can make even a clown like me look good.
Alex had a great pose for this pic. Erika took a great photo of us.
This staff works in the Greek area and has some really good food. As well as two very good acts on their stage.
Daddy wanted a few pics with this young lady.
Then he suggested this pose.
Her face makes it. Funny pic.
My hat is off to Daddy for going shirtless even in colder weather. He’s a tougher man than I.
I ran into Johnny Danger in the Greek section. Another nice guy and new friend. I like Johnny and he’s very supportive on my social media posts.
Aphrodite is a part of the trio that make up Cirque Olympus. She is unbelievably talented. I plan to shoot video of their act this next weekend. A funny thing… when I walked up to her to tell her about the video, she looked me up and down and said, “You look amazing!” I was flattered to have such an attractive woman comment on my appearance. Now when my jacket and black leather pants start getting me dates, then I’ll have something to write about.
Here are some of the dancers from Global Dance Theatre. As you can see, they are all beautiful and their show is very entertaining. To see the videos, visit the link at the bottom of this post and look in the Barbarian Sunday gallery. The videos are at the beginning of the gallery and worth a look.
On Sunday, it was still cold and Lourdes let me try some hot beignets.
Everybody loves beignets and these were superb. Lourdes is so kind to me and I thank her every day.
This group had asked some other guy to take their photo. I stepped in and snapped one of my own. Their other pic didn’t have the sign in it. I think my photo is better and I bet they loved it.
At TRF, you never know who you’ll meet. Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage is one of those people. Great outfit.
Sunday wasn’t as crowded as Saturday, but the Thirsty Pirate Pub had a lot of people enjoying their time there.
Ligia’s son designed the pub and deserves a lot of credit for that. Great job.
A fun group of barbarians.
When I saw this lady’s face, I wanted a closer pic and she was happy to pose for me.
Sara makes a mold of the customer’s feet so their new moccasins fit perfectly.
I went by the Spanish section and tried the Super Nachos. They come with chicken, beef or pulled pork. I had the beef and loved the meal. Who doesn’t love good nachos?
I bet most people don’t know where nachos came from. In my efforts to educate as well as entertain, here is the story of nachos…
Nachos were created by Ignacio Anaya in 1943. Anaya was a chef at the Old Victory Club who one evening took pity on a group of U.S. military wives whose husbands were stationed at nearby base Fort Duncan. The story is told that the wives spent a day shopping in Eagle Pass and decided to stop by for dinner on their way home only to find all nearby restaurants had closed for the evening.
Being a kind man, Anaya offered to cook something for the wives from what was left over in the kitchen. He sliced and fried fresh tortilla chips, covered them in shredded cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos, threw the mixture in the oven for a few minutes and named the dish after his nickname and thus created “Nachos Especials”!
So nachos were named after the creator, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya, in 1943. And now you know the rest of the story.
In this next pic, the woman in the middle is very tall.
I asked her how tall she was. She said, 6’1″. That is a tall drink of water.
My daily pic of Chelsea. I try to say hello in the morning or goodbye in the afternoon.
Even though Sunday wasn’t as packed as Saturday, it was still a very successful day for TRF.
I stopped by the Tea and Strumpets patio before I left for the day.
Lady Iris is always busy from opening to close.
I enjoy arriving early too much to come this late in the day.
Still coming in.
As I was driving out, the line of cars to enter was a long one. It reached all the way down 1774 and even down 249.
That concludes this blog post. I hope you enjoyed the look back.
To see the pics and videos from the Texas Renaissance Festival, visit the site below and click on Photos.
The fifth weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed as Heroes and Villains. It is their cosplay weekend.
For the festival, I shot 591 pics and 4 videos. I also shot 377 pics of the Tease of the Seas show for a total of 968 pics for the 2 days. For the TOTS show, the total number of pics that I took was 560 and I cut it down to the 377. I was snapping a pic every few seconds of their act and shot them from almost every position.
I enjoyed shooting their show but the editing took a few hours. I think the end results were worth the time.
On Saturday morning. I arrived early and once again I was the first one to the parking area.
Yes, I believe in Auto Advertising.
I usually get up about 4:30am to be at the festival this early. I leave my place at 6:30am and have an hour’s drive to TRF.
One thing on my morning rotation is to get a pic on the throne. I wore my cop shirt for Halloween weekend and was the bad cop that had pink fuzzy handcuffs. That line worked a lot.
On Heroes and Villains weekend, I wore the shirt again and was the villainous cop that didn’t arrest people but gave spankings. That line worked well also.
I have to get the pic of the front gate beefeaters early because they have morning inspections now.
It was overcast this day, but didn’t rain.
The beefeaters undergo inspections by the patrons each morning.
There was a film crew at TRF this weekend. Here they are preparing to shoot video of the morning cannon. I told them everything that I had learned and it helped them out.
The camera man jerks as the cannon fires even though he knew it was coming.
Queen Juana ready to spank anyone that gets out of line.
A very good Penguin.
Tinker Bell is fun to shoot. She always poses well.
Case in point.
The King and Queen are always very nice to pose for me.
A good pic of them.
I photograph these ladies every weekend and their pics always come out good.
At his usual perch.
TRF entertains thousands every weekend. People dressed like this are a big part of it.
Rudy plays Hamish MacGregor. He entertains the patrons before the festival opens. Then he leads weddings with his bagpipes and also the daily parade. A very nice guy.
I stop by Ravenswood Leather each morning. It’s a favorite shop of mine.
The staff is one of the nicest at the TexRenFest.
I started getting pics with MJ last year and now do it every weekend.
Ravenswood Leather has a lot of great merchandise.
They have just about anything you could want for your RenFest outfit.
Mary wears the best hat and looks great in it.
I met Rebel at Comicpalooza during the Summer, but didn’t recognize her until she told me what character she had been playing at the con. She’s a great cosplayer.
This cute girl works at Tea and Strumpets. I try to get her pic when she’s not busy with customers.
The morning dance.
Elizabeth stops by Lady Iris’ booth for face and body painting each morning.
Chelsea is such a sweetheart. And fun to chat with.
The staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Becca and Sara. I gave them each a STORM Factory beanie for the cold days of Winter.
Greg is another great cosplayer that I see on the comicon circuit.
I stopped by the Wyrmwood Public House for my daily kamikaze.
Mickey has been giving me free drinks and I appreciate that. I take a lot of pics of the Wyrmwood staff so maybe that’s the trade off. I like that arrangement.
Johnny Bravo. Love the hair.
On this day, a friend, Kasia, introduced me to a TRF Legend.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ligia aka the Empanada Lady. She has worked at the TexRenFest for 46 years. I was 11 years old when she started.
Ligia treated me to some of her famous empanadas. We had ones with bananas and others with beef.
I loved them both and will have them again. I preferred the beef because I loved the well seasoned meat. The banana-filled empanadas are great for breakfast. They were hot, fresh and delicious. Yum.
Ligia and I enjoyed the empanadas and she told me about her history. She has lead an exciting life that started in Bolivia.
Ligia owns 15 booths at TRF, including the Red Lion Tavern, the Polish Pub and the new Thirsty Pirate Pub. Without her and her family, TRF wouldn’t look as good and be as much fun. We should all thank her.
I’m very happy to have met her and I thank Kasia for making that possible. I intend to try more of the food from Ligia’s many booths so I can photograph and taste it for future blog posts.
Kelsey and Alex always look very cute.
TRF has mostly women servers at the food and drink stands. And I for one prefer it that way. A man with a hairy chest wearing a corset just doesn’t do it for me, lol.
The Cajun Booth has a great staff and really good food. On a colder day, I’ll have some hot Étouffée. They have shrimp and also crawfish.
Catalina Longview never disappoints.
These ladies are fun to photograph.
As a kid, I would have loved this experience.
My morning rotation always includes the Thirsty Pirate Pub.
I tried the meatballs on a stick and it was very good. You’ll see that pic later.
Shane always has time for me and I appreciate that.
Margot has a great accent. I think she’s from France.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub has a fun, friendly staff that works hard for long hours, but they always have a smile on their faces.
Elizabeth was a cop on this day also. But if she stepped out of line, I would have had to spank her, haha.
She makes a cute cop. Maybe I should have let her arrest me.
Love this pic. Such a fun girl.
I think this is a new sign. I don’t remember it from previous weekends.
Ligia’s son designed the Thirsty Pirate Pub and oversaw its’ development. Such an awesome job.
Michael always has time for me also and I thank him for that.
I met Bones Bojangles. His band shares stage time with the Tease of the Seas show. Good band.
If you haven’t seen the TOTS gallery of pics, you should check it out. Lots of great photos of these lovely, talented ladies.
There is also video of their entire act in one weekend gallery. I’ll load all of my TRF videos onto my YouTube channel after the 2022 season. I expect the TOTS videos to get a lot of views.
Captain Abigail Cadabra.
Valentina J’adore.
She’s never far from her bottle.
Men love hard drinking women and I am one of them.
Cara Cherie.
I have heard many men say that she is their favorite.
I have no clue why that is.
But if I had to guess…
I was in the front row and she looked right at me for this pose. Great pic.
The bendiest buccaneer that I know.
Captain Cadabra has a great wardrobe.
She leads the show with the voice of a sea siren and a body of a warship.
If you haven’t seen their show, you are missing out.
It is a must-see if you attend the TexRenFest.
They always play to a packed house.
At one point in the show, they bring up two audience members. This guy sure wasn’t shy about it.
I think that I covered their show well. And better than other photographers.
Sexy pose.
Who doesn’t love a woman with a drink and a whip?
Crack that whip girl!
Another great pose.
The ladies of TOTS also invite people up to dance.
Here’s to you, ladies of TOTS.
I was keeping my eye on them in case I had to deliver any spankings. Maybe next year, if I’m lucky, lol.
A colorful couple.
Good cosplay.
There is always a crowd at the Sea Devil Tavern area.
Julie looked great as Maleficent.
A rare photo with her. One of my favorites from the whole festival.
Going to get married.
I stopped by the Polish Pub.
Another very friendly staff.
The Polish Pub is a favorite stop of mine.
Ewa is always ready to serve it up with a smile.
Kasia has been such a huge help to me in doing my job at TRF. I can’t thank her enough.
I see this couple several times a year.
This guy always looks great.
A very cool steampunk pirate.
I think Haley was cosplaying Poison Ivy. She looked fantastic. As always.
A nice group shot of this staff.
Back to the Wyrmwood.
Sara makes a mold of the customers feet so that their new moccasins fit perfectly.
Cookin’ it up.
Kevin always looks great. He’s the only pirate that I know that wears green. He stands out.
Two good-looking pirates.
Good pic.
You may know the drill by now.
I always try to get a pic of a pirate’s rings.
Kevin’s also.
A good collection.
A fun group.
The Sea Devil has a great place for a photo op.
I saw these girls walking by and asked for a pic.
Someone’s cups overfloweth.
This lady said her chest was cold. It think her friend took care of that later.
Here is the meatballs on a stick.
Hot and tasty.
The Pub Crawl about to head out.
Still a lot of people coming in as I was leaving.
Saturday had a good crowd.
Lady Iris always has a line at her booth for face-painting.
A smiling face to greet you as you leave.
If you arrive later in the day, you may have quite a walk from the parking area.
This concludes the pics from Saturday.
I hope you enjoyed the look at this day.
On Sunday morning, I arrived first again.
Thousands will enter these gates on this day.
The beefeaters were wearing flowers in remembrance of the military.
Willie got one also.
The beefeaters call the gates holes. I heard Willie say to one beefeater, “Which hole do you want to be in today?”
Morning throne pic.
Morning inspection.
That film crew shot video of the beefeaters’ morning rituals.
The Queen lit the cannon on this day.
This lovely lass oversees the photography crew.
This young lady always looks great in her hat. I have photographed her several times.
Elizabeth getting her morning paint from Lady Iris. Lady Iris has worked at TRF for 29 years.
Rudy looking stylish with his pipe.
The cast of characters all froze in one place as the film crew went around filming them. It was cool to see them frozen in place.
Two tough looking characters who are as nice as could be.
I shot a pic of the people who take photos of patrons as they enter. After I snapped their pic, I jokingly said, “That’ll be $10.”
The lady in the middle said, “You could get $20.” We all laughed.
I told them that their pic would be on my website. As I was walking off, I heard one girl say, “We’re going to be famous.”
Glenda the Good Witch.
An even better shot of the Penguin.
The King and Queen ready to start the day.
Love the ‘stache.
Cruella DeVille and her brother.
Jade always looks great in her many costumes.
The band playing music for the morning dance.
The dance happens every morning and the patrons love it.
It was a little overcast this day also, but it never rained.
Ravenswood Leather staff.
MJ and moi.
You can see Mary’s great hat better in this pic.
I asked MJ to pose with the merchandise.
She made a joke that she was doing her best Vanna White, lol. She looks great.
I ran into Rebel as she was heading to work. Nice pose.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub all clean and ready for a busy day.
Smiling, happy faces.
The flower wreath employees are always happy to pose for a pic.
Three bills for a dill.
Catalina Longview is always on my morning rotation. Can you guess why?
Julie and Kylie always take a great photo.
Julie is another favorite of mine to photograph.
Kylie, her daughter, is very photogenic also.
Kelsey and Alex.
I stopped by the Polish Pub for some staff pics. A fun-loving, friendly group of people.
Kasia is the manager of the Polish Pub and does a fantastic job. I consider her a new, good friend.
I mentioned last week that I was going to try the coconut water. On this day, I did. The vendor gave it to me for free because I take his photo often. They keep the coconuts in a cooler so the water is chilled.
It was good. The vendor told me that an aspirin and some coconut water is a good hangover remedy. And now you know.
The staff at the Red Lion Tavern.
Haley looking as cute as ever.
Such a pretty girl.
Some of the Spanish Court. Queen Juana and company always look grand.
I was told about the parfait on this day. It is mashed potatoes and pulled pork that is layered in a cup. I will try that this upcoming weekend. Looking forward to that.
Nuria and her husband Chris. A great couple.
I’ve known Nuria for a while now. I first met her at a comicon. She also looks great as Wonder Woman.
Allen is always such a pleasant gentleman. He works the door at the Wyrmwood Public House.
Know when to say when.
I stop by the Asgardian Armory each day to get a pic of Erika. She wears such great outfits.
She always lets me get a pic with her also. So nice.
I’ve never photographed the little stand where Chelsea sells the bird whistles.
Another good friend that I made last year at TRF.
The final look of Lady Iris’ artwork on Elizabeth. A variation of Spiderman.
You don’t have to walk far to find beauty at TRF.
Exactly.
Her line should be, “My eyes are down here.”
Two more lovely ladies.
The food at the TexRenFest comes in many variations and it’s all very good.
The crowd grew as the day wore on.
On one of my favorite patios at TRF. Tea and Strumpets.
Three very colorful ladies.
Skidmark in his office. A kid came up to him and said, “You have a dollar on your head.” He replied, “That’s my overhead.”
The staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
I stopped by the Wyrmwood for a drink.
Allen and Travis. Two great guys.
A nice staff photo.
Julie let me try the fried shrimp on a stick.
It comes with onions also and was delicious. I love fried shrimp and these were very good. A must try if you attend the festival.
With Amanda at the Glory Hole bar.
It looked like it would rain, but thankfully it never did. It turned out to be another good day to be in New Market Village.
Bones Bojangles and his band.
Elizabeth looked fantastic as an Aztec Warrior.
Great pic.
Funny.
Margot looking good in her hat.
Too old for this, but the kids love it.
This too.
Johnny Danger asked the pretzel vendor to get in the pic and it turned out good.
This lady’s pic got a lot of responses on Facebook. I wonder why.
I stopped by the Polish Pub for some pics. They have an attractive, friendly staff also.
Kasia had her staff serve me the pulled pork sandwich. Such a beautiful server.
The sandwich was awesome. Hot and delicious… a good combination.
The pickle stands have great color to them. I love the green and yellow together.
Savannah always yells out, “Spider!” when she sees me coming to get her pic.
Coconut water. Tried it. Like it.
Lots of people enjoying the great food.
Plenty of seating to enjoy your meal.
A fun couple.
A great dress.
Emma was on her swing in the Wyrmwood. I shot video of it.
The Wyrmwood bartenders are very cool dudes.
Having a drink under a beauty on a swing is a very cool experience and should be tried.
The Wyrmwood serves real liquor and has great ambiance. A visit here is a must on your next trip to TRF.
Here is the video of Emma on her swing.
A fun staff.
Alex will be wearing something similar for this upcoming weekend. It would be too cold for me to do that. I’m a wuss when it comes to the cold weather.
For that same reason, I’m done with camping out at TRF for the season. I’m not about freezing my ass off in the back of my Tahoe.
Alex has told me about other RenFests and I may attend them next year.
A great photo op for patrons.
The long line for face-painting by Lady Iris.
Sunday had a good crowd.
These people were in line to purchase tickets. I would purchase a ticket online to avoid the lines.
Still coming in as I was leaving.
Well, that’s it for this week’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed the look back.
To see all of the pics and videos from the Texas Renaissance Festival, visit the site below and click on Photos.
The 4th weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival was the All Hallow’s Eve weekend celebrating Halloween. I camped out that weekend and have some stories from that, so read on.
I arrived early at the campgrounds so I could drive around and check things out before I entered the festival.
They have a very nice sign for the campgrounds.
After I drove around and found the Call of Booty campsite, I parked near the entrance plaza and got the 2nd spot. Having a close spot makes it so much easier at the end of a long day of walking and talking.
I was able to get a pic on the throne this morning. During the day, there is always a long line to do this.
The front gate Beefeaters were happy to pose for a quick pic.
A look at the entrance area before thousands enter.
The cannon gets fired every weekend morning to start the day.
Tea and Strumpets has a great patio.
First, order the best bacon sandwich in the Kingdom here at the counter.
An added bonus is being waited on by this lovely lass. She always dresses for the theme.
And funny also.
Right beside the counter is a little passageway that leads to the upstairs patio.
Here’s what it looks like. One of the best places to enjoy your meal.
Later in the day, they host a Tea Party with food. It’s an upscale affair and is a very nice RenFest experience. Tickets for this are on the TRF site.
The view from this patio is great. I take pics from here every weekend.
This is another favorite view of mine.
During this weekend, I heard more compliments about my work than any other weekend. Several people mentioned to me that they appreciate what I’m doing to capture memories for them. It never gets old to hear nice things about one’s work and efforts.
The lady in this photo is in charge of the costuming at TRF. She told me that she loves what I’m doing out there. She also said that she looks at my pics so she can see her characters during the day around the festival. This helps her stay on top of things. I’m glad she enjoys my work and uses my site for her job.
She definitely looks great for Halloween weekend.
The cake looks good. Would you take a piece from a green witch?
The Spanish Queen Juana always looks stunning in her outfit and crown.
The King and Queen looking regal for the weekend.
I enjoy getting these ladies’ pic every weekend.
So many cute faces in great dresses and costumes.
This guy has his perch every morning.
More great fashion for a RenFest.
Rudy never leaves home without his bagpipes and pipe.
I love this lady’s pose. So fun.
The White Swan looking beautiful.
Ravenswood Leather.
The staff at Ravenswood Leather are always up for a great pic.
MJ has some great clothing.
I photograph this guy every weekend and this weekend I had him try out some different poses. I’m sure you’ll see him again.
Some of the best chicken in the Village.
The staff of the Thirsty Pirate Pub work hard all day serving up great food and drink.
But they always make time for me to get some pics.
If you haven’t guessed yet, the Thirsty Pirate Pub is a favorite spot for me to hang out and get some pics.
Pam at the Bilge Pump bar in the Sea Devil area.
I stop by the Glory Hole bar and talk with Amanda each morning. I used to have a morning beer, but now I enjoy a kamikaze from the Wyrmwood Public House.
I think I shot a good pic of this couple. I’m sure that they loved it.
For Halloween, I was an NYPD Commissioner of Halloween. When people would ask me about my outfit, I would tell them that I’m the bad cop with the pink fuzzy handcuffs.
That line worked more than you would guess. The women loved it. I said that line to a group of three sexy women and one lady turned to her friends and said, “Oh, yum!”
A nice group shot. I enjoy group shots because it is an opportunity to please several people with one photo.
This food stand staff is really nice and never refuses me a photo of them.
I found a few more food stands to get pics of the employees. Beauty is everywhere in New Market Village.
I have 4 weekends left and my goal is to taste and photograph more of the great food offered at TRF.
I’ve tried some, but the festival is so big that I’ll never get to it all in one season.
Adrianna and Kylie always look great.
So does Tanya and Lourdes.
Lourdes let me try the Crawfish and Cheesy Fries.
It was delicious and should be tried on your next visit. Look in the French section and you’ll be sure to find the stand.
Haley is very photogenic and I appreciate that she lets me take her pic.
Travis works at the Wyrmwood Public House and is very cool to me. I thank him for that.
Daddy is always good for a great pic.
When people hear me call him Daddy, I’m sure they’re wondering what the hell is up with that, lol. He prefers to be called Daddy and I play along.
Mickey made my daily kamikaze and it hit the spot. That is supposed to be a shot but he makes it in a rocks glass and super big for a shot. I love it.
The Wyrmwood bartenders are some cool dudes.
This was a fun couple.
I got a pic with Queen Juana.
As Nuria and I were posing, another RenFest photog snapped this pic.
A lovely lady that works at the Polish Pub, a new favorite place of mine.
Kasia and some of her friendly staff at the Polish Pub.
Another packed audience for a show.
Two cute cops. Too young for my pink fuzzy handcuffs, lol.
I’m determined to try the coconut water this upcoming weekend.
Three bills for a dill.
Julie receives many positive responses for her pics on Facebook when I post them. No wonder. She’s another RenFest beauty that I came across in my travels of the Kingdom.
Blaise is another one and she always dresses so well. Love the hat.
Cooking up some steak on a stick. I’ll try that this upcoming weekend.
Apollo promoting his show. He’s a very talented individual.
Who doesn’t need a few dragon teeth?
Haley’s eyes are great for a Halloween weekend.
The kids at TRF were able to go to each booth and Trick or Treat for candy. Getting to Trick or Treat at the RenFest is a very cool aspect.
A great pic of a lovely witch and her broom.
I was happy to get this lady’s pic.
A great face.
I ran into Reagan and her two Furry friends and was glad to photograph them.
More Reagan than the Furries, haha.
And yes, she deserves a close-up of her costume.
Erika always wears the best outfits and I love getting her pics.
She’s on my morning rotation of regulars and she’s always nice enough to pose for me and with me.
I complimented this guy on his workout program. His arms look great. And… it doesn’t necessarily make you gay to notice a handsome, well-built man. Just sayin’.
These girls were a fun group.
I forgot to get a pic with Reagan and was pissed at myself. Luckily, I ran into her again. This is a favorite of mine.
And yes, she gets another close-up.
A packed house for Tartanic.
Lots of smiling, happy faces. Love it.
The Spanish Court put up an altar honoring those that have passed. I love the Day of the Dead celebration.
A well-dressed pirate and his family.
When I see a lot of rings, I get this pic.
Nice rings.
The horses at TRF are some beautiful animals and well taken care of also.
I never wanted a piece of candy more in my life, lol.
Kasia had her staff serve me a Combo plate from the Polish Pub.
You get 8 items and 3 different sauces to go with it. The items are: Hunter Stew – sauerkraut mixed with a few kinds of meat, sausage, a piece of Polish sausage, 3 kinds of Pierogi – meat, potato and cheese, sauerkraut and mushrooms, and stuffed cabbage with rice and pork meat topped with tomato sauce and a pickle and dinner roll.
It all was very delicious and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
This was another fun couple.
It was a little chilly on this day. I couldn’t go shirtless like this guy.
I’m sure they loved this pic.
The food is an important part of TRF and shouldn’t be overlooked as a big part of your stay in the Village.
Darrell wasn’t cold. That’s for sure.
Blaise having fun with bubbles.
Her and Vendella are always in a good mood.
I ran into Kevin on this day and got a pic with him. He’s one of my favorite pirates at TRF.
This couple wanted a pic with me. I was happy to join them.
When is too much? I think they found that out.
Having a good time at the Pirate Pub.
It was an overcast day at the festival, but thousands still came out.
The Tease of the Seas show always brings them into the Pirate Pub area.
It has quickly become a favorite spot for many festival goers.
A lot of places in the Kingdom that serve drinks don’t serve food and vice versa. At the Thirsty Pirate Pub, you can get something to eat as well as drink. I like that.
I really like this vantage point.
As I was shooting pics around the Thirsty Pirate Pub, Gerald, the manager, walked up and asked me what I was drinking. He then gave me a free beer for all of my work with the pics and videos of the pub. That was very cool of him and I appreciated it.
Shane works in the upstairs section of the pub and is always very nice to me. Cool dude. He said that seeing my pics on Monday was a favorite part of his day.
The ladies of the Tease of the Seas show always play to a packed house and the audience always leaves feeling entertained by their act.
I had never seen a horse skeleton before I saw this a few years back. Lots of people pose with them.
Giving people a carriage ride would be a cool job.
Smiling, happy faces again. Are you seeing a trend at TRF?
People getting ready to go on the Pub Crawl.
Something tells me that I wouldn’t want to get into a fight with this guy.
Chelsea looking as cute as ever. She sells a lot of bird whistles.
Two scary looking ladies on Halloween weekend.
Mindy always gives me a great pic. I enjoy getting Red’s pic.
Even though it was overcast, the patrons kept coming in.
Three lovely mermaids.
You’ll see lots of photographers and film crews at the TexRenFest. It is quite a happening.
I enjoy getting the pics of the flower wreath girls and guys.
I’ve known Tony since last season. He’s a follower on Facebook and enjoys the posts. I appreciate his support.
Another cute flower wreath girl.
That concludes my pics for the Saturday of Halloween weekend at TRF. This next section deals with the campgrounds.
Here is a pic of the Call of Booty campsite. Lots goes on here and some can’t be photographed.
They use a pirate logo that came from the pirate, Jack Rackham. It’s my favorite historical flag also.
John Rackham, commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for “John”. Rackham was active towards the end of the “Golden Age of Piracy”.
They even have a store in their camp.
The ladies working there were very friendly.
I purchased a Call of Booty sticker. You’ll see that again later.
Notice his bone.
This group was having a great time.
A great costume for the nighttime.
And hers also.
These tatas looked so real, I had to ask about them.
The Master of Ceremonies at the Call of Booty camp was quite a character.
As the night came on, the crowd grew for the Naked Jenga game.
Naked Jenga is played with 2×4’s. As a person is called out of the audience, they must successfully pull a block from the stack. If the stack doesn’t fall, they have to do what is written on their block. The first girl had to do 2 topless cartwheels. There is a lot of nudity, which is why they prohibit pics or video.
I walked off for a bit and when I returned, a guy dressed as a Monk had to strip naked.
When I came back by later in the game, a woman had knocked over the stack and was completely naked putting it back together again.
This came by and looked cool.
The campground bonfire is across the street from the Call of Booty campsite.
There is a little city in the campground.
Lots of food stands to serve late into the evening. One little, temporary convenience store stayed open until 3am.
Henna tattoos also.
I had a piece of pizza and it was hot, fresh and good.
I ran into another favorite pirate of mine. Philip is one of the best dressed that I’ve seen.
I always like to get a pic with him.
The next morning, there were still people at the bonfire area.
The Call of Booty campsite was cleaned up and looking like nothing had occurred there the night before.
I will close out my story about the campgrounds with another little bit.
I shot video of Solar Rain, who performed at the Call of Booty campsite. As I’m shooting video, a couple comes barging up through the crowd to end up near me on the rope. Then, they started bumping my elbow while I’m trying to film the act.
After I had finished filming a performer, I stopped the camera and turned to this couple and said, “I wish you wouldn’t bump my arm because I’m trying to shoot video of the performance.”
Did this couple heed my polite request? No.
They didn’t bump me anymore, but they did start talking shit while I was shooting the next performer. You can hear them on the video saying shit like, “Oh we wouldn’t want to fuck up the video.”
I’ve thought about this all week and decided that I won’t call them every name in the book here on my blog, but I wish I had told them, “If being an asshole was worth money, you two would be rich.”
I ended up turning the other cheek and walking off before I could film the finale of the act. Taking the high road keeps you out of jail but it still burns in your gut like acid when you can’t get satisfaction from telling someone off. Trust me, they deserved it and I’m quite sure the Karma train will run them over soon enough and probably back up.
The next morning, I was up early and got the first spot in the parking area.
I had a spot available on my rear window.
So I placed my Call of Booty sticker there. It goes well with everything else on there.
Some may not know that when I worked in auto racing, I was sent to NASCAR race car driving schools all over the U.S. I became quite good at driving a race car at high speeds around some of the most famous tracks in America, like the Daytona International Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500.
In the real world, this skill comes in handy when you’re running from the cops, lol.
The front gate Beefeaters have to pass a morning inspection by a patron.
Rudy getting ready to entertain the first arrivals to the festival.
All quiet before the rush of patrons.
The morning cannon.
These are the two gentlemen that fire the cannon.
The cast getting ready for the morning dance.
Queen Juana looking fantastic for Halloween weekend.
Love this pic.
Chris makes leather goods. He made the chest plate that he’s wearing.
I’m getting him to make me a new utility belt for next year.
Chris and Nuria are a nice couple that I’m happy to have met at TRF last season.
The morning dance with patrons.
The band.
A fun way to start the day.
Elizabeth had “Nice Pumpkins” painted on her chest by Lady Iris. She didn’t know what Lady Iris was writing but loved the results. So did I.
And yes, a close-up of that artwork.
I ran into Savannah and got a quick pic before she went on to work at her stand.
The staff of Ravenswood Leather.
I enjoy my pics with MJ.
I love her many head pieces.
New day, different pose.
Yet to try this, but will.
I gain weight just by looking at the pics of all the delicious food.
These look tasty.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub.
The pub has a cute staff also.
Before it gets crowded with festival goers enjoying the new pub and stage area.
I stopped by Big Hat Pirates booth again.
I was looking for Chris to discuss my utility belt, but he wasn’t there.
Lots of great merchandise.
A selfie in front of their mirror.
Kids love riding ponies. Fact.
Pam takes a good photo.
I plan to get the fried alligator again this year also.
Blaise always has a great smile.
Kelsey and Adrianna getting ready for a busy day.
Julie and Kylie, her daughter, are quite an eyeful. Both so beautiful.
Julie always deserves her own pic.
Love the face painting.
Lourdes makes a cute little devil with red horns.
Harley and Samantha. Great smiles.
I’d see a doctor about that discoloration.
Haley looks great even when she’s chilling.
The Red Lion Tavern staff is also very friendly. And they have great BBQ.
The Spanish Court.
Violet fire dances for Saxon Moon and also Solar Rain. I did get some of her performance in the campground before I walked off from that loser couple.
This guy has some good poses.
Erika always looks grand.
A craftsman at work in the Asgardian Armory.
Alex wears garb like this all through the season. I couldn’t take the cold.
Another favorite.
Greg has become a good friend over the last year and a half.
Becca also.
A great make-up job.
The altar on Sunday.
Jacob and Ewa at the Polish Pub.
Kasia with one of her workers.
I told Kasia that we look good in black. She agreed.
On this Sunday, I tried the Polish sausage from the Polish Pub and Kasia served me up a good one. It was hot and delicious.
Getting a program is a must in order to see as many shows as possible during your visit.
Savannah is a sweetheart of a girl.
This guy holds this pose for a lot of the day.
I ran into Jay. He told me last year that people were calling him Pothead because of the pot on his head. That’s all I call him now.
Some of the staff of the Wyrmwood Public House.
Jay had her face made up well. She said it took her an hour to do this.
Mickey went inside after this pic and made my kamikaze. When I received it, I handed him my card and said to add a $5 tip. He told me that this one was on him. Free kamikazes is an added bonus.
I ran into Charlie the night before in the campground. He was one of the guys with an extra bone in his skeleton costume, lol.
The Wyrmwood is a very cool place to hang out.
Lovely singers in the Kingdom.
This woman had a fantastic hat and a great smile.
This group was happy to get their photo taken.
Smiling, happy faces.
Singing to the ladies.
Scott and his main squeeze.
Chelsea has a great smile also.
The Sanderson sisters. I love the blondes’ eyebrows.
I was told that this warrior had a squeaky eye in on Saturday and when you poked it, it squeaked. Funny.
Bree and her friend.
Red looks good as a pirate.
The Thirsty Pirate Pub always has a good crowd.
These girls were having a lot of fun at the festival.
Shane and Elizabeth.
They wanted a pic with the logo. It came out good. It’s all in the cropping.
If you attend TRF, you should make some time to spend at the new Pirate Pub.
This little booth always has a big crowd.
These two girls took a great pic while they were sitting down.
More coming in as I was leaving for the day.
She likes when I get her pic as I’m leaving.
The entrance plaza always has a crowd during the day.
I ran into Reagan as I was leaving the campground, so I stopped my Tahoe and got some pics.
Love her costume… and you do too. Don’t lie.
I plan on meeting up with her again on the Celtic Weekend for some new pics. I’m excited about that and wondering what she’ll wear.
That concludes this blog post. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Halloween weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
I’ll have another post after next weekend, so check back then.
To see the pics and videos from the previous weekends, visit the site below and click on Photos.
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.
The second weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival was themed 1001 Dreams. I didn’t attend this weekend last year and I’m sorry that I didn’t. I had a lot of fun, as you’ll see in the following photos and commentary.
Second weekend, first again.
They parked me on row 5 again. Loving life.
If you arrive later in the day, it’s quite a walk to the front gate plaza.
From row 5, it’s right there.
The gateway to fun and frivolity.
Five gates for so many people. They all fit.
The front gate Beefeaters will greet a lot of guests this day.
My morning Throne pic.
In this photo there are three generations of TexRenFest workers. Very cool pic.
I had kolaches for breakfast from the Queen’s Pantry.
The cast awaiting the patrons for a fun day in New Market Village.
The calm before the storm.
One of my favorite views of the Kingdom.
I really like getting a pic with Jade. She’s one of my favorite cast members.
A jolly crew this is.
The cast dancing with patrons to start the day.
Hamish MacGregor is another favorite of mine. Rudy is a great guy.
A pic with him is a must.
I try to get a pic of MJ every day that I’m in the Kingdom.
She works at Ravenswood Leather. More about that later.
Another of MJ’s cute co-workers at Ravenswood.
I passed by as this young lady was serving some apple pies with ice cream and had to get a pic.
Cooking it up.
Always a treat to walk by this booth.
Pam and Kevin at the Bilge Pump Bar at the Sea Devil area.
Damn, that’s two good looking pirates in that pic, lol.
Every good pirate wears many rings. They’re considered legal brass knuckles.
Kevin has quite a collection.
Mine are from my career in lifeguarding and motorsports. From left to right, 13 time lifeguard champion, turquoise for luck, Jeff Gordon NASCAR championship ring, Jeff Gordon Brickyard 400 championship ring, IndyCar Championship ring for Sam Hornish, Jr., and a ring from the Sturgis motorcycle rally.
In case you were wondering, I earned all of those racing rings when I worked in auto racing.
These next photos are of a new bar in the Kingdom called Thirsty Pirate Pub.
It’s huge and beautiful.
Notice the ground and the palms. Great finishing touches.
The staff are friendly and cheerful. And eager to serve you whatever is your pleasure.
The decorations are great.
I like these wooden sculptures a lot.
A very talented craftsman.
A quick look at the menu. I see some Jell-O shots in my future.
The upstairs area of the pub overlooks a new stage area that has a show called Tease of the Seas and features some beautiful women. Who wouldn’t like that?
Another view of the stage area.
From this view, you can see how nice the landscaping is in this area. Nice job.
A long bench for you and your crew.
A very nice upstairs area for drinking, eating or taking a break. And sometimes all three.
I like the decor. An effort was made to make this place look nice and I appreciate that effort.
Pirates and mermaids go together like PB&J.
I made a few trips to this area and I enjoyed my time here.
There are misters to fight the heat. They are a nice addition, but for someone like me that uses an expensive iPhone, I have to be careful around them.
A nice group shot of some people enjoying the new pub.
I had a strawberry mimosa to wash back the trail dust.
I was with a friend in the upstairs area of the pub when this nice couple joined us. They told us all about the camping situation since they camp out most every weekend of TRF.
As we are sitting there chatting, a pirate sits down next to me and bends over as he’s getting situated. A neatly rolled joint falls out of his hat onto the table. I smiled and picked it up. I held it out on the table so only he could see it.
Once he was seated, he looked over and saw what I was holding. His grin was ear to ear. He invited me to join him in smoking his joint in a private area but I declined. With my job, I can’t afford to get into trouble in the Kingdom. Any other time and I would have, gladly.
I don’t usually offer my opinion about certain things, but in this case I will.
I posted my pub pics on several Facebook pages. There were numerous comments made about the pub, mostly positive. It was the negative ones that I found out of line.
I won’t go into detail about these comments. I’ll just say that some people’s opinion is wrong. When I read these negative comments, I thought to myself, would these people prefer that the area still be the Royal Mint with some older ladies weaving cotton?
They apparently don’t realize that this pub is a MAJOR improvement to the Kingdom. It’s a great watering hole that has fabulous food as well. There’s an upstairs section that overlooks a new stage area that showcases the Tease of the Seas show and gives you some great views of the festival.
I’d prefer that these people with something negative to say stay far away from the new pub and allow people who appreciate the effort made to enjoy this great addition to New Market Village.
And if the pub was themed any other way, they’d be bitching about why it wasn’t a pirate theme. Get a grip… or slip.
My lovely Amanda at her post in The Glory Hole bar.
The guy to my right is 6’7″. I felt 5’4″ standing next to him.
One of my favorite food stand crews. Fried alligator and several other cajun dishes. Some of my most favorite in the Kingdom.
Ms. Blaze always looks great and her smile lights up her face.
I found out that these girls are the ones that serve the grilled pork on a stick. I’ll be having that next weekend.
Julie is always so nice when I ask for a photo of her. And she’s lovely.
I’m eager to see what the food stand workers will wear for Pirate’s Adventure weekend.
A beautiful face with great accessories.
You’ll see a theme with the coconut vendors.
Three bills for a dill.
I love the Asgardian Armory.
Erika at her usual spot, telling the patrons to visit Bloodbath and Beyond. I love that line. Probably the best in the land.
Bree looks great in front of their merch.
The shop deserves a look in person as the photos don’t do it justice.
Alex is always good for a great pic.
I’ll buy something from this shop, for sure.
The labor and skill to make these is incredible.
Such a great pose. When he struck this pose, his boss said, “I knew you were a crossed swords kind of guy.” Now that’s funny.
The shows always draw a big crowd and the talented acts are worth seeing.
Lots of great color. Love it.
Some might say fixated, haha.
The King was nice enough to stop for a pic.
Another fun pose. She was enjoying her day at the festival.
The Wyrmwood Public House is one of my favorite places to go in the Kingdom. In these next pics, you may see why.
Alan greets you at the door with a smile.
A girl on a swing above the bar is always nice. The lighting in the bar messes with photography, but you get the point.
If there is a heterosexual man that doesn’t like a beautiful woman on a swing above the bar, I don’t want to meet them.
Mickey making my usual Kamikaze. Much larger than a regular shot. And I like that.
More great decor.
Travis is another really cool employee at the Wyrmwood.
And if you didn’t think that I would get a pic with Emmy, then you don’t know me very well.
A great shot.
The view from the Wyrmwood is one of the best in New Market Village.
The Spanish King and his fair lady.
Haley makes a beautiful fairy. Wouldn’t you agree?
The Red Lion Tavern gets packed for their show. They also serve great BBQ.
I took 2 pics of this next couple. When I saw them again the next day, they said they loved the pics and wanted to buy framed copies from my photo site. I told them how. Good reviews are always nice to hear.
This next pic is really good. Love it.
The French section is always packed.
The menu board for the area.
The Sea Devil area. Lots of pirates in this area most weekends.
Great live band.
Another favorite shot that I like.
A pirate and a 21st Century, New Age, Renaissance Pirate. Can you tell which is which?
A beautiful pirate is hard to pass without getting her photo.
I spend about 4 to 5 hours at the festival and every day that I leave, people are still coming in by large numbers.
This concludes the pics from Saturday.
On Sunday morning, they parked me on row 6, but I wasn’t complaining.
It was still just a short walk to the front gate plaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people will pass this way over 8 weekends.
The plaza looking good and ready for all of the patrons that will visit this day.
My morning Throne pic.
The front gate Beefeaters are always nice enough to pause for a pose.
Hamish MacGregor getting ready to entertain the patrons.
The cast getting ready for the cannon to fire and the first guests.
More about this pic next.
The previous photo was taken from this upstairs patio of Tea and Strumpets.
Look for this sign to find the patio.
The King and his Queen.
The cast dancing with patrons to start the day.
Playing music to dance by.
This woman is a talented artist.
Ravenswood Leather.
Look for this sign.
Some of the best leather goods in the Kingdom.
All kinds of pouches and hats to choose from.
I enjoy going into this shop.
And a selection of furs.
Lots of gloves to look over.
MJ and her co-workers. Nice pic.
Getting a pic with MJ is now on my ‘To do” list.
He knows how to cook well.
It all looks and smells amazing.
Such great smiles.
Julie is a favorite of mine to photograph. Can you blame me?
I ran into Savannah and got a pic with her. She’s darling.
Blaze looking her best.
Smiling, happy faces to greet the patrons and serve them something delicious to eat.
Rev’s Armour Werx. White letters would be easier to see and read.
A cheerful owner and her sidekick.
Their merch is really very nice.
Everyone needs a good flask in case of snakebite. And to be sure, always carry a small snake.
Great display of items for sale.
Another good display of some awesome leather goods.
The crew of the Red Lion Tavern.
Haley said the glitter comes off easily enough… in case you were wondering.
Haley and Daddy for a quick pic.
Greg and I in his booth.
The Catskill Mountain Moccasins staff is great.
I treated them to pizza for lunch. It was very good.
Alex and his axe.
Chelsea and I chat every day of the festival and she’s pleasant to talk with. Sweet girl.
The patrons of TRF are always entertained by the many talented acts to see.
Another great pose… but he’s still crossing the swords.
I like getting pics with Alex. He’s a great guy.
And also pics with Erika.
The three witches from Hocus Pocus. The Sanderson sisters, Winifred, Sarah and Mary.
When you see Alan, you know I’m headed up to the Wyrmwood Public House.
Great customer but doesn’t tip well.
Bartenders at the Wyrmwood.
The patio of the Wyrmwood.
Another great view of the festival.
A lot to see from up here.
As I was looking over the balcony, I saw this beautiful woman wearing a crown. I yelled down for someone with her to stop her until I could make it down to get her pic.
I almost busted my ass coming down the back stairs, but the effort was worth it.
One of the most beautiful people that I’ve ever photographed.
A pic of Daddy and I. He prefers to be called Daddy and I play along. It makes me laugh.
The Wyrmwood has the best of staffs.
I asked this woman for a pic and she struck this pose. Awesome.
Apollo advertising his show. I’ll shoot video of it later in the season.
Queen Juana catching fairies.
Pizzeria il Forno has the best pie that I’ve had in New Market Village.
And served with a smile.
The horses always get more attention than the carriage driver.
The prettiest fairy that I photographed.
This never gets old to me. Love it.
This guy always draws a large crowd for his act.
Very striking, indeed.
I stopped by the Thirsty Pirate Pub for a drink.
Another great staff.
Coulrophobia brings on feelings of fear when you see clowns or clown images.
A great group shot.
Another menu board.
A fun group.
The view from Tea and Strumpets’ patio.
There are many days that I wish there was a Spring TexRenFest also. Two months a year is too short in my opinion.
There’s always Scarborough Fest and Sherwood Faire, but they are long drives away.
People still coming in as I was leaving for the day. I leave around 1pm each day because it is an hour’s drive home for me and then about 6 hours of editing and loading pics and videos from the day.
And I pride myself on having my media up the night of taking the pics. I think people like seeing their pics as soon as possible.
Lots of cars parked around me on this day. Being close is the tits.
When I asked this guy to take my Throne pics, he said strike a pose. So I posed as if I owned the place, lol.
That’s it for this blog post about 1001 Dreams weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I hope you enjoyed reading it and seeing the pics.
Check back for more blog posts about upcoming weekends.
To see the pics and videos from the TexRenFest, visit the site below and click on Photos.
On the weekend of July 22nd – 24th, I attended the Houston Horror Film Festival. I had a great time and captured some great cosplayers in all of their glory.
Horror Cosplay is a great genre of cosplay and I love photographing these events. Here are a few of those pics and a little write up about the festival.
The HHFF logo is awesome.
On Saturday, the line to get processed was long, but it moved fast and I had my wristband in a short time.
The rooms with celebrities, artists and vendors were full of attendees and everyone was having a great time.
There were several rooms at the Westchase Marriott that had booths set up and they were all interesting.
I ended up getting photos and autographs from 2 celebrities. More about that later.
You could buy yourself a great prop for your cosplay. These axes and sledgehammers were really cool.
This couple looked fantastic in their outfits. They were selling their daughters art while she was away studying opera.
At a Horror Con, you can always find a good selection of skulls.
These artistic skulls were very detailed and looked really good.
I photographed quite a lot of cosplayers at this event and everyone was happy to get their photo taken.
This young lady dressed up for a horror con for the first time and looked great.
I’ve photographed this guy at the HHFF event last Fall. His look is awesome and he has the walk to go with his character.
I met Porcelain Doll at this event and she had a very detailed face.
I asked her how long it took her to do her face. She said she’s done it before so it only takes her an hour. Getting it off takes a bit of effort.
I met a lot of clowns and they all looked very good.
This cosplayer works as the Torturess at Purgatory Scream Park, just outside of Houston in Kingwood.
Purgatory Scream Park had a nice display and several characters were on staff all weekend for pics and interviews.
I photographed Leatherface last year at the HHFF event also. He always looks good.
These next few pics are of some of the clowns I ran into at HHFF.
This guy was on the floor for a lot of the day posing for pics.
I’ve met this clown several times over the last year or so. Love the hat.
Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns.
Another great hat. The clowns that darken their eyes always look better.
This was a fun group of clowns.
This guy did an awesome job with his make-up.
Wearing a Camp Crystal Lake shirt was a great added touch.
A ghoulish rocker.
This young lady had a pink heart painted on the tip of her nose and looked very cute.
This booth was advertising a horror movie that they made. The creature on the right was their killer.
I ran into The Pumpkin Queen and definitely wanted a pic of her in her outfit.
A really good Pennywise.
The guy on the right had a great facial expression. I love that. It makes for a great photo.
HHFF had a backdrop that was great for photos. Pinhead looked really good.
A close-up of a really gruesome mask.
I photographed this young lady twice and she looked great both times.
This guy had one of my favorite faces.
Colored contact lens’ can complete a look and put it over the top.
I also witnessed Leatherface cutting a rug. There’s video of it on the photo site. Link at the end.
Freddy with Porcelain Doll. Another great pic.
In addition to a lot of clowns at HHFF, I saw several Michael Myers. I’ll let you be the judge as to who looked the best.
Although the masks are usually different, all Michael Myers wear blue coveralls.
And usually carry a knife.
These 3 were hanging out together so I snapped a pic.
This Michael was my favorite.
The artists at HHFF had some great booths and fantastic art.
These clay figurines were very detailed and really cool.
This artist gets bonus points for having a great hat.
Horror collectors were able to find all kinds of art to choose from.
This is a pic of the Purgatory crew in front of their set. It’s a scene from Stranger Things and lots of people got a photo while sitting on the couch. This was a great feature at HHFF and the Purgatory staff were really nice.
Here is their flyer.
I definitely wanted a pic on their set.
I saw several Jason Voorhies also.
Another Purgatory staff member.
One of the celebrities that I met was Ginger Lynn. She was an Adult Film Star and also was in some horror films. She was really nice.
She autographed a pic for me also.
The other celebrity that I got a pic with was Cathy Moriarty. She was nominated for an Oscar for her work in Raging Bull with Robert De Niro.
She also autographed a pic for me.
The Director from the movie Butchers Bluff snapped an action shot of me with their killer.
A nun that flashes the Rock n’ Roll sign. Very cool.
A fun group shot.
I ran into Gillman and his friend. They posed for a regular pic.
Then posed for a really funny one.
I’ll close out this blog post with an interview that I did with Shane from Purgatory Scream Park. Lots of good information.
I enjoyed my time at the Houston Horror Film Festival and I look forward to their next event.
If you get the chance to attend an HHFF event, you really should. It’s a lot of fun and you won’t be disappointed.
To see all of the photos from the event, visit our site below.
On the weekend of July 15th – 17th, I attended all 3 days of Comicpalooza, which is Texas’ largest pop-culture festival. I’ve attended this event in the past and it never disappoints.
These first photos are from the Friday Night Bash. Having games for people to play was a great added attraction.
People enjoyed the games all night long and had a lot of fun.
The kids loved the Ball Pit and even some adults. It was fun to watch everyone enjoying themselves.
The party had another unique attraction in addition to the games and Ball Pit. These hanging ovals were occupied all night long.
For the adults, there was a full bar to serve up your favorite drinks. This was a nice feature.
There were also cosplayers in attendance.
Everyone was having a good time and enjoying the music, the lights and the people.
The cosplayers were more than happy to pose for a photo.
There was also a magician at the Bash to entertain the guests. Everyone loves a magician.
I enjoyed my time at the Friday Night Bash and look forward to the Bash next year.
These next pics are from Saturday and Sunday of the event. The George R. Brown convention center has a great plaza. The GRB is the best venue in Houston to hold such an event like Comicpalooza.
Food trucks were an appreciated addition. Being able to grab a hot meal that has been freshly prepared makes having a bite to eat a pleasurable experience.
There was a good variety of choices between the many different food trucks.
There were thousands in attendance each day, but the line to get in moved very quickly.
Once inside, there was a wall that was great for a photo backdrop. Such a great logo.
I photographed hundreds of cosplayers that weekend and ended up with a lot of great photos.
I’m always impressed by the contact lens’ that some choose to wear.
One part of being a cosplayer is knowing how to pose as your character. I always enjoy watching people strike a pose for the camera.
I took this shot, then asked Wonder Woman for a pic by herself.
She took a second, then busted out this pose. I was surprised and excited to photograph her in all her glory.
These 3 ladies were a lot of fun.
I tend to take close-up photos for people that go the extra distance on their faces.
Comicpalooza is a great place to meet fun, extroverted people looking to have a good time.
I look forward to Comicpalooza each year and mark it on my calendar so I know exactly when it is.
The crowds were large, but it was very easy to get around and do my job. Everyone was busy shopping, posing for photos, shooting video and having a ball.
This is Ceci and Myra. They are sisters and I have met them at cons for several years now. They’re great cosplayers.
There were also several show cars on display in the convention center.
There was also some Jurassic Park vehicles on display.
I attended my first comicon in 2012, when I attended Comicpalooza of that year. I’ve been hooked ever since. Photographing cosplayers never gets old and I always meet some of the most interesting people.
At Comicpalooza, there are several people from the media present. You’ll see photographers and videographers at every turn. This guy was conducting an interview with these cosplayers. The person holding the videocam was just off to the left.
Smiles are truly contagious.
I love this guy’s mustache. He had a great look, as did his companion.
Comicpalooza is an all ages event. You’ll see little kids dressed up as well as older people living their best life.
I have photographed this clown at several events over the years. He loves attending cons and posing for photos.
The vendors at this event are pretty spectacular. The merchandise is all wonderful and it’s fun to shop.
I enjoy seeing all of the artwork by the many impressive artists.
This is Cassius. His character is The Brown Hornet. That was the superhero that the Cosby kids watched on their TV. This is a great cosplay and I’ve never seen another Brown Hornet.
I’ve seen this cosplay before but the person had drawn a six pack on their stomach. This guy actually has a six pack.
A special part of my job is capturing memories and making people happy. I truly enjoy my work, even the long, late-night hours of editing and loading media from an event.
Harley Quinn is a favorite character to photograph.
Each person has a different take on the look and I enjoy them all.
This was a cool photo op. I love the military and especially old Jeeps.
These are the twins, Paige and Taylor. Two more cosplayers that I see at cons often. Great girls and awesome cosplayers.
Here’s another Harley Quinn. See how different these 2 are. And both great.
This Harley was very photogenic also.
I’ve photographed this cosplayer before also. She’s a fun person and always a pleasure to run into.
Spiderman remains to be one of the most popular characters to cosplay. And there are so many different looks.
I ran into Houston’s Tan Man while at Comicpalooza. Phil is a mountain of a man and a bundle of fun.
Paige and Taylor are always so happy to pose with me and I enjoy the pics.
Poison Ivy is another popular character to cosplay and I’ve photographed several over the years.
If I had to guess, I’d say that I’ve taken over 10,000 photos at comicons in the Houston area.
Captain Jack Sparrow was posing for pics for donations to the Make A Wish organization. I gave him $10 for a pic with him. Well worth it.
This young lady had a fantastic look and I was happy to get a pic with her.
This last section is about my Star Wars adventure at Comicpalooza.
The 501st Legion had a great display. There were several photo ops located in their area.
And all of their cosplayers were more than happy to pose with attendees.
And they had such a variety in their characters.
This set was very cool. You can tell that they took a lot of time to prepare for an event like this.
And they all seemed pleased to learn that they could download their pics from my site for free.
This is the best Darth Vader that I’ve ever seen. His height makes him an outstanding Vader.
The 501st Legion is a great group of people and they really have fun and enjoy what they do.
The props that they had were awesome.
This was a great addition to their area.
You could even get a photo of yourself while firing this weapon. That’s on my ‘To Do List’ next year.
These next photos are with a group called Star Wars Enthusiasts of Houston. I’ve know Kristen for a few years now and her group is great.
They do a lot of charitable things throughout the year and are active in the community.
At Comicpalooza, they have a Saber Walk, which I videotaped this year. It’s a fun group and they love cosplaying.
On Sunday, they had a photoshoot scheduled and they asked me if I would attend. I was more than happy to get some photos for them. This first group is the ‘Younglings’.
This is a group of the Light Side cosplayers.
And here again, with more cosplayers.
Cosplayers for the Dark Side.
Mostly Mandalorians.
A nice group shot of everyone.
The Force is Feminine. I love that the little Darth Vader was a girl.
The Mandalorian cosplay has to be one of the coolest cosplays in the Star Wars universe.
This next photo is of the whole group. It is the Light Side versus the Dark side.
This last photo is a fun photo. I enjoyed photographing the SWEH group and they were genuinely appreciative of my efforts to capture special moments for them. I look forward to working with them again in the future.
To see the interview that I did with admin Kristen Lee Ohanyan of SWEH, here it is…
Comicpalooza is one of the most fun and exciting events that Houston has to offer and if there was one downside, it’s that it is only once a year.
I look forward to next year and am excited to go again. If you are in the Houston area the next time Comicpalooza happens, you should definitely go. You won’t be disappointed.
To see all of the photos from this event, here is the link to our photo gallery…
This year, during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, I decided to attend the world famous BBQ Cook Off contest. In the past, I’ve had connections with a booth and that was great. I shot several photos of their booth and guests. They loved the pics I took and I enjoyed drinking and eating at their booth while I was out there.
This year, I didn’t have an invitation to any booths. When I entered the cook off area, I took a left and came across the Lonestar Cowboy Cookers tent.
My goal was to cover the activities of a reputable tent. The Lonestar Cowboy Cookers fit that description, and then some. What follows is a little look at my day with the team as a guest in their tent.
It’s hard to miss the Lonestar Cowboy Cookers’ tent. They have a very large set-up. Their capacity is 1,850 people. I’m sure that their guests are pleased with how great the facade is.
These next 3 gentlemen play key roles with the team. From left to right, Richard, Bobby and Sawyer.
Richard and Sawyer are in charge of the food and Bobby is the one who approved my admittance into the tent and back areas.
Here’s Sawyer and Richard in front of the ribs. The smell was incredible.
More about these ribs in a bit.
I was able to meet and photograph several members of the cooking team. All were very nice people.
At one point, the team all got together and started passing out tequila shots. One guy looked over at me as I was taking pics and said, “You want one?” I said, “Sure.”
A tequila shot with no chaser helps in bad weather.
I wasn’t at the tent during the time the team was preparing their chicken for the contest. I did however cover the ribs and brisket.
I won’t say all that goes into preparing meat for a contest, but I will say that I learned a lot about competition BBQ.
Carefully cutting the ribs for the contest.
Part of what I learned is that each team provides their own meat. A judge’s committee representative will come by and tag the meat with a piece of metal that has a number on it.
When the representative comes to the tents, they verify that meat tag number with what they have on a form.
Presentation is also very important. Having a clean look to an entry is all part of a winning combination.
A culinary work of art. This is the team’s ribs entry.
Once the ribs were prepared, the representative will put tape around the container so it can’t be opened, except by the Judge’s Committee.
I know this representative for the Judges. Misty and I were lifeguards together many years ago. It looks like she is telling him that he is 10 minutes late. Not the case, but a funny pic.
The Lonestar Cowboy Cookers’ tent is really big. I like the flag.
Back to those ribs that Sawyer and Richard were standing next to. These ribs were for the guests in the tent.
There were so many racks of ribs, it was hard to count.
Some guys were cutting and some guys were stacking in these trays.
This is the pic when they finally emptied the cooker. They had been cutting for a while so the total was probably close to twice this pile.
A meat lover’s dream.
The staff at the entrance of the tent were all so nice. Tara was the first person I met and she was great.
I was impressed with the banner of donors.
The final entry into the contest was the brisket. Richard is cleaning off the metal tag so the judge’s rep can see it. Richard then had to sign off on the paper.
Letting the meat sit for a bit before it’s cut.
You can see the metal tag clearly in this photo.
An expert at work.
Being this close, I could also enjoy the aroma.
I’ve always known that there is a lot involved with cooking good BBQ, but after watching the Lonestar Cowboy Cookers, it looks more like an art form.
In this next pic, you’ll see again how important ‘plating’ is to have your entry look the best.
Cleaning the container before sealing it.
Their brisket entry. Beautiful.
The Judge’s Rep, Misty, sealing up the brisket entry.
In this next pic, Steven is loading Jalapeno Poppers.
You don’t see sights like this at the smaller tents.
It takes a lot of time to prepare food all day.
When it was close to time for serving food, the workers started setting up tables with covers.
The tables and chairs were set up in a short amount of time.
I’m not sure if the bad weather caused any to miss the day, but the people that did show were having a great time.
The bartenders were friendly and happy to be there. I never had anything to drink throughout my day in the tent, but the bartenders were quick to offer me something when I approached to get their photo. Great staff.
Everyone that I approached for a photo agreed to pose for me. I’m glad they did because the pics capture them having a fun time on a great day.
Bucky checking the meatballs.
The Jalapeno Poppers were ready. I never tried one even though Bucky offered me one. They looked great. I should have tried one.
Another fun group.
Before the food was served, a few words were spoken to acknowledge certain people for their contributions. Also, everyone removed their hats when the prayer was said.
That flag looks great. As does the team logo.
When it was time to serve the food to the guests, the staff would fix each plate with some brisket, ribs and sides.
The sides were great.
The team worked for a long time to prepare this meal.
I’d love to have their recipes.
The staff fixing the plates enjoyed their work. Smiling, happy faces.
The guests would line up and come by one of the windows and take a plate.
The line moved quickly and everyone was pleased with the service.
Just a great pic showing the First Class hospitality of the Lonestar Cowboy Cookers.
Here is my plate. It also came with a container of sauce. There was another table with utensils, napkins, pickles, onions and bread. The food tasted how it looked… fantastic!
Here is the bread, onions and pickles table.
The day was a great success.
Richard and a friend getting a shine after a lot of work.
Next year, I intend to stay a little longer and cover the band. Many thanks to Bobby, Richard, Sawyer, Tara, Steven and Bucky. Their hospitality was great.
To see all of the photos from the day and 35,000 others, go to the link below and click on Photos.
Last weekend, I attended the Mardi Gras celebration in Galveston, Texas. I had a great time and ended up with 387 pics and 2 videos.
I only attended on Saturday. The celebration continues this next weekend also, but I’ll be at the Houston Rodeo BBQ Cook Off. Look for that post soon.
This is a shot of the parade route that runs the length of the Strand.
I ran into several people that were dressed for the occasion.
I think this couple were with a Cruise Ship because in another pic, they wanted the ship behind them.
There were lots of merchandise booths to shop in.
Like father, like son. Great pic that I’m sure they enjoyed downloading from the site.
I’ll be adding in some info that I found out about Mardi Gras. Most of my material came from a New Orleans Mardi Gras site.
The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to medieval Europe, passing through Rome and Venice in the 17th and 18th centuries to the French House of the Bourbons. From here, the traditional revelry of “Boeuf Gras,” or fatted calf, followed France to her colonies.
On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it “Pointe du Mardi Gras” when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday.
Bienville also established “Fort Louis de la Louisiane” (which is now Mobile) in 1702. In 1703, the tiny settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrated America’s very first Mardi Gras.
New Orleans was established in 1718 by Bienville. By the 1730s, Mardi Gras was celebrated openly in New Orleans, but not with the parades we know today.
In the early 1740s, Louisiana’s governor, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, established elegant society balls, which became the model for the New Orleans Mardi Gras balls of today.
I saw several schools marching in the parades during the day.
Ball Golden Tornado Band. I would suggest different calligraphy and color of lettering in their banner because it’s hard to read.
Hitchcock High School.
The earliest reference to Mardi Gras “Carnival” appears in a 1781 report to the Spanish colonial governing body. That year, the Perseverance Benevolent & Mutual Aid Association was the first of hundreds of clubs and carnival organizations formed in New Orleans.
A First Responder’s float. Very popular with the crowd.
She has little star pasties on her nipples so it’s not nudity. I’m sure the people there wouldn’t mind.
By the late 1830s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders to celebrate Mardi Gras. Dazzling gaslight torches, or “flambeaux” lit the way for the krewe’s members and lent each event an exciting air of romance and festivity.
Milby High School Marching Thunder Band.
Everybody loves the Flag Corp.
Mardi Gras is traditionally celebrated on “Fat Tuesday,” the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. In many areas, however, Mardi Gras has evolved into a week-long festival.
Take note of this next bus. It’s The Dancing Queen.
They were a fun group.
Now here is a bigger, newer bus called The Dancing King.
This group also participates in the Houston Art Car Parade each year. And they are always a hit.
They even have a caboose.
Mardi Gras is a tradition that dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of Spring and fertility.
Action 5 News has a nice vehicle for parades.
This was a favorite bus of mine. The paint and graphics are awesome.
They spent a lot of time creating this vehicle.
And the yellow wigs added to the theme.
There were several Pirates at the celebration.
This is the coolest name that I’ve ever seen for a tanning salon.
Westbury High School Marching Band.
The excess and debauchery of the Mardi Gras season became a prelude to Lent, the 40 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.
Mardi is the French word for Tuesday, and gras means “fat.” In France, the day before Ash Wednesday came to be known as Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday.”
More Pirates.
Many Pirates wore an eyepatch so that one eye was adjusted to the dark. And when they went below deck, they just lifted the eyepatch and could see well in the darkness.
This bus looks like something out of the Road Warrior.
Traditionally, in the days leading up to Lent, merrymakers would binge on all the rich, fatty foods – meat, eggs, milk, lard and cheese – that remained in their homes, in anticipation of several weeks of eating only fish and different types of fasting.
The word carnival, another common name for the pre-Lenten festivities, also derives from this feasting tradition: in Medieval Latin, carnelevarium means to take away or remove meat, from the Latin carnem for meat.
This next bus has a great paint scheme for the Texans. Maybe some day the team will play as good as this bus looks.
Some Trump supporters made an appearance.
These next cars are really cool. Great for parades.
New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday of Mardi Gras with street parties, masked balls and lavish dinners. When the Spanish took control of New Orleans, however, they abolished these rowdy rituals, and the bans remained in force until Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812.
Louisiana is the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday. However, elaborate carnival festivities draw crowds in other parts of the United States during the Mardi Gras season as well, including Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Each region has its’ own events and traditions.
To this day, Mobile, Alabama claims to have the oldest annual Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.
A few Pirates walking the parade route.
Everybody loves mermaids.
Available only during the Mardi Gras season, king cake is typically made with brioche dough. Braided and laced with cinnamon, the dough is then glazed with purple, green and gold sugar or covered in icing in those same Mardi Gras colors.
What really sets king cake apart from other desserts, however, is the small plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby in his or her slice must buy the next cake or perhaps host the next party.
Notice that this fire truck had engine problems and had to be towed the parade route. It’s a beautiful truck.
I ran into my friend Naji at the celebration. Here’s his food stand.
Almost all of the food stands have their food on display to make it easier to make a decision.
I love to see the food options at different events.
Naji told me that he went through 11 cases of Turkey legs in one day while at Dickens on the Strand.
Mardi Gras, as a celebration of life before the more-somber occasion of Ash Wednesday, nearly always involves the use of masks and costumes by its participants, and the most popular celebratory colors are purple, green, and gold.
Women exposing their breasts during Mardi Gras in New Orleans has been documented since 1889.
This girl had a great Mardi Gras outfit on.
Fun pic.
In the crowded streets of the French Quarter, generally avoided by locals on Mardi Gras Day, flashers on balconies cause crowds to form on the streets.
Another Mardi Gras beauty.
In the last decades of the 20th century, the rise in producing commercial videotapes catering to voyeurs helped encourage a tradition of women baring their breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets.
Social scientists studying “ritual disrobement” found, at Mardi Gras 1991, 1,200 instances of body-baring in exchange for beads or other favors.
It’s believed that the bead-throwing tradition started in the 1880s when a man dressed as Santa became popular with the crowd for tossing them. Other krewes took notice and adopted it.
The beads used to be made of glass but are now primarily made of plastic. I saw several people with boob beads like this guy. Funny.
Elsik High School Mighty Ram Band.
More Pirates. What has 4 legs and 4 eyes?
4 Pirates.
I’ve seen this car in the Houston Art Car parade also.
A fun conveyance.
The crowd grew as the day went on.
Right before a parade started.
This is a cool vehicle.
Bands played throughout the day. 3 Doors Down was the headliner.
These girls were shooting a short 8 second video that was made into a slow-motion 30 second video. The video came out great and only cost $20.
This was one of the best things offered at Galveston’s Mardi Gras celebration.
Here are the 3 girls. Their video looked fantastic.
This young lady was wearing a necklace that said, “Wild Party Girls.” When I asked for her photo holding up her necklace, she told me that was also her last name.
Getting a caricature is always fun.
Here’s another food stand.
In New Orleans, the city estimates around 25 million pounds of beads get thrown into the streets each year.
After clogged storm drains caused excess flooding, the city of NOLA cleared the drains of 45 million tons of beads.
An estimated 500,000 king cakes are sold each year during carnival season.
The word carnival comes from Latin “carne vale,” which means “farewell to meat.”
Places like Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada refer to Mardi Gras as Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove is rooted in the word shrive, which means to absolve, and people often go to church to confess their sins.
This tall guy asked me what the STORM Factory was, so I explained, then got their group shot. I’m sure he’s glad he asked. It’s a great shot of him and his friends having a fun time.
Check out the photo-bomber.
And you’ll even see vampires during Mardi Gras.
When 3 Doors Down started playing at 5:30pm, it was shoulder to shoulder in the stage area.
These next pics are of the best decorated jeeps in the parades.
When it comes to beads, everybody loves catching them. The most popular colors of beads are gold, green and purple.
These colors mean something in Christianity.
Gold – Power. Green – Faith. Purple – Justice.
I’ve never ridden in a parade nor thrown beads, but I know how it should be done.
This next lady would hold her hand to her ear as if to say, “I can’t hear you.” Then, she would throw her beads to the other side of the street. I won’t say what people called her, but it ain’t nice. This is not how to throw beads.
Mardi Gras has many sayings but the most famous one is “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” “Laissez les bons temps rouler” is a Cajun French saying that means “let the good times roll.”
In New Orleans, float riders are required by law to wear masks or face paint.
The first year that Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or “Krewes” called the Knights of Momus (known only by the initials “K.O.M.”) and the Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations.
In 1985, native Galvestonian George P. Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia, launched the revival of a citywide Mardi Gras celebration. The Mitchells had long dreamed of restoring the Island’s splendid tradition, and the grand opening of their elegant Tremont House hotel in the historic Strand District provided the spark to do so.
These next pics are of my favorite golf carts from the golf cart parade.
Bubbles always make things more fun.
Mardi Gras in Galveston now annually attracts as many as 250,000 revelers throughout the island, which provides a significant boost to the island’s midwinter economy.
In Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, people celebrate Mardi Gras by eating pancakes and participating in pancake themed activities.
If gold symbolizes power, then this is one powerful golf cart and crew.
I’ve seen these guys in the Houston Art Car parade as well.
They look like a fun bunch.
One of the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. is held in Galveston, Texas.
Rio de Janeiro hosts one of the world’s largest Mardi Gras celebrations.
This is one great looking cart.
Myself and Naji.
With one decked out dude.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading about Mardi Gras and looking at some pics.
If you want to see all of my pics from the event, go to the link below and click on Photos. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay.
This past December, I attended the Dickens on the Strand festival in Galveston, TX. It’s a great festival and I’ll show you that in this post.
If you follow me on social media, you know I like to arrive early when attending special events. It’s easier to park and I like to capture the beginning of the event with photos to add to the story of a day in attendance.
Here is a shot of the Strand. It’s a perfect place for a festival. They host a Mardi Gras celebration here also and you can read about that in another post of mine. I love how clean the street is. Nice job.
Here is the write up about the festival…
Dickens on the Strand is an annual Christmas festival organized by the Galveston Historical Foundation in Galveston, Texas occurring the first weekend in December. Established in 1974 and set against the historical backdrop of Galveston’s Strand, participants come to witness and relive the Charles Dickens era.
Here’s another write up…
For several years, Galveston’s Christmas festival Dickens on the Strand has been a big hit during the holiday season, drawing crowds of more than 35,000, according to Galveston Historical Foundation.
One of the first things I noticed at DOTS was the trash can covers. It may seem trivial, but having the trash cans covered like this increases the aesthetic value of the festival. If you didn’t notice trash cans everywhere, it worked because they blended in.
I met Scott early in the morning that Saturday. He’s a balloon artist.
When I attend special events, I like to cover the food as well. This is Naji’s food stand.
He serves a variety of food and it all looks good.
He told me that he went through 11 cases of Turkey Legs in one day.
I asked Naji to make me a plate of just a few fried shrimp. He loaded me up and didn’t charge me.
The breakfast of champions.
The event has several street vendors and that gives it a great feel for a street festival.
Captain America. Very cool look.
On this Saturday, I saw this gentleman walking towards me and I stopped him for a pic. Take note of this because it will come up later in this post.
Lovely ladies.
These two guys had some really nice uniforms on. Thumbs up.
In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from June 20th, 1837 until her death on January 22nd, 1901.
A beautiful young lady in a beautiful dress.
Here is a write up about Dickens…
Charles Dickens, Charles John Huffam Dickens, (born February 7, 1812, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England – died June 9, 1870, Gad’s Hill, near Chatham, Kent), English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian era.
Even though DOTS is about the Dickens / Victorian era, you will see almost anything by way of costumes, outfits and garb.
Great dresses with matching hats. Very nice.
This woman is a Pony Express rider. I said I thought she was Calamity Jane. She said she gets that a lot. I think it’s the hat.
Here is the write up about Steampunk’s era…
The most common historical steampunk settings are the Victorian and Edwardian eras, though some in this “Victorian steampunk” category are set as early as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and as late as the end of World War I.
This guy did stunts like lie on a bed of nails. Interesting street performers help create a fun environment at DOTS.
This gentleman would give you a ride on the back of his conveyance. Notice how I didn’t say bicycle. That’s because I’m not sure what to call what he is riding.
And you will see Pirates at the festival.
Lots of Bobbies at DOTS.
Here is the write up about Bobbies…
Bobby, slang term for a member of London’s Metropolitan Police derived from the name of Sir Robert “Bob” Peel, who established the force in 1829. Police officers in London are also known as “peelers” for the same reason.
I came across a few Santas.
Notice her Steampunk goggles and corset. Cute girl, good look.
There was even a place to play a game of Cricket.
Here’s another gentleman offering rides.
Creative uses for the same material.
The Queen and her Court.
The beggars are a favorite of mine to photograph. The baby with black marks on his face is cute.
The festival has several groups that sing throughout the day. Great voices and great outfits.
I came across the Queen talking with Charles Dickens. She was giving him what for because he missed her party. Funny exchange.
He then read a selection for the audience. This guy looks a lot like Charles Dickens.
Here is the real Dickens for your comparison.
Father Christmas.
Great outfits and pith helmets. With Steampunk goggles as well.
My favorite Steampunk couple.
Completely awesome.
Charles Dickens wrote fifteen novels. He also wrote short stories, essays, articles and novellas.
Bobbies on this stand gave helpful info and offered great photos.
The girl in the shades struck a great pose.
Steampunk goggles.
Great beggar pose.
Steampunk is a favorite of mine and I love how creative people get with it.
One cute Pirate.
Beautiful dresses and parasols.
Attending DOTS is like Time Traveling. I love walking down the Strand and seeing all kinds of people. Pirates may be my favorite.
Another favorite beggar family.
I took several photos of the different choirs. One mother saw a photo on my site where I had captured her 2 daughters with their choir. She then donated to our charity foundation because she was so pleased.
I met Tony at the Texas Renaissance Festival and then again at DOTS. Great Steampunk look.
A stand sold these mugs and then you could fill up the rest of the day for free.
Three lovely ladies having a fun time.
“Get your damned dirty hands off of my wine.”
Bobbies are always unarmed and only carry a Night Stick. When they were created, it was decided to try and differentiate them from the British Military, which was viewed with some hostility.
Another parasol in this next pic.
What is the difference between an umbrella and a parasol?
Generally, an umbrella has a curved handle to allow for easy grip and storage. A parasol, however, (in Latin para for “shelter or shield” and sol “sun”) is typically constructed from more delicate fabrics such as lace, cotton, silk, linen, canvas and plastic.
The steam from his jet pack is really awesome. Great pic of a cool couple.
A good looking and sounding choir.
A fun-loving girl here.
I’ve photographed this couple at the TexRenFest also.
A beautiful woman in a great hat and outfit.
Choirs add to the great atmosphere of the festival.
Lovely hats and great sashes.
Pirates make any party better.
Plenty of food options at the festival.
Everyone has a great time at DOTS. Great parasol in the background.
Street performers are a great addition and they entertain a lot of people.
How do you make a Pirate mad?
Take away the P.
A Steampunk Santa and Mrs. Claus. Very cool indeed.
Another great pic of a beautiful woman.
It takes a lot of talent to walk on stilts. My hat is off to her.
A Bobby told me that I had a ‘Get out of Jail’ card for the day. I never needed it.
A fun pic.
This is one stylish couple.
The phrase “what the dickens,” first mentioned in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, was a euphemism for conjuring the devil.
Charles Dickens first wrote under the name of Boz because he didn’t want any negative references to the devil.
Once his work became known by the public, he used his real name.
Dickens owned a beloved raven he named Grip, and it even appears as a character in his novel Barnaby Rudge.
Following the bird’s death from eating lead paint chips later that year, Dickens replaced it with another raven, also called Grip, which was allegedly the inspiration behind Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven.”
A great looking group of friends enjoying the festival.
Edgar Allan Poe made an appearance at the festival. Here is the write up about Poe…
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature.
This guy did a a great job with his recitation of Poe’s work.
These next pics are from the Sunday of the festival.
Naji hooked me up with something for breakfast.
Beefeaters out in full-force.
A favorite of mine from the event.
My favorite beggar family.
Pirates and vampires. Ya gotta love DOTS.
What do you call a Pirate with both eyes and both legs?
A rookie.
Another write up about Dickens…
Early in 1843, as a response to a government report on the abuse of child laborers in mines and factories, Dickens vowed he would strike a “sledge-hammer blow… on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child.”
That sledge-hammer was ‘A Christmas Carol’.
I happen to catch the Queen and her procession heading down the Strand. Great pic.
This gentleman on the left said he didn’t care for Pirates, so I told him I was a Privateer. All good Pirates know how to lie.
Another great performer at the festival.
I ran into this couple again on Sunday.
He’ll always get a close-up. He looks that good.
In addition to ravens, Dickens loved cats.
When his cat, Bob, died in 1862, he had its’ paw stuffed and mounted to an ivory letter opener and engraved with “C.D., In memory of Bob, 1862.” The letter opener is now on display at the Berg Collection of English and American Literature at the New York Public Library.
The Ghost of Christmas Past.
A beautiful family in great clothes.
Very stylish.
A Pirate and the cutest little dog.
Okay, now for an explanation. That gentleman that I photographed on Saturday turned out to be the great, great, great grandson of Charles Dickens.
Here’s Ollie Dickens on the left and the gentleman playing Charles Dickens.
The little dog steals the show.
Talent abounds at DOTS.
Lazy slackers, lol.
This guy played a great Edgar Allan Poe. Hat’s off to him as well.
Now for my pics from Sunday.
Here I am with Scott. He made a lot of money making balloon figures.
Father Christmas.
With the Queen.
One of my favorite pics from the weekend.
Chuck and I.
Another fav of mine with Ollie DIckens.
Well, that’s it for Dickens on the Strand – 2021. To see all of my photos, go to the link below and click on Photos. Enjoy.
And remember…
Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.
I first met Phil Brayton a few years back, at a comicon in Houston. He was dressed as his Barbarian character. I knew that when I saw him, I immediately wanted to get his photo. This first photo is from the first time I ever met Phil.
When I decided to work several weekends at the Texas Renaissance Festival, I didn’t expect to see Phil there. When I walked inside the gates of TRF, he was one of the first people that I saw. This next pic is from that first encounter at the TexRenFest.
Phil has been working at TRF for 13 years. In the mornings, he poses as his Barbarian character, then after the noon parade, he comes out as Tan Man.
He is 6’6″ and 325 pounds… a mountain of a man.
Phil is called a Badged Entertainer and there are only 5 at TRF.
His Barbarian character is the 3rd highest photographed person at the TexRenFest and his Tan Man character is in the Top Ten in photos taken of him.
I tried to get a pic with Phil each time that I saw him.
Out of the many people that I met at TRF, Phil is one of the nicest. He was always so complimentary of me and the way I dressed.
At one point, he said I was the Best Dressed Photographer at the TexRenFest.
Phil started out his career working in the Medical Field. Then, in his late 30’s, he switched to Mortuary Science and has been working in that calling for over 25 years.
As you can tell, Phil is a real life character.
He also plays Donald Trump. Phil is a Social Media Influencer that works in New Orleans, Houston and Galveston.
He plays Capt. Jazz, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Barbarian, the Mountain Man and also Houston’s Tan Man.
Phil went to a White Linen party in the Heights of Houston years ago and a friend started calling him Tan Man and the name stuck.
Phil is known far and wide by many thousands of people and also has thousands of Followers on his social media accounts.
Here’s a pic of Phil with some friends at the White Linen Party.
They made the paper with the caption, ‘Life of the Party’. No truer words have ever been printed.
Phil has been in the media spotlight for several years now and been a part of many Promos for a lot of events.
Here he is for the Super Bowl that was hosted in Houston.
Every major social media influencer has been a part of a meme.
Here he is as the Ghost of Christmas Present during Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, TX.
He also has hundreds of thousands of views for his videos.
The Marlboro Man at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
The Undertaker with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Here he is at the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally in Galveston.
At Saint Arnold’s Brewery with the owners.
Mountain Man at the Houston Rodeo BBQ Cook Off.
Mister Astro with some babes.
Here is a pic of Phil while working in his calling.
As I stated earlier, I’ve met many people in my line of work and Phil is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s fun-loving, carefree and always so kind.
I asked Phil what it is that he could say about working at the Texas Renaissance Festival and he said this… “I love working at TRF because it is a Judgement-Free Zone. You could be a 500 pound man wearing a Tutu and you will be the most popular guy there.”
My hat goes off to people like Phil who live life to the fullest and get the most out of our time here on this planet. I look forward to seeing and photographing Phil many more times in the future.
Cheers to Phil Brayton for just being himself.
Spider 113
Phil Brayton Fan
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
This is a post about the last weekend of the Texas Renaissance Festival. I attended 6 out of 8 weekends and enjoyed myself, thoroughly. I met some great people, ate a lot of good food, saw some great shows and got a lot of pics and videos.
For the last weekend of the festival, Celtic Christmas, I ended up with 734 pics. For the entire 6 weekends that I attended, I added a total of 3,105 photos from the event.
I arrived first at the festival again on this Friday after Thanksgiving. These first pics are from that Friday.
I enjoy seeing the Front Gate Plaza early in the morning. There is something peaceful about knowing that as quiet as it is it will get so much more exciting as the day goes on.
I have a special project that I’ll be working on soon that is about the TexRenFest. This may be the cover photo.
I’ll let you know when the project is ready to view. Should be late Spring or Early Summer of 2022. I think many people will enjoy reading my book about my adventures at TRF for 2021. The book will have hundreds of pics from the event with lots of great costumes, outfits and garb, as well as some fun-loving, great characters and patrons.
Hamish McGregor always has the early morning guests entertained with his pipe playing and entertaining stories and jokes.
Rudy does a great job as Hamish and is a well-loved character at the festival.
Hard to believe that about 500,000 people will pass through these gates in 8 weekends.
Always buy a program. These girls and guys are usually the first people you meet in the Plaza and once inside the Front Gate. And they’re always happy to see you.
Queen Isabella looked very good in front of the Christmas tree at the front. Nuria is one of my favorite people to see at TRF.
I love the creativity that goes into some of the costumes and outfits worn by the cast and crew. They help create the fantasy world of the TexRenFest.
Erin as Glinda the Good and the Spanish King.
Katrina as a Bride of Frankenstein.
Micah as Crayon. The kids love her and many come back by at the end of the day to say goodbye to her. We wish Micah luck with her career in the Navy and look forward to her return to the festival one day.
Micah always gave me some great pics.
She was one of the people that I gave the close-up treatment to because I enjoyed her pic so much.
Jade is another person that always gets the close-up treatment. Jade is one of my favorite characters at TRF. I love the effort she puts in to create her face and overall look.
Two very pretty ladies.
I stopped by to see these ladies at a food stand and snapped their pic. I love that all of the workers at the festival like having their photo taken.
I bought the crab cakes from them for breakfast. They were hot and good.
I enjoyed photographing the Pickle Vendors. And I ate a few pickles as well. Always delicious.
I learned of a pizza place in the village and found it this last weekend. The pizza is great and one of my new favorite places to eat.
Lilly always looked so pretty. I loved watching her dance to the music of Tartanic.
I ran into Tony again. And this time, he was Elfis. What a funny outfit and great name. Very creative.
The ears look great and a green mustache with those glasses tops this look off.
Elvis would be proud.
It looks like Tony would be saying, “Hey, Baby. What’s shakin’?””
I took Alan’s pic a few times. He works the door at the Wyrmwood Public House. The best bar in the village.
Mickey made my daily kamikaze.
I look forward to TRF 2022 and seeing all of my new friends again.
I love purple and this singing duo rock it. The Minstrel Rav’n always looked great.
This family was having a fun time.
And she deserved a close-up treatment.
Monsieur Bunny, or Daddy as he prefers. I have lived a long life and never had to call anyone Daddy… until now, lol.
Next TRF, I plan to try the coconuts.
Cute workers always with a smile to greet you.
Who doesn’t like a nice kilt?
Kevin was always fun to photograph.
This is a good pose and a nice pic of him.
What’s better than a pic of a Pirate? A pic of two Pirates.
Hercules brought out his fur for the last weekend because it was a little chilly.
Always get the wings in the frame.
Krampus made an appearance.
If a dad dressed like this for Christmas morning to surprise his kids… he’d scar them for life, haha.
Skidmark was looking festive.
A working man in his office.
A great group shot.
Erika always looked so beautiful.
Greg and Sara were so nice to me during the TexRenFest and I look forward to spending time with them again the next festival.
Haley looked great in her Christmas outfit. The word on the top of her head is ‘Naughty’.
I bet Santa would still give her some gifts though.
I like this guy’s blue, leather vest. Very nice. And he was always nice enough to pose for me.
A Pirate Santa. Good Look.
I met Pam while I was working the festival. She was a lot of fun to hang out with.
The crew of the Sea Devil bar.
Blaze looked happy to be at work on this Friday.
While working at TRF, you make some great friends and lasting relationships.
Big Pirate hats always look god.
Hamish McGregor and a friend singing a tune while in the village.
More good friends.
My favorite Krampus and St. Nicholas. Nice guys and fun to shoot.
And deserving of a close-up.
Great Promo Gal and she loves her job.
One stylish gentleman. I’d definitely wear these clothes. Very sharp.
Another St. Nicholas and his lady.
Jesus and Santa. I photographed Jesus and Satan a few weeks earlier than this.
One of my favorite pics out of all of the TRF photos. He’ll enjoy this pic for years of him and his little boy.
Greg and I in the Catskill Mountain Moccasins booth, number 212.
And with the ever beautiful, Sara.
Now, we’re on to the pics from Saturday of the Celtic Christmas weekend. I was there first again.
The entrance to a great fantasy world where you’re free to be whatever and whomever.
As you can tell, I love this view.
The gates to fun and frivolity.
A lot of people will come down this walkway on this day.
Another cold day in the village.
Ready for action.
Playing his pipes.
Micah as Crayon. So cute.
Micah is full of energy and so fun-loving.
Erin, looking splendid, as usual.
One of Hercules’ best poses for me. He has a good double bicep pose.
Pennywise was a favorite of mine to photograph.
This was the first weekend that she didn’t wear a mask and she looked awesome.
Her face make-up is so great. And close-up material.
Jade, looking her best.
She never disappoints.
In the early morning, right after I enter the Kingdom, I usually get a lot of photos of the characters. This beautiful girl was fun to shoot also.
Phil Brayton was always a pleasure to run into. Through some stats, I learned that Phil’s Barbarian character is the 3rd most photographed person at TRF. And his Tan Man character is in the Top Ten.
I had kolaches and milk from the Queen’s Pantry on this Saturday morning. Always a good start to my day.
MJ and a co-worker. I bought a nice hip pouch from them that I use quite often now. Great quality.
Some very fun ladies.
Kazoo Orchestra.
Skidmark is one character I really enjoy watching work. He’s extremely entertaining.
One time, a guy told me to focus my pics on the beautiful girls. I told him I had that covered. Case in point, this photo.
These 2 characters always enjoyed posing for me and I thank them for that.
Daddy in his element.
Leos is more of man than I am. I even wore Long Johns on this day and he went shirtless.
Lilly, looking fabulous.
Haley with a different Christmas outfit and always looking cute.
This girl’s mother told me where she worked so I could go get her photo. It came out great.
I had several bowls of etouffee from Blaze’s booth.
The crew of the Sea Devil bar. Another good pic fo their gang.
Family pics are fun.
A really good Grinch.
She gave me some advice and it was really bad.
Pirates are always fun to photograph.
Sara and Abby.
Booth 212 – Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Another good crew photo.
Paolo entertaining the crowd.
The Spanish Court.
Another pic of this beautiful redhead. Her hat is awesome.
A fun group to shoot.
I had to get a pic of these two.
Apollo promoting their show.
Blaze and a friend.
I ran into Tony again on Saturday and this time I got some better pics.
His shoes were very cool.
I only had a few people refuse to pose for me during my time working the festival. I’m glad this girl decided to pose for me.
How much does it cost a Pirate to pierce his ears?
A buck an ear.
A festive group that was enjoying their day at TRF.
She has a great hat and looks good in it.
Eye contacts can always improve a look.
Another great Grinch.
Abby in a good-looking outfit.
The only Christmas tree that I photographed.
I love these guys.
Gruesome.
The stuff of nightmares.
Two more cute food stand workers.
A smiling group shot.
You gotta love seeing people having a good time.
Another festive group.
Cute Pirates are always a pleasure to run into and photograph.
And deserving of a close-up.
One of my favorite poses. Love the hat.
Talent in the village abounds.
I love the hat on the far right.
Now for my pics from Saturday. Big Phil and I.
I’ve got a tough job, lol.
Sara and I.
Abby was fun to pose with.
Greg always had on great garb.
I would leave everyday about 2 or 3pm and I always saw more people coming in.
My view when I leave.
These next pics are from Sunday, the last day of TRF for 2021. I like that the plaza always looks so clean.
I’m already looking forward to going back this next year.
My last pic with Willy for the year.
Another chilly day in the village.
I was asked to shoot the group shot for the Front Gate staff and it came out great.
Leo was nice enough to let me into the Kingdom early a few days and I appreciated that.
Nuria always took a good photo.
You’ll notice a lot of smiling faces in my pics.
I intend to interview Jade next season to learn more about her character and other things like how long it takes her to get ready.
I’d be curious to know how long it takes to do her face make-up.
Micah was a natural with the kids and an asset for the Texas Renaissance Festival.
I’ll miss getting her pics while she’s in the Navy, but I respect her service to our country.
She’ll do the USA proud.
A regal gentleman. It’s good to be the King.
I ran into Phil in another area and snapped his pic one last time for 2021.
This girl always had a great pose.
Case in point.
The staff at my favorite pizza place.
These girls looks festive in their Santa’s Helpers outfits.
Alex was fun to shoot and I look forward to seeing her next season.
Next season at TRF, I’ll focus more on the food.
Lots of characters working the food booths also.
It’s hard not to be hungry as you walk around because the food all looks and smells so good.
I tried some of the chicken.
Delicious.
Another great outfit.
Love the headdress.
How do pickles enjoy the day out?
They relish it.
One fabulous costume.
The ears, the hair, the horns, the make-up… all fantastic.
Why would you expect the coconuts vendors to pose funny?
You tell me, lol.
This look takes some time. Great job.
I look forward to going back to the Glory Hole for my morning beer.
Great horns and a great pic.
The Sea Devil is a great place to get some good pics.
Case in point.
Blaze was a redhead this last day of the festival and looked great.
Her co-worker looked great as well.
This crew asked me to take their staff photo and I was happy to do it.
Alex always looked cute.
Easy to see why I always passed by their booth for photos.
A really good face make-up job.
Another time-consuming job, but well worth it when you see the final look.
How do Pirates prefer to communicate?
Aye to aye.
Another lady that works with Tartanic along with Lilly.
A great Santa.
With a funny close-up.
Paolo playing some tunes.
Alan looking quite sharp.
Erika looked great the first day I photographed her and to this last day.
Melissa and Vebecka while at work in the Asgardian Armory, booth number 211.
The staff that works for Shiva. Great clothes.
I look forward to seeing Violet next season also. She’s a great Fire Dancer.
And gets a close-up.
Next season, I’m going to try and shoot over 4,000 pics. I’ll be attending all 8 weekends with no bad luck and I think I can do it, plus, I’ll have assistants.
I bet they were warm on this cold day.
I plan on shooting lots more videos also.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with Pam. She’s a lot of fun to hang out with.
How did the Pirate call his mate?
On an Aye Phone.
This King has some great looking rings.
I saw more furries on this last weekend.
Hercules saved his best pose for the last day of the festival.
These two girls worked at a food stand but were enjoying the last day as patrons.
This is the last person that I photographed at TRF for 2021 and I snapped it as I was walking to my Tahoe. 3,105th pic.
Now for my pics from the last day. Rudy was one of the nicer people that I met at TRF.
I imagine Jade gets photographed quite a lot. Gotta be in the top 5 of all the characters.
I’ll have a special post about Phil coming up soon. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Blaze is wearing one of my STORM Factory beanies, just backwards while she was working.
My last pic with Erika.
Many thanks to Greg for his hospitality towards me during the 2021 TRF season.
A pic with Shelbelle Shamrock on the Wyrmwood patio.
My last pic with a character at TRF for 2021.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Texas Renaissance Festival and I’m looking forward to going back this next season. Many thanks to everyone that posed for and with me. It was a lot of work, a lot of driving and long hours of walking and also working on the computer, but I loved every minute of it.
Hope to see some familiar faces at the next TexRenFest and if you see us, come say hi and get a pic.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. To see all of the 3,105 pics and videos from the TexRenFest 2021, click on the link below and go to Photos.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The fifth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was the Highland Fling weekend. This was my first time visiting the Kingdom on this weekend and I didn’t know what I was in for.
I had an assistant working with me this weekend, so you’ll see some behind the scenes shots of what it is that I do at TRF. These first pics are from the Saturday of the Highland Fling weekend.
I climb up on the King’s throne to get these pics.
At TRF, there is regular parking that is free. With this free parking, sometimes it is a helluva long walk to the festival and then back to your car.
There’s also Preferred Parking, which costs $20. I did that one day and liked the proximity to the front entrance of the festival. And after a long day of walking, having a short walk to my Tahoe is a blessing.
TRF also has Handicap Parking for free and also Valet Parking for $40. The pic below is of the valet area before anyone showed up. It is right near the front gates. I mean, right there.
I was able to get my assistant to snap a pic of me on the throne. It’s not as easy to get up there as you would think.
We ran into this guy at the front entrance area. When I asked for his pic, he struck this pose.
Then, he put on his goggles, extended his wings and struck another pose for us. Impressive is a good word for his look.
Pennywise was right inside of the front gates and I was glad to get her photo. She must have a party size can of helium to have a fresh red balloon every morning. It completes the whole picture.
Tinker Bell was always a lot of fun to photograph. I see the TRF characters from early in the morning until the afternoon. They are always energetic, in character and having fun.
It takes a special type of person to work as a character at the TexRenFest and they have a lot of special people on staff, Tinker Bell being one for sure.
I’m quite sure that there were 2 different girls playing this role. They were good characters and always happily posed for myself and my assistant.
The guy in the middle knows how to pose to make a statement. He was always fun to photograph and gave us some good pics.
After spending some time near the front gates, my assistant, Ryan, and I headed to what I call ‘Food Stand Row’. There are several food stands lined up and next to each other. I would walk down this row and get pics of all of the people working in said stands.
This day, Blaze was wearing glasses.
And we took some pics without them. Blaze knows how to pose to create a good picture.
If anyone gets a close-up, it’s Blaze.
After taking some pics, Ryan and I ordered what would be called Brunch because we ate between breakfast and lunch.
This photo of Blaze serving hot, delicious food is a favorite of mine because it says a lot about the festival in one pic.
On the left is crawfish etouffee and on the right is shrimp etouffee. We enjoyed this meal and headed to the Sea Devil area for a morning beer.
Amanda was there to serve them to us. The little bar that she works at is called ‘The Glory Hole’. That’s really funny.
This is a shot that I’m proud of. They each spent a lot of money on their clothing and hats to look this good. Kudos.
The staff at the Sea Devil bar were always up for a photo. They have a good job at TRF. They work at one of the coolest places to hang out, there’s a live band that plays right in front of them and everybody loves a bartender serving good drinks.
As a note, I bought some Honey Mead from the Sea Devil bar. I think I’ll need to drink some more before I give it a thumbs up or down. One small plastic cup isn’t enough for a fair review.
These 2 girls are good friends and it shows. Fun pic.
Here is an example of a mid-range shot that I always take of people.
And from that pic, I can create a close-up like this. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
That is a very famous line from an old movie called ‘Sunset Strip’. The delusional Norma Desmond is about to be arrested for murder. She sees a news camera and thinks she’s on a movie set with Cecil B. DeMille directing the film. She delivers that famous line and it has been used over and over again.
That was your Hollywood History for today.
Hercules struck several different poses for me when I came across him in the Kingdom. Some call this pose the Double Biceps. Others know it as ‘The Gun Show’.
Next TRF, I’m going to ask him where he got that head piece. It’s amazing. And I bet it kept his head warm on those colder days during the festival.
This was the second time that I ran into this pretty lady. I think it was 2 weekends in a row. If you are a fan of people wearing great hats, then the Texas Renaissance Festival is for you.
I’ll give you one guess as to what this guy’s name is… He even gave me a wristband with his name on it.
Painkiller.
Mr. and Mrs. Painkiller. Looking good.
I ran into some Star Wars people, but not as many as you would think. Still a good number of people came as their favorite Star Wars character. I always saw a Mandolorian or two, each weekend.
Here is another time when I use the word striking. As in, “She was striking.”
Definition of Striking… Someone who is striking is very attractive, in a noticeable way.
Here is another mid-range shot that I always take of people. Her necklace is awesome as well.
And another close-up that came from the mid-range pic.
Here’s Erika at Booth 211, Asgardian Armory. She had so many different looks for each day of the festival. I think she wore something different each day for 17 days.
I don’t think it’s possible for Erika to take a bad pic.
Ran into Leos again. As you may have noticed, he was at the festival for a lot of days. At the next TRF, his brother Argos is supposed to join him.
How many brush strokes to create the look of Leos’ face? In a previous post, I guessed at 200. It could be more. His face always looks great.
Alex Draco had on his tartan for the Highland Fling weekend.
I would not be able to go to TRF as either of these 2 characters for several reasons.
My stomach hasn’t looked like that in 25 years and I’m a whimp when it comes to cold weather. My hat is off to both Alex and Leos for their efforts to create such a great Kingdom, full of all kinds of characters.
This guy looked really good. A tartan hat set him apart from all others that were there celebrating the Highland Fling.
This fine couple performs for the guests of the TexRenFest. Purple is one of my favorite colors and they look great in it.
Their IG account is called The_Minstrel_Rav’n. Here is what they say about themselves…
“Telling Songs and Singing Stories of Pirates, Taverns and Elven Lasses.”
Fun couple with a cool job.
I saw a lot of people with those wooden drinking vessels. This couple had them and looked like they were enjoying a walk through the Kingdom while having a drink.
Nuria as Queen Isabella. The entire Spanish Court were wearing tablecloths around their dresses. It was their way of celebrating the Highland Fling while still being in character.
Here is another favorite pic of ours. Such beautiful dresses and he looks great as well. I’d wear what he has on just to run errands around Houston, lol.
A second pic, the mid-range shot, is always a great way to capture the details of people’s clothing, outfit, costume or garb.
I also liked this next guy’s look.
I asked them to get together for a shot of the 2 of them.
Then, I asked him to remove his helmet. I sometimes prefer a photo of someone holding their helmet. It shows the face behind the headgear and they always look cool holding their helmet. Like they’re ready for action.
If I hadn’t asked him to remove his helmet, he would have been content with the shot of him and his girl. Like it is, they loved the shot without his helmet also and even posted it on social media and tagged The STORM Factory. I like it when things turn out like that. I feel like I’ve done my job well.
Here is the King of Spain. I didn’t talk with him much, but he was always nice enough to pose for me.
This was a fun group to photograph. The guy on the left had some great eyes.
This is when I really enjoy the close-ups.
If you didn’t think she was a favorite of mine, you’d be wrong.
Blue is a good color for her.
The Spanish King and his Court. Here, you can see them all wearing, what I think are, tablecloths.
I introduced Bird in a previous post about TRF. She works with the bagpipe band Tartanic by selling CD’s and other merchandise to the audience watching their show.
I’ve mentioned before that I love the fact that Pirates show up on every weekend, no matter what the theme is…
“The theme this weekend is the Highland Fling, but we’re going as Pirates.”
“Great. I’m in.”
One of the prettiest Pirates that I photographed.
Alex looked great on this Saturday of the Highland Fling.
Here’s a pic of their crew. During the Celtic Christmas weekend, they called me over to photograph them in their Holiday outfits. That pic came out great. You’ll see it in a future post.
I wanted to try their fried crawfish, so after taking some pics, I order some.
It was a good meal and I almost ate all of it. I didn’t want to feel bloated while I walked and worked.
I never noticed this before, but Kevin is wearing a pair of Steampunk goggles around his neck on this Saturday. I’m a big fan of Steampunk. Here is what Wikipedia says about it…
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.
Any good Pirate worth his salt has a good ring collection. I know I do.
Definition of ‘worth one’s salt’…
To be ‘worth one’s salt’ is to be worth one’s pay, or good at your job or profession. Being a Pirate is a full-time job.
Another good pic of a nice couple enjoying their day at TRF.
Most all Pirates have a swagger in their poses. If you look in the back, on the left, you’ll see Amanda working in ‘The Glory Hole’.
Scott would come by to chat with Amanda every day that he attended the festival, which was several times. I would be there some days also, having my morning beer from Amanda. We’d talk about the festival, the characters, and other things TRF related.
These next pics are funny.
I was told by a guy that I needed to go get this guy’s pic. When he turned around and I saw his breasts, I started laughing. I took a full-body shot and then this mid-range shot.
Then I asked him to grab his tit. Gold.
I was able to run into this girl a few different times while I was working at the TexRenFest.
She happily posed for me and got some great pics.
Pothead. Jay wears a pot on his head and one person called him Pothead. So do I.
Jay told me that every flower in his pot was given to him by a kid at the festival. Pretty cool.
Here’s Tits McGee and his friends enjoying some beer at the Sea Devil.
These girls work at the Wyrmwood Public House. That’s Shelbelle Shamrock in the middle.
The Burlesque Show at the Wyrmwood is great and you should check it out this next TRF. I highly suggest it.
This guy looks so good that he looks like he just walked off of a Hollywood movie set.
This is the crew of one of the shops located around TRF. I tried to get a lot of workers.
Mario and Luigi. Great!!
There is a funny story with this couple.
After I photographed them as a couple, I asked to get some pics of just her. So I did.
I then showed the pics to her and after seeing them, she said, “The girls look nice.”
I had to agree.
I would be curious to know who is the most photographed character at TRF. This girl has a seat on a pedestal and she sits there as people come by and snap pics of her.
I have said this before, but I’m convinced that there are 2 different girls that play this role. And both look great.
Good friends, good times.
I ran into Lilly Bontemp on this Saturday. She had a wooden drinking vessel also.
Her hat has a mermaid on it, but it’s the skeleton of a mermaid. That is very much like a Pirate.
This lady has 3 different nose rings. I’d be so scared of accidentally ripping my nose up when something got caught on it. She fit in at TRF perfectly.
Some choose to stay in character for their photos. I like the guy’s outfit. That’s another one that I’d wear.
Bree and Erika at Asgardian Armory.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I think colored contact lenses can complete a certain look and often times put it over the top.
In this shot is an example of contacts creating a great look. She looks Awesome with a capital A.
If ever there was a reason for a close-up.
I brought Ryan by the Wyrmwood for a drink.
Mickey made us 2 kamikazes. We downed them and hit the road to get some more pics.
I’m not a fan of people raising their arms like this. In order to get the arm in the frame, the pic ends up being a lot further back. She does look great though.
In this shot, you’ll see what I mean. Her arm is lower, which allows me to crop in and get closer to see more details.
Next TexRenFest, I’ll spend more time covering this woman’s act. She’s in a group with other dancers and they’re all as pretty as her.
Haley was wearing a tartan skirt to celebrate the Highland Fling.
This is a good example of my shooting practices. The pic above is a full-body shot. This pic is a mid-range shot. And the next pic after this one is the close-up I was able to create from this pic.
The flowers and her face make-up gave her a great look.
I’ve mentioned several acts that I want to cover the next TRF. This dancer is in one of the acts I’ll cover.
Great necklaces.
Apollo always took some time to pose for a pic. That was cool of him.
Lilly changes the flowers on her hat and uses similar colors on her face that match the rest of her clothing. It all goes together. Her stockings are great also.
If you’ve never seen Lilly dancing around while Tartanic plays, you’re missing out. It’s a high-point of the day for a lot of people.
This lady worked with the band, Tartanic, also. Pretty fantastic face make-up.
Here’s Philip. I’ve mentioned this before, but he was voted as one of the Top 10 Pirates of TRF for 2021 by our group at the STORM Factory.
I would love to have a coat like that. I’d wear it everywhere. Philip was the only Pirate that had a great hook. We love his hat, the hair, the hook, the coat… everything. Kudos to Philip.
My friend, Chelsea. She told me one day, “I want to thank you for always asking to take my picture before you do.” I told her, “Of course.”
That is my policy. I don’t shoot people without them knowing it, which a lot of photographers do at TRF. When you see those guys with the long lenses… well, those aren’t for close-ups.
They like to stay a long ways away and shoot people without them knowing. I believe that to be downright wrong.
This sign is for the booth that I’ll be meeting people next TRF for photos.
This is the Wyrmwood Public House. That upstairs patio is awesome.
Maps on a scroll. Very cool, indeed. Good move by TRF.
One of the things I told Ryan, when he was working with me, is to never cut off parts of people’s costumes, outfits, or garb. This next pic is an example of getting all of the top feathers in the pic. Possibly, other photogs would cut them out.
I love that there are big parades on both weekend days. And always starting at noon helps me cover them.
Who doesn’t cheer for beer?
Jade, looking great as always.
These next shots are by Ryan while I was shooting video of this act. This is Cirque Olympus.
I’ll load the videos from TRF on YouTube soon.
Both of the girls in Cirque Olympus are amazing. It’s a great show and if you’re at TRF again, you should definitely check them out. You won’t be disappointed.
It takes years of conditioning to be able to do this several times a day.
She did all of these maneuvers without anything to catch her if she fell.
What a great shot. Awe inspiring.
I would not want this girl mad at me.
Ryan did a great job of capturing some great images.
Now, for some more shots by Ryan that I was in. We started out our day with getting some great pics of this guy.
Here I am photographing the Food Stand workers.
This was one of the few times that I was able to get a pic with Blaze.
TRF is a fun assignment.
Here I am showing this girl the pics I just took of her. I do this with every person, couple or group. They always have final say as to what gets posted on the STORM Factory site.
Being photographed with beautiful women never gets old. This pic concludes our Saturday at the TexRenFest. Sunday pics up next.
I was the first one at TRF again on the Sunday of the Highland Fling weekend. I may get up early to be there that early, but I prefer it because I never get stuck in traffic and it’s a short walk to my Tahoe when I’m ready to leave.
500,000 people will enter this area over 17 days time.
I love witnessing the calm before the storm.
All quiet… for now.
Approximately 29,400 people will come down this walkway on this day, according to our math.
I had Ryan snap my pic again.
Willy is great. He adds to the whole TRF experience.
Hamish McGregor entertaining the guests before the gates to the Kingdom open.
For breakfast on that Sunday morning, I had an egg, ham and cheese quiche and milk.
Ryan had the kolaches, milk and coffee. We were both happy with our meals from the Queen’s Pantry.
Here is what Wikipedia says about RenFaires…
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests.
These girls were on my daily routine of shots to get. They were always happy to see me.
Funny story…
I’ve mentioned in previous posts about one of the coolest places to hang out while at TRF is the area around the Sea Devil bar. There’s always cool people around there having drinks and looking awesome.
I make it a policy to walk by there every so often. Ryan was off shooting the Joust and I was taking pics around the Sea Devil. I took one woman’s photo and it came out great. As I’m showing here the photo, she says something to me.
She said it so softly that I couldn’t hear her. I asked her what she had said, then she said, “Can I kiss you?”
I said, “Sure.” I could tell then that she was a little tipsy. I’ll chalk it up to a good experience. How many times have you been working and have an inebriated woman ask you for a kiss? Exactly.
This girl looked great in all of her pics.
I couldn’t say how many times someone made a comment about the STORM Factory’s business card. Every time, it was something to the effect of, “Cool card.”
One time, I shot this lady and after I gave her my card, I heard her tell her kids, “Look how cool his card is.”
Another time, I gave my card to a Pirate. He looked at it and said, “Pretty pimp card.”
I noticed that this cute girl was working at different food stands on different weekends. I didn’t know some rotated to other work locations.
If I were a kid at TRF, I would have been all over this horse. For all of the drinking and half-dressed people, TRF has many things for the kids also. I’m always impressed by that. Even elephant rides.
Erin played Glinda, the Good. I heard her explaining one day about how she had made her scepter. She is very talented. More about Erin in my next post.
These people were more than happy to pose for me. They work at a shop and probably don’t get many photo requests.
I’ve been calling this guy a Warrior. Next TRF, I’ll get more info on him, hopefully. He might tell me to F off.
This is probably the look I’ll get when I ask him something, lol.
Skidmark going to work.
His office.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
Another pretty Flower Girl.
I first met Jana during the Cosplay weekend, on the Sunday. Ryan and I ran into her again on this Sunday of the Highland Fling.
I’ve mentioned that I’m a fan of anything Steampunk and her hat is fabulous.
Jana always gives us great photos and we’re grateful. Kudos to Jana and her sense of style.
Lilly and her co-worker. But those abs…
Blaze had her glasses again this day.
The glasses offered a different look for her. I liked it.
It is rare that I meet Jade anywhere in the Kingdom. I usually catch her at the entrance in the morning and I never see her again. TRF is huge.
Ryan and I saw her on this Sunday, so we got some pics.
Full-body shot.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
A great group shot.
This girl works in a food stand way in the back of the Kingdom. It’s a walk to get to her, but worth it. She was always so happy to get photographed.
Memories with good friends are the best.
Here is an example of the shops in the TexRenFest Kingdom. Simply beautiful. Ryan snapped this pic.
And all of the rest of the pics in this post were shot by Ryan. He did a good job.
Great art. Love it.
Tartanic having fun with the crowd. They’re really funny between songs.
You will even see characters up in the trees while you’re at TRF.
This is a good pic of mother and daughter.
Great make-up and worthy of a close-up.
Here is the stage for the Washing Well Wenches show. I’m excited to shoot video of this act next TRF and get some good pics. I love these girls.
A dunk tank. These girls would hurl insults at these men that were trying to dunk them. One guy succeeded, but there were a lot of insults flying. Another fun attraction offered by the great people at the TexRenFest.
Good pic.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Washing Well Wenches had a map of the Kingdom. Here I am shooting video of them showing me that map.
She raises the dress and reveals the map… on her ass.
She starts out by talking about the “Entrance” and “Exit”, complete with her pointing at them. It’s quite hilarious. This might be the funniest bit in all of the Kingdom.
At one point, the girl bending over was touched and she said, “I think I just became a woman.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “I love these gals.”
I take the pics after I’ve been given permission.
Then I show all of the pics and get their approval.
And if Ryan is with me, I can get some pics with people.
When you saw that pic of Jana earlier, you had to know that I would want to get some pics with her also.
Jana wears high shoes and boots, but she is still a tall woman without them.
Here I am discussing an interview with a Fire Dancer named Violet.
You may not notice this… the girl next to Violet is as tall as me. I’m 6’1″ when wearing my Harley boots. Her moccasins barely have a heel. She is what we refer to as, “A tall drink of water.”
This is Violet’s friend, another Fire Dancer. And beautiful also.
Years ago, I went to TRF with a $2,500 video camera and shot everything on MiniDV cassettes.
Now, with technology, I can buy a $1,000 iPhone and get 4K quality video without carrying some huge, clunky camera.
I learned a lot about Fire Dancing from Violet. The interview turned out great and we were both happy with the end result.
Ryan took some good shots for me. I was happy with his work.
On Saturday, he shot over 1,500 pics because he was shooting on Blast. That’s when the camera takes several shots in a matter of seconds.
I had to stay up through the night to get everything organized and loaded onto the Factory site. I ended up showering, dressing and heading back to TRF on Sunday Morning with no sleep on Saturday night. None.
As a rule, I try to load everything shot in a day by that night. This is for the people that are eager to see their pics. I know what that’s like and we aim to please.
I know of some other programs that tell people it will be 3 days before their pics are loaded. That is ridiculous. And totally deferred gratification.
Some of my favorite pics with characters are with Jade.
Another thing about using an iPhone as opposed to a regular ‘camera’ is the view screen is much larger that those little viewers on digital cameras today.
People can’t see the pic well enough to know if it’s good or not. With a Pro Max iPhone, the screen is big enough to see even small details.
Knowing the Doorman at the Wyrmwood Public House is a good thing.
With my friend Greg in the Catskill Mountain Moccasins booth.
This guy was a funny character. And I mean that in a good way, lol.
I’m coming to the end of this post. I’ll close with something funny.
Willy was posted at the exit gate, where they stamp people’s hand if they want to re-enter later in the day.
As Ryan and I are leaving, I put my hand out for Willy to stamp. When he raises the stamp and starts to stamp my hand, I move it and walk out of the festival, laughing.
Ryan said that Willy looked at him with a look like, “What a dick?” Hahaha. Then Ryan snapped a pic of Willy right after I psyched him. The pic says it all.
I would leave the festival every day about 3pm in order to finish editing and loading the pics from the day by 10pm that night. It takes that long sometimes.
And every day that I was leaving, there were many that were just arriving.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. To see all of the 3,105 pics and videos from the TexRenFest 2021, click on the link below and go to Photos.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The fourth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was called the Barbarian Invasion. I had a fun time again and got some great pics and videos. On the Saturday, I had 285 pics and 6 videos. On the Sunday, I ended up with 281 pics and 11 videos. My totals for the weekend were 566 pics and 17 videos.
When I went into the Media Office to pic up my Media Pass, my contact there, Cory, offered me a coupon for a Free King size Kettle corn. I also saw a complimentary bottle opener, so I grabbed one of those also.
These first pics are from the Saturday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend.
The front gate staff were always very cool to me. I tried to get a pic with Willy when I could. He’s a lively character and full of laughs. He told me that he was related to the famous General Sherman. Everyone should remember Sherman’s March to the Sea (Actually Gulf).
Willy’s full name is William Tecumseh Sherman Elliot. William Tecumseh Sherman was the General and Willy’s name is written… William T.S. Eliot III.
T.S. Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. And was considered one of the 20th century’s major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.
Willy is in some good company.
I ran into Phil once I entered the Kingdom. It’s always good to see him. I enjoy talking to him, but I never have a lot of time with him because there is always someone waiting to get his pic.
Phil tipped me off about a party in the Heights where everyone wears white. It might be called The White Party, don’t remember. I’ll be sure to be there and get some great pics. Phil will be there as the Houston Tan Man. I look forward to getting his pics.
Jade is always on my pic list whenever I walk in the gates of the TexRenFest Kingdom.
Can you blame me? Her make-up is fantastic and she’s always happy to pose for me. This might have been my favorite pose from her during all of TRF.
Nuria is always near the front gate at opening and I loved getting her pic. Her character, Queen Isabella, always looked great.
Erin meets near the front gate also and it helps me out that I can get a lot of pics so quickly. Erin identifies as non-binary so I tried to never use she/her pronouns when I posted anything they were in.
Katrina played a bride of Frankenstein. I didn’t realize that until I recently asked her when I was doing a post about her. She plays her character well and I enjoyed getting pics of her.
This is a fun group shot. Jade thanked me for getting so many pics of the cast so they could better remember their experiences from 2021. This pic is an example of capturing good times had by the cast.
I like that there are Pirates at TRF for every weekend, no matter the theme.
These girls struck a cute pose. Seven happy people.
This was a favorite pic of mine.
I cropped in to get a better look at her make-up, eyes and expression. I love when people have a good pose to go with their garb, outfit or costume. It makes my job easier and sometimes what I capture is magic.
Here’s Leos again. The sun brings out the details in his face make-up. To create the ‘hair’ on his face takes a lot of small strokes. Possibly 200+ strokes.
I mentioned getting pics of the pickle vendors. Here’s one guy that was nice enough to hold up a dill for the pic.
The Red Queen made several different faces when I took her pics during my time at TRF. This pose was my favorite. The eyes make this pic great.
A real joy of mine is to photograph parents with their children. I call myself a Memory Maker. This father and kids enjoyed this pic and will do so for years to come to remember their day at TRF.
Here’s another father and child. I like their outfits, but I do prefer capturing peoples faces as well.
Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play Peter Pan and its’ 1911 novelization “Peter and Wendy.”
The Tinker Bell at TRF is a really fun character. She’s always happy to pose and she looks great in her costume. She was a favorite to photograph.
I ran into Kevin several times while I was working at TRF in 2021. I ended up with some good pics of him in his Pirate garb. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “He was looking at me like I owed him money.”
I feel as though if I owed Kevin money, he’d look at me like this, lol.
I never saw their act, but I did see him juggle and that takes a lot of talent. I hope to cover them more in 2022.
This pic is of Melissa and Bree from Asgardian Armory, Booth 211 in the TRF Kingdom. Attractive women selling swords, knives and other cool items. Another thing to love about the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here’s Erika and a friend. Erika was named after Erik, the Viking.
I tried to photograph her every weekend. Can you guess why?
I did a commercial for shop 229 with the owner, Shiva. This pic is of Ty and two assistants. They work at Shiva’s booth.
When I walked into the Kingdom right at 9am or sometimes a little before 9, I knew a few things. One, that I’d be able to shoot a lot of characters that were accumulated near the front gate. And two, that there were certain people that I looked forward to photographing. Erika was one and Haley was another.
Haley dressed for the theme of every weekend and I had a lot of fun getting her pics. One day, I was talking to this guy and he told me, “Make sure you get pics of the sexy girls.”
I told him that I already had that covered.
This is Alex. She works at a food stand that I went by every weekend day to get their pics. She is very nice and works hard for long hours. I enjoyed making her happy with my pics.
Blaze worked at the food stand near Alex. I would start walking the line of food stands and stop by each stand to get pics of the workers. When Blaze told me her name, I thought, “Well that fits perfectly.”
Here are some of the workers of the Sea Devil bar. I took their pics often. One day, I was getting ready to snap a group pic of them again and one lady was messing with her breasts. Then she told me, “Gotta make sure the girls are out.” And no, it wasn’t this pic, so stop wondering, lol.
Scott and Hamish McGregor. Scott told me one day that he loved my work and “appreciates someone with a good eye.”
I photographed this couple on Pirate weekend and didn’t realize it until I recognized her smile. She wasn’t a redhead on Pirate weekend.
A pickle vendor with a sense of style in his pose. Loved it.
Skidmark was another of my regular characters to photograph. Here is what he says on his Facebook page…
My name is actually Markus Skidders, but my friends call me “Skidmark” cuz I don’t have very good friends.
His Facebook account is under Skidmark and he’s listed as a Public Figure. I enjoyed his act.
This make-up job was a favorite of many people. And her ice-cold stare goes so well with it. There is a similar look coming up that you’ll really like.
Violet is a Fire Dancer for the band Saxon Moon and also a Fire Dancer in Solar Rain. Violet is a very nice lady. She always posed for me and with me whenever I was near. They are some of my favorite pics.
Alex Draco is a photographer as well as a Renny. He knows how to combine items to create some great garb to go with his weapons. I may see him at Sherwood Forest Faire in the Spring of 2022.
More Pirates. When the STORM Factory hosts a Pirate gathering, we hope to attract great Pirates like these people.
Another thing to love about TRF is the weapons policy. You can carry any sword, knife or antique pistol you like. And I’ve seen people cosplaying and carrying AR-15’s. Plastic, of course.
The guy in the orange is Jay. He’s wearing a flower pot on his head. He told me someone called him Pothead. I call him that every time I see him.
I shot a commercial for Jay’s booth, that also has the Royal Mint. I bought a silver coin from the Royal Mint for $32. It’s a great memento from the 2021 TRF.
Paolo is another talented performer that works at other RenFaires around the country. That would be a fun and interesting life. Always meeting and entertaining thousands at every festival you work. Paolo leads a ‘Life of Riley’.
Kristi attended several weekends of the TexRenFest. We only saw her on this day. She did inspire me to set something up for 2022.
Either myself or my assistant, or both, will be at booth 212 at 2pm every weekend day of TRF this next season for those that want to meet us for some pics.
Thanx, Kristi. Excited to get your pics this season at TRF.
This was a good-looking couple. I had never attended the Barbarian Invasion before. I was glad that I did and it’s one of my favorite weekends now.
I bought some crawfish etouffee from Blaze at the cajun food stand. Next season, I’ll get the names of the food stands I photograph. The etoufee was great.
Next season at TRF, I plan to focus more on the food with photos and tastings.
Remember that Free King size Kettle corn coupon that Cory gave me that morning?
Here is the guy that I redeemed the coupon. Kettle corn is great. I brought the bag to my friends that work for Catskill Mountain Moccasins in booth 212. We all snacked on it for the rest of the day.
I concur.
Somehow a smile wouldn’t look right on his face with that garb on. He nailed the look.
This lady does promotions for her family member’s act. She always helps draw a large audience for the act.
I don’t know why she shaved her head, but boy did it go with her look and pose.
Nine people. One of the larger groups that I photographed on that Saturday.
When I saw these next 2 guys, I thought Zulu. I loved getting their pic. Such a rare sighting at any event to photograph Zulu warriors.
I mistakenly thought that they had battled with Tarzan.
The Waziri are a fictional African tribe created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Tarzan novels. Burroughs characterizes the Waziri as the greatest warriors in Africa. But they are fictional.
The Zulu are real. Here’s what I found out about the Zulu.
The Zulu tribe represents the largest population of ethnic groups in South Africa; making up to 10-11 million people. They are known for their strong fighting spirit, which has fashioned renowned warriors in history including the likes of Shaka Zulu who played a prominent role in various Zulu wars.
Good friends having a great time at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here is Paolo about to start his performance. The crowd really grows and people love him. I could never even attempt to learn the skills or have the talent that Paolo has.
Mickey and a friend taking a break from working to enjoy the festival from their upstairs patio. It’s a great vantage point to see a lot.
The decor of the Wyrmwood Public House is great and says they’re all about fun.
It’s not a large room, but enough for a good crowd and a burlesque show on the stage at the back.
I talked to this lady once and she told me she had a different look for every day of the festival and she was there every day. I believed her. And she always looked great and photo worthy.
Braveheart is Sir William Wallace, who is a Scottish National Hero. He led a fight for Scottish independence from England. He was born circa 1270 and died August 23rd, 1305.
I ran into this girl a few times during my time at TRF and she always had on a great outfit or garb. I was always happy to see her because I knew I would end up with some good pics.
There are a few things that you learn as a photographer. One, is to never ask a cosplayer for a pic when they are on break or busy with their friends. Two, is never bother anyone for a pic while they’re eating. I missed out on some great opportunities at TRF because I refuse to bother people.
This next pic is an exception. I have photographed people with turkey legs. It can sometimes be great pics that go with the costume, garb or outfit.
This girl wanted me to take the pic while she was pretending to take a bite.
Have you ever known of a place that the “cool” people hang out at?
If I had to pick one place where the cool people hang in the TRF Kingdom, I would say the Sea Devil area. I have taken some of my best pics there. As a photographer, I call this area a ‘Target-Rich Environment’ because there are always so many people to photograph that look great.
“This is Sparta!” is what King Leonidas yelled, in the movie 300, just before he kicked a messenger to his death into a pit of darkness.
I ran into this couple in Galveston for the Dickens on the Strand festival. I took their photo then and we chatted. I thought that was my first time meeting them.
This pic proves that I saw them at TRF weeks before Dickens.
Another fun, group shot of 3 ladies enjoying their time at the festival.
Only at the TexRenFest can a woman smear black on her face and still be beautiful.
I asked the guy drinking if he wanted to take a pic with his cup down and he said no. Maybe he’s on the lamb or in the Witness Protection Program, lol.
Even though it was the Barbarian Invasion weekend, these guys were dressed perfectly for the Highland Fling weekend. I love that people are free to wear whatever, whenever.
Friends getting dressed up, having beers and enjoying the day… priceless.
This has never happened to me before, but my last pic of the day was my best one. As I was leaving the Kingdom that Saturday afternoon, I passed this woman, who was just coming into the festival.
I don’t usually ask people for their photo outside of the Kingdom, but with her, I made an exception.
My only regret is not shooting some video of her also.
She was so striking that I used her pic for the Feature Image on the Saturday Barbarian Invasion gallery. Call me wrong…
I was able to store my stuff at Booth 212 again and my friend Greg was fun to talk with on my breaks from walking around.
And if Sara was available, I always asked for a pic with her. Can you blame me?
Erika was always right next door, in the Asgardian Armory booth, so it made my job easier. This concludes the Saturday pics. Next up, Sunday at TRF for Barbarian Invasion.
On that Sunday, I arrived before any other patrons. The cast, crew and other workers at TRF had arrived long before me or stayed the night.
This area gets really crowded as the day goes on.
I was able to find someone else to snap my pic on the King’s chair. It was a chilly morning again this day.
There are 5 gates to enter the TRF Kingdom. If the TexRenFest entertains 500,000 people per season, each gate averages having 100,000 people pass through it. That’s a large number. As a comparison, the Texans stadium capacity is 72,220. Imagine all of those people filing through one gate and that’s only almost 75% of the 100,000 that enter each gate.
I will add that not 500,000 people total attend TRF. That is the number of total visitors, but many came more than one time so number of people isn’t 500,000 but the number of times people came.
There are 8 weekends of the festival, plus one Friday. That’s 17 days. Remember they entertain 500,000 people per year. With 17 days, that’s 29,412 patrons in the Kingdom each weekend day and that Friday, on average. Some days are more and some days are less.
Willy!!
Hamish McGregor was always a great person to photograph and shoot video of him as well. He plays music for the patrons before the Kingdom opens. He has some funny jokes and stories. He is a great person to have around the Kingdom. He leads the parade every day with his pipes and also wedding processions.
This warrior is a great photograph. In the mornings, he’s usually near the front gate to greet the guests.
I won’t say the number because I don’t want to be wrong in print, but this guy has worked at TRF for a very, very long time.
This guy was fun to photograph. In following days, he gave me some great expressions. You’ll see them in future posts. I have 2 more weekends to talk about, then a few features like the one about Jade.
I love any job where the pic below would be your company ID pic.
I saw more than one Pennywise while I was working at TRF, but this girl was my favorite. I’ve mentioned this before and will do so again now.
She wore a mask every weekend but the last. The pics were always good, but the pics on the last weekend were great.
Here is the pic from the last weekend. Her face looks awesome.
On that Sunday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend, I shot some pics of Jade again. There were times that I wondered if people were growing tired of posing for me.
I even had one Flower Girl tell me, “You took my picture yesterday.” As if to say, that was enough. I told her each day is a different story.
On another weekend, I saw this Flower Girl again and she called me over to take her photo.
I never want to bother people, but I know that they’ll be pleased with the end result… a great memory.
Jade left a great comment on the STORM Factory Facebook page thanking me for taking pics of her and the rest of the cast. That was a good day for validation of our Program.
After I finish writing Blog Posts about each of the 6 weekends that I attended at the TexRenFest, the first Special Feature that I’ll do is about Jade.
I have some great questions to ask her and I’m sure people will be interested in knowing more about her and her character.
The Red Queen is not amused with our Program, not so much, lol.
That Sunday morning, I had kolaches and milk for breakfast from the Queen’s Pantry. One of my favorite places to eat.
The Joust arena before all of the action takes place. Next season at TRF, the Factory will impress people with our coverage of the joust and the Knights.
This show is always SRO (Standing Room Only). On one of the last days of the festival, I learned of a place that I can go next year to get a great view of the action. Possibly the best place to shoot pics and video from.
With 400 shops, you can guess that there is a wide variety of merchandise offered for sale. I plan on doing more commercials for the shops in 2022. They are fun to shoot, the shop owners love them and they get exposure.
As headwear goes, this is a 10 out of 10, as in superbly great. A beautiful smile completes the picture.
I own some drinkware from TRF. They were great purchases and I use them often. A good way to remember the festival and makes having a beverage fun. See: Adult Beverage.
Once I own enough drinkware from TRF, I’ll use them for our Poker Night.
Abby, Greg and Sara. Good people and great reps for Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Sara got a new hat while at the festival. It suited her well and she looked great in it.
In the mornings, I have a routine. Walking by Lilly to see if I can get a pic of her is one thing I do regularly.
She has the best hats and headwear. Notice how her make-up matches the colors on her hat. She’s got a great sense of style.
The Washing Wenches! I could only ask to see the map of the Kingdom when she wasn’t dressed like that. That map is located on the ass of her pants. Possibly the funniest bit in the Kingdom.
Another beautiful woman in a great hat.
I was happy to get this next woman’s photo because she looked great also. If you were to tell a teenage me that when I was older, I’d have a fun job where I was talking to beautiful women all of the time… I would have laughed in your face in disbelief.
This lovely lady told me all about parts of her outfit that were still being made. I hope to see her when it’s all finished and get some pics of her in it.
I don’t think enough people know about the Wyrmwood Public House.
Here’s Alan, showing you the sign to look for while in the Kingdom.
The staff are friendly, fun and great to be around. Here’s Mickey and Alan.
Alan works the front door. No one gets in unless they get past him. He checks the capacity of the Wyrmwood because it isn’t huge inside. He also cards people. (Checks ID’s to see if a person is old enough to consume alcoholic beverages and see half naked ladies.)
From time to time, I’ll explain things that are common knowledge for Americans, but my blog is read in over 180 different countries. I explain things for the ones who don’t know or understand our culture.
On this day, I switched from having a kamikaze to a bourbon and coke. Mickey changed up his face every day and he always looked great.
Monsieur Bunny is the Master of Ceremonies for the Burlesque show and other happenings around the Wyrmwood. He prefers to be called Daddy.
I shot video of Daddy hurling insults and cut-downs at patrons as they walked by the Wyrmwood upstairs patio. It’s a really funny video. It’s in my galleries and I’ll post it on YouTube soon.
Violet in action. I watched the Saxon Moon set several times over the course of each weekend that I worked at TRF. And it never got old. I liked the music and loved seeing Violet dance with fire to it.
Here is Saxon Moon. A great band and good people.
On Sunday, I passed by Blaze’s booth again and snapped some pics.
When I work with assistants, I tell them when they see someone afar, if they have red or orange hair, run them down for some pics because they usually look fantastic. This guy was no exception to that theory.
The crew of the Sea Devil bar. That’s Kay on the left. Great gal.
I went back to Blaze’s booth and had the shrimp etouffee on that Sunday of Barbarian weekend. Very good and especially on a chilly morning.
Alex Draco probably likes the Barbarian weekend more than any other. He always looked great and gave me some good pics.
I saw this girl walking by and asked her for a photo. I found out later that she worked in a nearby food stand. When I knew where she worked, I tried to photograph her often.
Bloodbath and Beyond! Erika is a great spokesmodel for Asgardian Armory. She should ask for a raise, lol.
The Barbarian Invasion weekend is a very good weekend for sales at Asgardian Armory. Every barbarian needs a good sword and or knife.
Another great pose from Lilly.
Meet Bird. She works with the band Tartanic also. She helps with sales of their CD’s and other merchandise. A very nice girl.
Hercules is one of the characters where his body is part of his look. An overly skinny or overly fat Hercules wouldn’t work. He may be the only one that works out regularly the rest of the year just to maintain his job at TRF.
I imagine if he showed up 30 pounds heavier with a huge gut, the talent managers at TRF would say, “Hey Herc, we need to talk.”
I’ve met these guys before at comicons in Houston. I love them, but this needs to be said…
Found on Google…
Coulrophobia (COOl-ruh-FOE-bee-uh) is a fear (phobia) of clowns. Children and adults who fear clowns may experience extreme, irrational reactions when they see clowns in person or view pictures or videos of clowns. Someone with a fear of clowns is coulrophobic. <end>
If these guys wouldn’t make a person with coulrophobia shit their pants, I don’t know who would. They could cause years of therapy. I, personally, think they liven up any event they attend.
Even though it wasn’t the Celtic Christmas weekend, I still wanted a pic of this Santa’s Helper. A great look. Notice how she is holding her hands in the photo. Very cool, indeed.
As a rule, I try to take at least 2 photos of people at any event or function I attend. The first shot is a full body shot that includes any appendages, wings etc. I never cut off any part of a person’s outfit, costume or garb. I want to capture the entire look.
Next, I step up and get a mid-range shot to capture their face and upper body. When I get back to my office, I usually duplicate some of those mid-range photos and crop in to create close-ups of my favorite make-up jobs, etc.
This next photo is an example of why I create close-ups. She looks great.
Here’s another 2 close-ups. I photographed Mickel a few times during the TRF season. He was always good for a great pic.
Mickel and this beautiful lady were at the Sea Devil bar area. See: Cool People.
I found the warrior in between the Sea Devil area and the Joust arena. I’ve never seen him move or even walking somewhere. It’s like he just appears there standing perfectly still.
Here is another close-up I did. If a pic could talk, can you guess what he is telling me for not tipping for a pic? haha.
On a side note, if I tipped every member of the cast every time I took their photo, I’d be broke. And members of the media aren’t expected to tip because we’re working also, in Marketing and Promotions.
When I run into a Pirate, it’s always like running into a ‘Brother in Arms’.
The same goes for female Pirates. This is Lilly Bontemp. She has one of the best Pirate hats that I’ve ever seen… and I’ve seen a lot. The pink is a great color and she always wears the perfect clothes to accentuate the hat.
Her favorite color is pink and she told me that TRF is like her Super Bowl. She looks forward to it every year. Lilly was the very first person that I photographed this year at the TexRenFest. I walked in the gate and bam! Lilly caught my eye.
I’m looking forward to taking lots more photos of her at the next TRF.
Here is a shot of the staff at booth 229. The booth is called Shiva’s Designs or Designs by Shiva. I forget which. This is a great pic because the owner and her staff are all posed well and a viewer can see the booth’s number and merchandise in the background.
I enjoy shooting promotional pics for the booths. See: Memory Maker.
How do you make a Pirate mad?
Take away the P.
Here is Bree and Melissa in the Asgardian Armory booth. Another great promotional shot that shows them dressed great and some of the merchandise in the background. I shot a commercial for this booth also with Bree, an owner, telling me all about the things they offer in their booth. It came out great. I’ll load it on YouTube soon.
As I was photographing this girl and her friend, the guy with them told them, “Oh yeah, this guy is great!”, meaning me.
This guy was in street clothes and I didn’t know him. Then he told me that it was Leos. We had a good laugh that no one would know that it was him out of his character.
The always cute, Chelsea. She sold a lot of bird whistles because every time I passed by, someone was buying one for an eager little kid. She’s another great friend that I made during TRF 2021 and I look forward to seeing her at the next TRF.
This next pic is of Mickey and I. Every time that Mickey was serving me a drink, I felt like I was in the James Bond movie about Voodoo. HIs face looks that good.
Nothing to see here, just 2 guys in vests, lol.
I passed by Ty many times during a day at the TexRenFest. He always greeted me with a smile and I always felt welcomed by him. Very nice guy.
On the crest for the STORM Factory are 3 words… Exciting, Entertaining, Edifying.
Your edification from this post was the word coulrophobia and its’ meaning… Fear of Clowns.
Abby, myself and Sara. I couldn’t have found a better booth to take my breaks at. This is the booth where I’ll meet people at 2pm for photos each weekend day of the next TRF.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Texas Renaissance Festival’s Barbarian Invasion weekend.
To see all of the pics and videos from this event and many others, visit the link below and click on Photos.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The third weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was the Cosplay weekend called ‘Heroes and Villains’.
I ended up with 458 pics and 5 videos. I kept with my tradition of arriving earlier than everyone else. I enjoyed getting early morning shots.
This weekend, I also started getting some pics in the big King chair located at the entrance. It’s a great Photo-Op.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, some days I was allowed into the Kingdom before it was open to patrons. These next pics are Before and During the festival so you can see the transformation.
This area is right inside of the main gates. There are always people, cast and crew here. Some are exiting, some are just entering and some are working as characters for TRF.
This is a great area to sit and chill while you people-watch. Seeing all of the costumes, outfits and garb is always a lot of fun.
This next pic doesn’t show just how crowded this area gets.
I have breakfast at these little tables in the early morning. Hard to get a seat later in the day.
And you can see that for yourself in this next photo. The TexRenFest entertains over 500,000 people every season. People gotta sit somewhere.
On Saturday morning of Cosplay weekend, I had a ham, egg and cheese quiche with milk. It was delicious and filled me up for a lot of walking and talking during the day ahead. I got it at the Queen’s Pantry, one of my favorite places for breakfast.
I always tried to get pics with the staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins. Here I am with Sara. She works at other RenFaires around the country. Cool job.
My friend Greg was always nice enough to let me store my backpack and coat at their booth when it got hotter in the day. That helped me out a lot.
Had more good comments about the STORM Factory business cards.
These ladies were always a lot of fun to run into. I loved getting their pics each weekend. I plan to shoot video of their act next TRF.
Jade is one of my most favorite people to photograph while working at the Texas Renaissance Festival. She’s so beautiful and her make-up is unreal.
I think you’ll enjoy the special post I do just about her.
I enjoy shooting group photos. It’s an opportunity to make a lot of people happy in one pic. This group might have been the biggest group that I photographed. Twelve people.
I always enjoy taking photos of people that put in the effort. This group looked great.
And when someone puts in that effort, I like to reward them with close-ups to show just how fabulous their work is.
A lot of time went into these looks. Planning, designing, buying, building, creating, and then putting it all on to go to an event.
After I took the pic below, I noticed that it was a woman. Before I could catch myself, in a surprised voice, I said, “You’re a girl!”
She busted out laughing. As I was walking away, I heard her repeating my line to her friends. “You’re a girl!” Then they laughed all over again as they were walking off.
The beautiful Lilly, dancer for the bagpipe band Tartanic. I’ve mentioned her serious headwear game and she never disappoints.
I love that her make-up always goes so well with what she’s wearing. Lots of style that Lilly has.
I love this next guy’s look.
“Hold on honey. We can’t go to TRF yet. I forgot to put blood on my face.”
I tried to eat different things while at the TexRenFest. The pic below is of fried alligator. It was very good. Tastes like chicken, haha.
I have run into Logan at several events this last year. He’s a very talented cosplayer and I’m always impressed with what he wears.
I agree.
Another fun group shot. I photographed many groups and made lots of people happy with my work.
I always try to get pics of Skidmark.
It’s always good to see Pirates at TRF no matter what themed weekend it is. This guy had a good look.
Ran into Leos again. I loved seeing “Renny’s” because it made my job easier, in that I could hit my quota for pics faster.
This is a good pic. I’m sure they were happy when they saw it.
This girl was my favorite Pennywise. She wore a mask most of the weekends except for the last weekend. That last weekend, I was super thrilled to get a pic of her face in full make-up.
I don’t usually post things out of order, but here is that pic from the last weekend of TRF and when she didn’t wear a mask. Her face looks fantastic.
Another Pirate. I think this Pirate married a Mermaid and turned her into a Pirate.
My cute friend Chelsea. I look forward so seeing and talking with her next season at TRF.
This next photo was picked as one of our top pics from TexRenFest 2021. Easy to tell why.
The shows at TRF can get packed and turn into SRO. (Standing Room Only). Every show and act is worth watching. There are some unbelievably talented performers at the Texas Renaissance Festival. You should consider visiting.
I love the color in this pic. Her make-up is superb. The wig, the hat, her face, all perfect for her look.
If I had a choice between a girlfriend that was pink with pink hair or a girlfriend that was yellow with bright yellow hair… I prefer the bright yellow hair.
Nuria was a lot of fun to run into. I think her character is the Spanish Queen Isabella.
This is a great pic. One of our favorites.
Another great group shot of family and friends enjoying their day at the biggest RenFest in the U.S.
This guy was happy to pose for me and I always appreciate that.
This next costume is a favorite. Do you remember Fat Albert and the Gang?
The kids would watch a SuperHero on TV called the Brown Hornet.
I give you… The Brown Hornet. Thumbs up.
And any fan of the Simpsons knows about Duff beer. This is a great costume. Hats off to him.
I like this girl. She poses with a lot of people and gives them great pics to remember their day at TRF. I’m sure she does pretty well in Tips.
Philip was voted as one of the 10 Best Pirates of the TexRenFest for 2021 by our staff. His clothing is spectacular.
The hat, the hair, the hook… it all works so well together. Kudos to Philip for a job well done.
This cute girl’s pic was used as the feature image for the Saturday Cosplay gallery of photos and videos.
When I look through my galleries, I get a smile knowing that when my photo subjects see their pics, it makes them happy and sometimes excited.
These next photos are from the Sunday of Cosplay weekend at TRF. I’m an early bird again this day.
I was always able to find someone to snap a pic of me on the King’s chair. The people at the Texas Renaissance Festival are some nice folks.
The Front Entrance crew was always nice to me and I photographed them quite a few times. I even shot their Season-End photo on the King’s chair. You’ll see that pic in a later post. It turned out great.
Jana is a great person to photograph. This was the first morning that I met her and she impressed me a a lot with her look.
I ran into Jana another day at TRF and got her pics then also. You’ll see them in a later post as well. It’s easy to tell why I love shooting pics of Jana.
On Sunday morning, I had a BLT sandwich. (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomatoe). My blog is read in over 180 countries. Some don’t know what a BLT is. This could be the best breakfast in the Kingdom. It’s sold at a food stand next to the Queen’s Pantry. The name of it is Tea and Strumpets.
In the morning. some of the cast and characters put on a show near the entrance to entertain the patrons. TRF goes all out to give people their money’s worth. And they succeed, in spades.
In my experience from working at TRF this past season, Sundays are a bit slower than Saturdays. I’ve always felt that Saturdays at any event I attend are better than the Sundays. People are more apt to drink more and be in a more festive mood on a Saturday because they don’t usually have to work the next day, Sunday.
I love being in the Kingdom in the early morning of the day. And it’s fun to watch the crowds grow as the day goes on.
Here are those two Wenches again, lol. I love these ladies.
Skidmark never disappointed. He was always disappointing. Just kidding. I loved getting his pics a lot.
Erika works in Booth 211 for Asgardian Armory. She yells out to get people’s attention. Since they sell swords, axes and other killing weapons… she yells out, “Welcome to bloodbath and beyond.” That’s a great play on words with the Bed, Bath and Beyond company name.
I was happy to have a booth to go hang out at during the long days. And Greg was always fun to talk with. He’s a great guy.
I really liked Sara’s headpiece. It looked like a crown or tiara, not sure which.
I have 3 tankards from TRF that I’ve purchased over the years and 2 wine chalices. I love the drinkware at the TexRenFest.
Here’s Lilly on Sunday. Her make-up looked great and her hat was impressive, as always.
I will find out this woman’s name next year at TRF. She always looked great and had a lot of variety in her looks.
This is Scott and Amanda. Every morning around 10am, I would come by and get my first beer from Amanda. I’d drink it while we chatted about the day and the festival. Amanda is a great new friend.
Here’s Chelsea on Sunday. Great smile.
Nuria also enjoys cosplaying when she’s not Queen Isabella at TRF. I recently saw her as Wonder Woman at a Xmas Toy Drive. Wow, did she look great.
This is the band Saxon Moon. I photographed them twice, interviewed them and also another interview with their Fire Dancer, Violet. Great band and great guys and gal.
I enjoyed my interview with Violet and learned a lot about Fire Dancing. She is very talented and a lot of fun to watch. I look forward to seeing her next season.
Pirates on Cosplay weekend. I love it. This is a good looking couple and they look great.
This next photo is of Cirque Olympus. I watched their act several times and shot video of it. They are each so talented and when the perform together it becomes a helluva show. I told you that the shows and acts at TRF are fantastic. You should visit and see for yourself.
This pic is of midday in the Kingdom. As you can tell, it’s a little slower on Sundays. A great time to visit.
I love these shots of looking down on the festival. So much to see and take in.
I’d like to thank the Food Stand Tea and Strumpets for letting me go up on this patio to shoot these shots. The pics help tell the story of a day at the festival.
This angle is always my favorite one from on the Tea and Strumpets patio. You can see people way off in the distance. I love these pics.
This cute girl was selling flower wreaths for a girl or woman’s hair. At TRF, there are 400 on-site shops and vendors like this girl all over the Kingdom. It’s a shopper’s paradise.
Here is another beautiful and talented lady that works at TRF in one of the shows. Her act is another one that I’ll shoot next season.
I bought a few pickles while at the TexRenFest. They were great. I started taking pics of all of the pickle vendors. You’ll see more of them in future posts. The pickles are delicious.
I photographed the Red Queen several times and she always made a great face. She’s a favorite to photograph.
Here’s another beautiful dancer from the Texas Renaissance Festival. Are you seeing a trend? Persuading you to visit TRF is becoming easier, lol.
I shot pics of the Food stands and the bars. These girls work at the Sea Devil bar. I enjoyed going by every day to get their pics. And they were always excited to see me because they knew it was photo time. The girl in the middle is Kay and she’s a sweetheart of a girl.
I saw Alex Draco on this day at the festival. Alex was always a lot of fun to talk with. He taught me some things about RenFaires. There’s patrons and Renny’s (Rennies). There’s a costume and then there’s garb.
A costume is what you put on to go to a party. Garb is more about a lifestyle choice. Pirates would wear garb and not call their clothes a costume. Alex knows a lot about RenFaires. I plan on learning lots more from him.
The kids could even pet a Velociraptor while at the festival. How they train those things is amazing.
Here’s Mickey again. I mentioned in my last post that Mickey was a bartender at the Wyrmwood Public House out at the TexRenFest. Today, I’ll show you more.
The Wyrmwood also has a burlesque show with some very attractive ladies. I believe this is the only bar in the Kingdom that serves hard liquor. I love that.
This is Mickey and Monsieur Bunny. He prefers being called Daddy. I shot a video of Daddy yelling down heckles to the patrons from this upstairs patio. The video is hilarious. I’ll tell you how you can view it at the end of this post.
Daddy, Mickey and Shelbelle Shamrock. Great people that work at the Wyrmwood Public House in the TexRenFest Kingdom.
I ordered several kamikazes from Mickey over the weekends at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Soon, I never had to order or even say, “The usual, Mickey.” When he saw me enter the Wyrmwood, he’d start mixing my kamikaze. Now that’s service. I felt like I was in the James Bond movie about Voodoo.
The bartenders at the Wyrmwood are fantastic and lots of fun also.
I met Blaze while she was working at a Cajun Food Stand. I ate there several times while at TRF. And I began to photogrpah her and her co-workers every day I worked out there. Blaze is very photogenic and I loved getting pics of her.
Here’s another group shot and one of my favorites. I’m sure they enjoyed seeing this pic and then downloading it from the site. I love seeing smiling, happy faces. I know I’m doing my job well when I see this.
That other large group photo was 12 people. This one came close to beating it with 11 people.
I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but I’m a big fan of using contact lenses to change the look of a person’s eyes. Many times it completes the look and often times sets it off.
Another of our top pics as voted on by our staff.
When I asked this family for their photo, the dad said, “Okay girls. Get into position.” Then they all posed like this. That was awesome. Another of our favorite pics from 2021.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is my new favorite event or festival to cover. This season, I shot 3,105 pics and 47 videos. Next season, I’ll have an assistant and should come close to doubling our pics and videos from the festival.
Next season, I want to focus more on the food. I can’t afford to buy food at every stand just to take a pic and taste it or I’d go broke fast. I’m thinking I can talk to some stand managers and ask them to prepare something that I can photograph so I can promote the great food at TRF.
It would be great if the Texas Renaissance Festival gave me a Per Diem each day so I could buy food so I could review and promote the Food Stands in the Kingdom.
I ran into Jana again later in the day on Sunday. I was glad that I did because I wanted a pic with her in that great outfit.
I was also able to get a photo with the Spanish King and his court.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this recap of Cosplay Weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival 2021.
I have 3 more weekends to post about, so stay tuned for more.
To see the photos and videos from the TexRenFest, go to the link below and click on Photos.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
This last Halloween weekend, I spent both Saturday and Sunday at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I had a great time.
After the previous weekend, I sent in an email and made a request for a Media Pass. The Media Coordinator was nice enough to give me one. That saved me about $34 a day and ended up saving me about $375 over the duration of the festival. I was very appreciative.
On Halloween weekend, I started a habit of getting there early to shoot the beginning of the day. These first pics are from the Saturday.
I made regular stops by Booth 212, Catskill Mountain Moccasins, to visit with my friend Greg and his manager Sara. Sara had offered me a free ticket to come back to TRF. When I received my Media Pass, I returned her ticket to her so she could use it with another friend.
Sara is very nice and I’m glad I met her. I made a lot of new friends while at TRF and Sara is one of the best new friendships that I made.
I ran into Phil Brayton near the entrance of the festival. I love Phil. He’s a great guy and I love getting his photos. You’ll definitely see more of Phil in future posts about TRF.
I got a lot of pics of Nuria also. Her character’s name is Isabella and she is a Queen. Nuria is another new friend that I’m happy to have.
These 2 ladies were very funny. That’s a map of the Kingdom drawn on her ass. I got some great video of them telling me where everything was. A funny part was when she would talk about the ‘entrance’ and ‘exit’.
I photographed Lilly several times and you’ll see those photos in future posts as well. Lilly was always dressed so well for a festival.
I loved her headwear game. She’s very stylish and with her make-up, she always looks so beautiful. And to see her dancing while the bagpipe band, Tartanic, plays is magical.
I met Leos and his brother Argos at a comicon a few years back. I ran into Leos at TRF and was happy to see him again. The thing about Leos’ look is that it helps to be in shape. I know I couldn’t wear that and look as good as he does.
I’m always really impressed with his face. It takes time to have details like that.
The guy in this next photo said he was a photographer. Then he stepped to where the lighting was the best. The pic came out good. Sometimes the sun can cause shadows on a face and ruin the photo.
This guy had the best sign.
I ran into Tony on the Saturday of Halloween weekend. I would see him a few more times.
And you’ll see his face when he comes as Elfis. His shoes for that outfit are great… and hilarious!
This is Chelsea. She sold little bird whistles. I stopped and talked with her every weekend day that I was at the festival. She’s a very nice girl and another new friend.
I thought this next girl’s face was great. And her garb went with it.
I used this pic for the feature image for the Saturday gallery of Halloween pics. It got a lot of views.
I ran into Hercules again and snapped his pic. He was good about giving me a different pose every time that I saw him.
I didn’t spend too much time at the Joust this year. I plan to cover it extensively next season at TRF.
I did learn that the Knights hang out at a place call the Joust House. I’ll go by next year and get some pics of them and their horses.
I met Paolo Garbanzo again. He’s a really nice guy and very talented. I enjoy watching his act. I’m planning on shooting video of it next season.
I love Halloween. And I love people that get into it.
When people wear the contacts, it can make their look.
This lady looked great. She was carrying a broom in her right hand. If all good witches looked this good, there would be a lot of fans of witches.
I ran into Jade again. I love photographing her. I’ll be writing a post just about Jade soon.
This was the first of many weekends that I got Haley’s pics.
She’s very photogenic and I loved that she got dressed up each weekend.
This woman has a beautiful smile and beautiful hair. She looks great.
I liked the look of this couple. The contacts look really good.
Now, you tell me… how did this woman transport her costume to TRF? It looks fantastic, but how do you go to the restroom?
I love zombie pirates. What a great look.
These two guys were part of my favorites from all of TRF in 2021. I just love their authentic clothing and look.
These are outfits that I would wear… just to go to the store, lol.
I met this couple at TRF and also at Dickens on the Strand in Galveston.
They’re a fun-loving couple and I always enjoy seeing them and getting their pics.
The funny part is that he is a well-respected dentist and he goes out as a pirate with bad teeth. That’s hilarious.
These next pics are from Sunday of Halloween weekend. As you can tell, I’m there early to see the day unfold.
I had Scotch eggs for the first time this day. A Scotch egg is a boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage meat then deep fried. It was a good breakfast.
Some days, I was able to get into the Kingdom before the festival opened. I enjoyed seeing everything before the guests arrived.
During the day, this area is packed with people. It’s nice to see it so tranquil in the mornings.
This is Alex Draco. I ran into Alex many times while working at the TexRenFest this year. He was always nice enough to pose for me and I appreciate that.
This little girl was trying on a new hat and I thought she looked cute, so I snapped a pic. The festival is a great place for kids to have a ball.
Next TRF, I’ll get more info about the ‘Best Dwarf Ever’.
I took some shots of Violet while she was Fire Dancing. I shot video of their act and even interviewed the band, Saxon Moon, and her. Violet is great and another new friend.
I purchased a souvenir while at the festival. I use it for my beer while at home.
This lady had a different outfit every time I saw her and she always looked fantastic.
I met Mickey for the first time this weekend. He invited me inside the Wyrmwood Public House, which is a burlesque bar. I’ll have more photos of that later. Mickey is a cool guy to have as a friend.
Here is a pic of my friend, Greg, and I. I met Greg on the comicon circuit and ran into him again at TRF. It was always good to see him.
Here I am with Sara again. I loved all of her outfits she wore to the festival. She’s another lady with a great sense of style.
I’m glad Sara posed for me because the pics are some of my most favorite.
I took a pic of Skidmark. He might be the funniest character at all of TRF.
I photographed several girls that went as either a jellyfish or a mushroom. They always looked great.
I love her look.
This girl came as Pennywise. I used her pic for the feature image of the Sunday Halloween gallery.
I tend to like photographing people that put in the effort, especially with their faces. This next mother and daughter definitely put in the effort to look good.
You’ll notice how the contacts complete the look.
I loved this lady’s outfit and make-up.
I especially loved her hat. She had a fun, festival look.
Here’s Violet and her friend.
This girl had a great face and her make-up looked awesome.
This warrior always stands very still. I’ve never seen him talk.
And I obviously zoomed in once I got home and didn’t actually stick my camera in his face to get this pic, lol.
I love the dancers. All of the acts at TRF have very beautiful women in them. It’s fun to walk around drinking and taking in all of the entertainment.
This next girl was one of my all time favorites to photograph.
She’s beautiful and I loved her make-up. I was happy to get her pics.
I photographed a lot of pirates while at the TexRenFest. This guy was one of my all-time favorites.
He has the face to pull off this look.
I was even able to photograph a Zulu Warrior. And anybody who watched Tarzan as a kid knows how badass the Zulu were.
I received many compliments on my business cards this weekend and many times, when I would tell people about the website, they would be very happy that they were going to be on it. I got many fist bumps over the two days.
My next post will be about the Cosplay weekend at TRF.
If you want to see all of my 3,105 pics from TRF, visit the link below and click on Photos.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
I have lived in Houston, TX most of my life. For a lot of those years, I had never heard of the Texas Renaissance Festival. That’s hard to believe since it’s the biggest RenFaire in the country.
TexRenFest is located about an hour Northwest of Houston, in a town called Todd Mission. TRF has been around since 1974. They boast 55 acres of festival fun, but I think it’s larger now.
There’s 200 acres of camping facilities. They have 21 stages for shows all throughout the day and 400 shops to buy anything you can think of.
This year, I decided to attend TRF for some fun pics and videos. I skipped the first 2 weekends and had plans to start attending on Pirate Weekend. As a Pirate, my thoughts were that I’d like that weekend. I was right.
I paid for my admission that first weekend and I think the tickets were around $35 after tax was included for each day.
As you will see in future posts, I like to arrive at the events I cover early in the morning. I like to tell a story with my pics and videos and to start a story, you must have a beginning.
I had been to TRF back in 2016, so I knew what to expect and I was excited for what the weekend would hold for me.
The first person that I approached about getting a pic was Lilly Bontemp. She is also known as the Pink Pirate or as the High Seas Barbie.
Lilly ended up being a favorite of mine to photograph. Her outfit is stunning and demands photography.
My favorite part of Lilly’s outfit is her hat. It is a great color and has a mermaid on it. And true to the Pirate way of life, it is a skeleton of a mermaid.
I met Lilly that Saturday and Sunday of Pirate Weekend. These next 2 photos are from Sunday. Notice how she changed it up for the second day of the weekend.
I enjoyed meeting Lilly and getting some pics of her. She was always so nice to me and I appreciated that. You will see more of Lilly in future Blog Posts about TRF 2021.
The next person that I photographed was Hercules. He’s got one of the coolest head-pieces at TRF. I also like that he has the body to play his role.
I ran into Hercules later in the weekend and caught him playing an instrument and singing. He’s a good addition to the festival and adds a lot of color and character to the scenery. You’ll see more of him also.
This next girl was a favorite Pennywise to photograph and I got her photo every chance I got. She wore a mask but still looked great. Only during the last weekend did she go maskless. And her make-up job was fantastic.
I don’t usually like to post pics out of sequence, but here is that pic from the last weekend of TRF and Pennywise with no mask so I can show you her great make-up. You can tell she’s a very pretty girl even with the make-up.
I arrive before the festival opens, go in the gates right at 9am and start getting pics of a lot of main characters that are gathered by the entrance in the morning. Many days, I had 1/3 of my daily quota for pics within the first hour and a half.
After shooting for a while, I would stop by and grab breakfast. My first day there, Saturday, I tried the Kolaches. Where I grew up, these are called ‘Pigs in a Blanket’. The food was hot and the milk was cold.
It was a good breakfast and gave me energy to do a lot of walking and talking.
On Sunday morning, I decided to try the ‘Biscuits and Gravy’ with sausage. That was really good. Both days, I ate food from The Queen’s Pantry. It’s a great Food Stand and I ate there often during the 6 weekends I was at TRF.
Here is Phil, aka Houston Tan Man. I met Phil in 2015 at a Comicon in Houston. I loved getting his pic then and I was thrilled to see him at TRF.
Phil is one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met while covering Special Events. And I’ve been doing this for over 25 years.
He’s another much-needed character at TRF. Phil poses for photos all day and does it happily. He also walks in the parade at noon. Then later, he makes appearances around TRF as Tan Man.
If you see Phil next season at TRF, tell him The STORM Factory sent you. I’m sure he’ll laugh.
That first weekend I ran into another friend from the Comicon circuit. Greg works at Booth 212, Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
It was great running into Greg and it worked out to my benefit. Greg allowed me to store my backpack and coat at their booth, in the back area. That was a huge help to me. Many thanks to Greg and Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
This next pic is of Sara and myself. Sara works for Catskill Moccasins as a Manager. Her regular job is in the Nursing Field, but she also works at RenFaires around the country representing Catskill Moccasins.
Sara was so nice to me. She even offered me a free ticket to come back to the festival. Meeting Sara and becoming friends with her was a high point of my TRF experience this year.
I photographed this young lady several times also. Her character doesn’t speak so I don’t have much info on her, other than she is beautiful.
Now look closely… is this the same girl? I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. You be the judge.
I met Katrina that first weekend and was able to run into her a few more weekends. One day I walked by her and in her best deadpan accent, she said, “Have a horrible day.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
It’s a good line for her character to say and she plays it well.
This is Chelsea. I tried to photogrpah her every weekend. She worked at a little stand that sold Bird Whistles. She sold a lot of them. I was surprised out how many kids wanted a Bird Whistle.
Chelsea was another of my favorite people to photograph. We would talk about the festival and other things, so I looked forward to passing by and seeing her each day.
I don’t know if I’m alone with this, but I spent a lot of time photographing the Food Service staffs. I shot quite a few pics of the crews working the food stands.
And everybody allowed me to photograph them. I tried to focus on them because they were working while everybody else drank, ate and played.
I know what that’s like so I made a conscious effort to put a spotlight on them as well. They work very long hours, on their feet all day, busy greeting and serving hundreds of people and all with a smile on their faces. They deserve some limelight.
I met Amanda that first weekend. She works in the Sea Devil bar area. Her little bar is called ‘The Glory Hole’. Now that’s funny.
Amanda served me my first beer at about 10am on that first Saturday morning. Every day after, I met Amanda about 10am for my morning beer.
We would talk about the festival and have some laughs. Amanda was another friend I made at TRF this year and I look forward to seeing her again in 2022.
Glenda, the Good Witch is another main character at the TexRenFest.
Erin’s costume is great. And she was always nice enough to pose for me.
As a photographer, I have a few pet peeves. For the first shot, I believe in getting everything in the frame. Then you can step up for a close-up, etc.
When I give someone my phone to take my pic, I always say to get the feet in the frame also. You can always crop in, but you can’t add what’s not in the original photo.
I gave my phone to an older gentleman to get my photo with Erin. He cut off the bottom of her dress.
I didn’t feel like bothering him to shoot it again.
You’ll see Erin in future posts. She’s a favorite of mine.
I overheard Erin talking about how she made her scepter.
What is a Queen scepter?
A sceptre (British English) or scepter (American English) is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty.
I ran into Jay several times during my time at TRF this season. Jay even asked me to come by his booth to photograph the ladies he works with. I even did a short commercial for his booth.
Jay said that some people call him ‘Pot Head’ because of his outfit. I laughed at that and started calling him Pot Head.
I used this photo as the Feature Image for the Saturday pics from TRF in my Photo Galleries. She was a cutie and I loved her hat.
These next 2 pics are of Mickel. I photographed him 2 or 3 times over the course of TRF this season and he was always a great pic.
I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces every weekend. It made my job easier when I knew that I’d be getting some good photos each day.
This couple looked great and I was happy to get their pic. That beard looks good.
This is the first time that I photographed Kevin, in the green, but it wouldn’t be the last. Kevin posed for me several more times over the weekends.
This trio had some really nice clothes on. That is 3 very stylish pirates right there.
This is the second Lilly that I ran into that first weekend. This Lilly works as a dancer for a bagpipe band called Tartanic.
I enjoyed watching their act. And having a beautiful girl like Lilly dancing to the music only adds to the experience.
I tried to photograph Lilly every chance I got. Her make-up was always spectacular and I looked forward to seeing what she did next.
Lilly also has a serious hat game. I loved the different head-pieces she wore during TRF 2021. You’ll see others in future posts about TRF.
I approached lots of people for photos that first weekend. I only had a few refusals. I was polite when they refused to pose for me. I just walked off thinking it was their loss to get a great pic of themselves having fun at a great festival.
I’m happy these 2 girls agreed to pose for me. And I’m sure they were happy with this pic.
I like to call myself a Memory Maker. I capture the fun things in life and help people remember a fun time in their lives.
This was my first pic of the Spanish Court. I didn’t even realize the guy in the middle was the Spanish King.
These next 4 pics are some of my favorites from the Pirate Weekend.
I saw this woman standing outside of a shop and thought she was attractive and looked great. I asked her for her photo and she said yes.
I always take 2 shots. A full body shot and a close-up.
She struck such a cool pose and had a great smile.
Then her husband and daughter showed up. I was happy to snap their pic.
As I said, I’m a Memory Maker. And this family has some great photos to remember their day at TRF. They’ll enjoy these pics for years to come. And that makes me as happy as a Pirate with both his hands on booty.
These next 2 pics are some more of my favorites from the weekend. Now this guy really looks the part of a Pirate. The hat is awesome.
And his clothes all have the same color scheme as his hat. His overall look is fantastic.
This Pirate works at the Sea Devil bar area. He’s a singer in a Pirate-themed band. I was glad to get this pic for him. See: Memory Maker.
I met Paolo that first weekend also. He’s very talented and I watched his show several times over 6 weekends.
At one point in his act, he juggles knives while balancing on a ball. Very impressive.
This couple was fun to photograph.
As I was taking their pic, the guy said something about cropping him out of the photo. I laughed and told him I was good at cropping.
When I got home, I cropped him out just for the laugh of it.
Blaze works at a Cajun Food Stand. As you can tell, she was one of the prettier girls that I photographed during the weekend. And yes… I remembered where she worked and photographed her several more times.
I photographed this mother and her twin daughters. The twins were very cute in their Pirate hats.
When I stepped up for the close-up shot, the mom made a funny face. When I showed the twins the photo, they busted out laughing at their mom’s expression in the picture.
This is Apollo. He’s part of the talented act Cirque Olympus. I shot video of their act and will load it onto YouTube soon. It’s already in my Photo Galleries.
Pirate weekend will always be a favorite weekend at TRF for me. As a Pirate, I prefer to mix with my own kind.
I saw this woman’s hat and had to get a photo of her. She looked so cute.
As I was talking to her, she mentioned that her friends said her hat was too small. I told her it was very cute and she liked that.
This first weekend, I met Alex Draco. I ended up getting his pics several more times over the course of the 6 weekends.
Alex is a photographer also and takes some good pics of the festival. I learned a lot about RenFaires from Alex. More about that in a future post.
Smiles are contagious. Every time I made someone happy by showing them their photo, I walked off with a smile also.
I photographed this Royal Gentleman a few times while at TRF. I love his clothes.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is the largest and best in the country. It’s in Houston’s backyard. 500,000 people attend each year. There’s talented acts, great food and drink, fabulous costumes, outfits and garb, fun-loving people everywhere you turn… what is not to love about the Texas Renaissance Festival?
This guy reminded me of Jason Mamoa.
I love that shirts are optional at the TexRenFest.
My first guess is that she is the Phoenix. The colors are magnificent and her hair goes with the whole outfit. One of my favorite pics.
I enjoy shooting groups because it is a pic that will be enjoyed by all of them for a long time.
This photo could be a Promo Photo for the festival. She looks that good in the pic with the bottle of mead.
I ended up with 234 pics and 1 video from the weekend. I would increase my quota over the next weekends.
After this first weekend at TRF, I was hooked and excited for the next weekend.
My next Blog Post will cover Halloween weekend and will be longer than this post with more photos and stories.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
This past weekend, I attended Anime Matsuri for two days, Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I took 157 photos of cosplayers and on Sunday I took 159 photos for a total of 316 for the weekend.
What follows are some of my favorites based on cosplay and posing.
This first cosplayer is one of my favorites. I think her name is Paris and she looks great in her balloon outfit.
She posted a very cute video on her IG. You should check it out. @ParisCosplays.
I love cosplay that involves hats and this cosplayer looked great.
I have to apologize now for not knowing any Anime characters, but I know good cosplay when I see it.
And this guy looked great also. The outfit, the makeup, the facial expression and the pose all worked perfectly.
This cosplayer really did a great job on her makeup. I love the blood.
Here’s another cosplayer that I began following on IG. @JordansCosplay.
Another thing I like about cosplay is the colored hair.
And ears. Maybe I’m a Furry, lol.
These girls were my fifth pic of the weekend. They thanked me on IG and I appreciated that. It was nice to hear.
This is one big dude in a dress. Love it.
This might be the most effort in a pose all weekend.
I like how she squinted her eyes for the photo.
This cosplayers hair looked great. The different shades were awesome.
I also like good group shots.
I overheard this guy telling another cosplayer that his outfit was a realistic version of a historical look.
This girl put the effort into her hair and it showed.
This guy surprised me with a great pose. He was mild-mannered and when I asked for his photo, he jumped into character. Nice.
I think pink hair is my favorite.
I’m a sucker for fantastic dresses, or should I say Formal Gowns?
Another great combination of cosplay and posing.
The guy on the left of the photo needs to workout more, lol.
There were several motorcycles and cars that had great artwork on them. It was great to see them all.
“Always dirty” and that art says it all.
That looks like a really fast car. Great paint scheme.
This was one of the more colorful cars at the con.
And now for Sunday’s pics. This girl was really tall with her boots on. She said she’s 5’7″ without them. The guy with her was really nice about taking a pic of her and I. You’ll see that later in the post.
I took this cosplayers photo and then he mentioned taking it in front of the military vehicles. We did and it was a better photo.
I love seeing cosplayers happy while doing their poses. It’s a fun time and smiles are contagious.
These girls were fun to shoot.
This guy came strolling by with his head-piece kicked back on his head and his swords under one arm. Then he put on his head and struck a great pose. Love it.
What is a comicon without Michael Myers? This guy stayed in character the entire time.
I would have liked a photo of these two without her mask. They looked great.
I love it when cosplayers put in the effort on their face makeup. It shows in the end.
A very cute pose.
This is a great pose and cosplay. I love the blood. Did I mention that?
I got a pic with this cosplayer also. You’ll see that photo soon.
A very good Bane. He’s got the body for it.
I really enjoy taking cosplayers photos when they’re as nice as these two. And a great pic.
This cosplayer found my IG account and tagged me in a post, thanking me for taking a great pic of her and her boyfriend. That was nice of her. Made my day. IG @sakura.darling
Probably one of the more sexy cosplays that I saw during the weekend.
Blue hair is always nice too.
And when it comes in pairs, it’s even better.
Another great gown.
This girl’s pic was so good that I made it the Feature Image for my photo gallery for Sunday.
In my quest to revisit many of Houston’s attractions, my sister and I went to the aquarium in downtown Houston. Here are the prices for the different attractions they offer.
They have a great photo-op fountain by the entrance, with downtown in the background.
They offer several attractions or you can purchase a pass that lets you do everything.
I just missed the alligator yawning with its’ mouth wide open.
Turtle’s chowing down.
The aquariums are nice and some are pretty big, which makes the fish watching all the better.
There was a sign by the octopus that said ‘No Flash Photography’.
A study found that watching fish can have health benefits because it is so relaxing.
This fish was huge.
As were these two catfish.
It is rare to catch a big snake actually moving while in captivity. I’m sure feeding time is interesting.
Here’s another big aquarium. I wonder how fun it would be to Scuba Dive in there with the fish.
This was one of the cooler tanks.
Their white tiger is a rare sight to see. I was at the aquarium once before when a guy would turn his back to the tiger. The tiger would then approach and jump up on the glass as if he wanted to attack the guy. Tigers attack from behind.
So much so, that indigenous peoples will wear a mask on the back of their heads while out walking or working. They hope the tiger sees a face in the front and the back and won’t attack.
Another good photo-op.
I’m not the first to do this.
The store had lots of merchandise to choose from.
After a kid walks through the aquarium and then they get something from the store, their day is complete and it’s a lifetime memory.
That’s it for my trip to the Houston Aquarium. I may go back this summer to participate in all of their attractions, like the train ride and the Ferris Wheel.
Over the years, I’ve often thought about writing a few books about 2 of my careers and my adventures along the way.
Well, recently with Coronavirus and the shut down of America, I decided to pen a book about my adventures as a lifeguard at the first waterpark built in Houston, TX.
I had started the book a few years back so when I decided to finish it, I spent hours upon hours writing, editing, adding photos and rereading the book several times.
The book has some very funny stories in it that will make you Lol. Several of my lifeguard friends read it while I had it posted on my blog. Here are some quotes from them about the book.
“OMG…Outstanding F*%@in job on the WaterWorld Book! Wow…Just WOW! Talk about wonderful almost forgotten memories coming back! SPIDER you hit this one outside the park! Fyi If you haven’t ordered your WW book you really, REALLY SHOULD!” – Patrick Orlaska WaterWorld Guard
“I finished reading the lifeguard book written by Spider Michaels… if you haven’t read it… you need to. WaterWorld was my life for so long… I’d do it all over again!! The book is fantastic and I can’t wait to get my own signed copy.”
– Joni ‘Radar’ Waggoner
WaterWorld Supervisor
“Lots of great memories! Thanks for the laughs Spider, you truly are one of a kind!”
– Carrie Tefteller Benavidez
WaterWorld Guard
“While I was always a little intimidated by Spider, I admired his leadership (those other guards WORSHIPPED him – and the nicknames and his competitive spirit in lifeguard competitions, etc. made work fun). I mostly kept my distance from him (God forbid, I’d end up on the wrong end of one of his pranks), but I heard through the grapevine here and there about his antics – I could tell he was a pretty funny guy – and I loved the “jokester” in him. I realized now… having finished his book… that I didn’t know THE HALF of it! It was a good read.”
– Annie Godwin Bell
WaterWorld Guard
“This book is Vintage Gold. Brings back so many memories of the classic 80’s-90’s when the music was awesome and we all had few worries. Immerse yourself into our world of lifeguarding. You won’t be sorry!”
– Debbie Byars Leibham
WaterWorld Guard
Those are some pretty impressive quotes and I sincerely thank my friends for writing them.
When I was ready to order some copies from Amazon for my friends, I wanted to order a few extra for a Media Blitz, so initially I ordered 60 books. About 50 for my friends and 10 to send around to local radio station DJ’s.
After I posted this next photo, I had some more orders for the book. Now out of the 60, I have one left. I even had to get one back from my sister to send to someone. She’ll get the first one from my next order… signed.
My lifeguard friends also requested that I sign each copy to them. Signing and packaging 59 books, each with a different note, takes quite a while. At one point, I had to take a break because my hand was cramping up. I could never do a book tour where all you do is sign copies of your book.
Here is a photo of the books, all signed and packaged for shipping.
I went through an inventory of my life and I think I have about 4 more books in me. My first, “Lifeguarding at a Waterpark” will probably be my longest at 518 pages with 625 photos.
My 2nd book will probably be about my time working in auto racing. I spent about a decade working in NASCAR, IndyCar and the NHRA Drag Racing series. This book will be entitled… “My Motorsports Memoir: A Photo Essay.”
My 3rd book is about all of my travels all over the U.S. and Europe. I’ll call it “Spider’s Travels”, similar to Gulliver’s Travels.
My 4th book will be about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I spent the whole week of the rally one year and got some great photos and stories. The book will provide insight to those going to the rally and those wishing they could go to the rally. I expect the photos of the women will be the most popular chapter.
My 5th book will be a book of Poetry. I’ll have over 100 poems in this book that I’ve written over the years. They’ll cover Life, Love, Celebrities, Death, Heaven, the Afterlife and several more subjects.
Being able to Self Publish through Amazon has made it possible for anybody to write a book and get it into print. My 1st book, at 518 pages with color photos, cost $37.67 to print. With shipping, I think each book cost me $41.27.
Now that price is the Author’s cost. When a person orders my book off of Amazon, the cost goes up to $96.11. There’s a few bucks in that for me, but Amazon gets the Lion’s share. I will add that there’s a Beach Lifeguarding book for sale for about $140 on Amazon and it’s not nearly as long as my book with as many photos.
Any way you slice it, Amazon is the way to go to get your book in print. Otherwise, you have to seek out an Agent, which could take years, then this Agent has to find a Publishing House that believes in your book.
After spending years to finally get your book published, you only get about 12% from each sale of said book. And besides, book stores are closing down faster than you can say, “No business.” Everything is going Online now.
As I said earlier, I had started my book a few years ago so some of it was already written but when I picked it up again and finished it, it was only a few short months and I had a paperback edition in my hot little hands. You can do it too.
It’s been said that everybody has at least one good book in them. If you’ve ever dreamed of penning the next great American crime drama or your dream is to be the next J.K. Rowling well Amazon can be your ticket to getting in print. From there, who knows what could happen for you.
I have plans to send copies of my book to all of the local radios station drive time DJ’s in Houston as well as popular radio stations in L.A. and NYC.
I’m also sending copies to most of the Late Night Talk Show hosts. Hey, they may have a few minutes to laugh at my book and then who knows? Here are the letters.
I have to say, working nonstop on my 1st book has drained me. I’m going to take some time off before starting on any of my other books.
In closing, I wrote this post to motivate any of you to write your own books. If you have any questions, please contact me. I’ll be glad to help.
Lastly, anyone interested in reading my book, here is the link to purchase it from Amazon.
This Blog Post is about the men and some women on the Pit Crews of NASCAR. This first photo is of the fans looking into the garage area at a race.
Millions of fans would love to have access to the garage and pit road areas. This post shows you what goes on in these two places.
Here we see the crews going to work in the morning.
It’s quite a scene to see all of these guys at once.
This is Pit Road at the Daytona 500. It’s quite a crowded area to try to work in.
I’ll refer to these crowded Pit Roads later on in this post.
The tires are oh so important in trying to win a race.
GoodYear provides the tires for the teams.
Prior to the race, the teams will prep the tires for the big event.
They clean the rims real well, then glue the lug nuts to the rims for speed reasons.
The tires have a tread thickness of only 1/8 of an inch.
The tires on a NASCAR car weigh 50 pounds each, and someone has to push them and carry them to the pits for all the changes.
The people who are changing these tires are chucking around these tires like they weigh nothing, and that is because the men who work on pits crews are in very good physical condition.
The tires can cost as much as $450, or $1,800 for a set of 4.
This blue signifies Richard Petty’s team, also the number 43.
Notice the small piece of yellow tape, not the long strip of yellow. I’ll talk about that later on.
The Pit Crews all line up for the National Anthem before the race.
I’m betting you’ll never see a NASCAR Pit Crew member taking a knee during the Anthem.
They’d probably be fired the next day.
NASCAR has too much Patriotism for anyone to decide to take a knee in protest of anything.
I think it looks cool to see them all lined up, showing respect for our country and its’ history.
Even the NASCAR crews line up.
I took this photo from the suite we had at the Phoenix International Raceway. It’s one of my favorite pics I ever took at a race.
Pit Crew members have to be in great shape to be on a team.
You’ll see them stretching and preparing before a race. Notice the silver trays taped down with red tape. I’ll discuss later in this post.
Conditioning is of the utmost importance for a Pit Crew Member.
In this photo, the 4 trays are yellow.
And people say these guys aren’t athletes, boo to them.
When I started out in Motorsports, the Pit Crews weren’t required to wear helmets.
Now every member of the Pit Crew going ‘Over the Wall’ must wear one.
A spinning tire on a race car could roll over some loose lug nuts on the road and launch them as a projectile. Helmets are valuable pieces of equipment.
Notice the radio receiver on the side of his helmet.
Now let’s talk a little about the fuel. Here are 2 Pit Crew members taking fuel cans for refill.
Now you can see how hard this would be with a very crowded Pit Road.
The specialized NASCAR fuel is Sunoco Green E15, a 98 octane, unleaded fuel blend specifically engineered for high-performance engines and race cars.
It’s called Green E15 because the racing fuel is actually green in color.
At race speeds, Cup Series cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon.
After Pit Stops, there’s always a line at the Fuel Station.
Only a few years ago, NASCAR used leaded fuel in the cars that circled the racetrack each weekend.
However, in 2011 the sport made a significant change to the fuel used in its race cars, moving away from leaded fuel and turning to a greener, higher-performance option.
A NASCAR race car has a fuel cell in the trunk that holds 22 gallons of fuel, but that may change to 18 gallons in the near future.
Each Gas Can holds 11 gallons of fuel, so it takes 2 cans to fill up a race car.
Here’s a close up of the label on a Gas Can.
Now I’ll focus more on the tires. There’s 2 types of tires in a NASCAR race… Stickers and Scuffs.
These tires are Stickers because you can still see the new, white sticker on the tire.
This is a pic of the inner liner in every tire.
These tires are called Scuffs because the team drove them around the track during practice to break them in, so if the need called for a set of tires that were broken in, they’d have some.
These tire carriers are valuable in that they enable crew members to carry a set of 4 tires at one time.
I’ve almost been run over by one of these on Pit Road during a race.
Here are sets of Stickers and Scuffs. Notice the yellow tape.
This is a pic of the lug nuts already glued into place so the tire changer can tighten them up on the car quicker.
Now for the tape on the tire. The carriers use this tape to know where to grab the wheel in order to hang it correctly on the studs.
The good tire carriers can pick a tire up and hang it on the studs without having to spin it to line the holes up correctly. These tape marks help them find the right way to hold the tire to do so.
These are the trays or racks you saw earlier.
Do you have any idea what they’re for?
It’s 4 of them and I’m talking about tires so that’s a clue.
And here is what they’re for. Usually stickers are not lined up like this, because the tire trays are for tires that just came off of the car after a Pit Stop.
After a Pit Stop, a crew member will use a torch to scrape off all of the rubber accumulated when slowing down to come onto Pit Road.
After the little holes are exposed that run across the width of the tire, a crew member uses a device to measure the wear on the tire.
It takes a bit of time to clean all 4 tires to get ready to do this measurement.
The tires can pick up quite a bit of hot, sticky rubber when heading into the pits.
Here, one member scrapes while the other measures.
In this pic, you can see the tiny indentions in the tire that they use to measure wear.
Notice all of the little rubber bits stuck to the tires.
Most of the teams remove the air from the tires and replace it with nitrogen. Compressed nitrogen contains less moisture than compressed air.
When the tire heats up, moisture in the tire vaporizes and expands, causing the pressure inside the tire to increase.
Even small changes in tire pressure can noticeably affect the handling of the car.
By using nitrogen instead of air, the teams have more control over how much the pressure will increase when the tires heat up.
The teams can tell how the car is handling by looking at these numbers across the width of the tire.
Notice the difference between the inside and the outside of the tire… 68 to 65.
RR – Right Rear, RF – Right Front, LR – Left Rear, LF – Left front.
That’s 3 sets of 4 tires each at a cost of about $5,400.
Now you can really see the bits of rubber, from other cars, stuck to the tires after coming down Pit Road.
The rubber off of the race cars also accumulates under the race cars also. This can add weight to the car by the end of the race.
After the race is over, GoodYear collects all of the used and unused tires.
The Pit Crew members job consists of downtime chilling and an all out frenzy during the Pit Stops.
This pic is from Phoenix International Raceway.
Tires come in handy for seats also.
The Pit Crews always discuss what will happen during a Pit Stop.
Most times, they take 4 new tires and 2 cans of fuel, but sometimes it may be only 2 tires or just a splash of fuel.
In 12 to 14 seconds, seven people manage to completely refuel the car and change all four tires.
The Pit Crew members that go over the wall are: the front tire changer, the front tire carrier, the rear tire changer, the rear tire carrier, the jack man, the gas man and the gas catch can man.
During a race, the Pit Crew is responsible for changing tires, refueling, adjusting aerodynamics, checking and repairing parts, and getting the driver back on course in a matter of seconds
This member is the gas catch can man. More about that coming up.
The teams choose their Pit Stall by how they Qualify. The #1 Qualifier chooses first and so on.
This tape lets the driver know where to position his front left tire for the Pit Stop.
If the car is too close to the wall, the Jack man has a hard time lifting the car to change the tires on the left side.
A team will usually opt for a Pit Stall at the end of Pit Road to avoid traffic and save time getting off Pit Road.
The order of Qualifying is determined by a random drawing each race. Teams prefer to go later so they can see what time they need to win The Pole, #1 Qualifier.
The Jack is made of aluminum and weighs about 35 pounds. Considerably lighter than your average Shop Jack.
Once a Pit Crew member makes it on a regular basis with a Cup race team, and if they do, it usually takes three to four years.
The average salary is $80,000 to $120,000 a year. Pit Crew superstars can make anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 a year.
Each team has a Fitness Coach that works with the Pit Crew for about 2 or 3 days a week. They work on Strength and Conditioning Drills as well as Hand / Eye Drills.
They especially work on actual Pit Stops behind the shops.
Now for some info about NASCAR.
Each track is measured 15 feet inside the outside wall.
The Drive Shaft is 4″ in diameter and rules specify that they must be painted White.
This is so if it becomes dislodged and loose on the track, other drivers can see it better to try and avoid it.
Now for the Gas Man and the Gas Catch Can man. As I mentioned earlier, the car holds 22 gallons fo fuel and each Gas Can holds 11 gallons, so it takes 2 cans to fill up a car.
There’s a spout that sticks out the rear of the car, near the fueling port.
In this next photo, the guy holding the empty Gas Can, on the far right, is also holding the Gas Catch Can in place as the Gas Man pours the 2nd can of fuel into the car.
Here’s a better view of the Gas Catch Can Man in action.
When the car is full of fuel, the excess will spurt out the rear spout and into the Gas Catch Can. It’s important to account for every bit of fuel.
Here, the Gas Catch Can Man finishes pouring the 1st Gas Can while still holding the Gas Catch Can in place with his leg and the Gas Man is loaded with the 2nd Gas Can that weighs 94 pounds, so it’s not light.
After the Pit Stop, the Pit Crew removes the nozzles on the Gas Cans.
The Pirate in me loves this guy’s Eye Patch.
The reason they remove the nozzles is because they’ll pour the overflow fuel in the Gas Catch Can back into the Gas Can.
That way, every drop of fuel is accounted for. There’s what’s back in the Gas Can and what’s in the car.
Here you see them emptying the Gas Catch Can into the Gas Can.
They weighed the Gas Can when it was full before the Pit Stop. It should have been around 94 pounds.
After they consolidate all of the gas back into the Gas Can, they weigh it again. Now they know how much fuel went into the car exactly, thus being able to calculate when the car would need to come back for more fuel.
They say the most important man on the entire team is the cook, usually the Hauler Driver also.
I love Track Food. It always reminds me of the Carnival.
I’m no Vegan and that looks delicious.
The crews work hard on the cars all week long, building up to Race Day.
Sometimes not even a great Pit Crew can save a car.
It’s a good thing teams produce 20 or more cars for a full race season.
Some cars are built for short tracks, road courses or Super Speedways.
There’s not much that’s salvageable off of this car.
And now for some of the other crews at a race.
This photo was taken shortly after 9/11 and they had Bomb Dogs everywhere.
Always be nice to the Gate personnel.
This guy reminds me of a friend of mine.
The crew at Indy setting up the Brickyard 400 Trophy early in the morning.
Prior to a night race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Every race needs Fire Staff.
And NASCAR Inspectors.
Love the Flag.
This is a good photo of these NASCAR Officials.
More Safety Personnel.
My man, the Guard at the Gate to the Garage Area.
Taken at Texas Motor Speedway, no doubt.
Here’s another pic from right after 9/11. Notice the metal detectors everyone has to pass through.
More Bomb Dogs after 9/11.
In the Infield.
Another NASCAR Inspector.
He’s now being filmed by a TV crew because of his Flag on his helmet. Again, right after 9/11.
The Infield Crew at Texas Motor Speedway.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this Blog Post. I had fun creating it. Lot’s of great memories as a Pit Tour Guide.
I hope you get to attend a race where you get to go on Pit Road during a race and see all of this stuff for yourself one day.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
This Blog Post is about all the crazy rides you see at a NASCAR race. Let’s take a look.
Here’s the U.S. Air Force cart. It’s a 6 seater for carrying lots of people. Notice how it is backed in.
Best Buy’s wheels are really cool. Looks like a 4 seater. Backed in.
This is a 7 seat cart that looks very comfortable.
I count 8 people. Gotta be some kind of record.
‘King Richard’ Petty’s race car, or should I say a replica.
This guy is giving me the Peace sign. Cool ride.
Now that’s a lift kit.
Always need Medics on hand at a NASCAR race.
Now that’s a cool limo.
I would love to see inside of it.
Atlanta’s Pace car.
Nobody wants to ride in this car.
Another replica, this time for Michael Waltrip and NAPA Auto Parts.
Great paint job.
Cruising in style.
Possibly used for deer hunting.
Another ride nobody wants.
Mickey!
I love big jeeps.
Texas Motor Speedway Pace Car.
Lenox likes Hummers.
I’d love to take a road trip with friends in this bad boy.
And of course some ladies, lol.
I wonder how old that kid is now.
All backed in.
Shamu car.
Shamu cars.
Very cool ride. Backed in.
Cool cop car.
Dale Earnhardt.
Side view.
Another Dale Earnhardt car.
Dale again.
Rock on!
Cool to ride around drinking beers to pick up ice on the infield of Texas Motor Speedway.
A fire vehicle.
Fun people.
Here’s another Lenox Hummer.
Nice jeep.
Pepsi 400 Pace Car.
‘It’s five o’clock somewhere’.
Another cool Dale Earnhardt car.
The coolest wheels in this post, hands down. I will own one before I die.
Not a real car, but worthy of this Blog Post about vehicles. Cook in the front.
Wood in the back.
Now for how the big wigs and NASCAR drivers get to the track… helicopters.
This pilot is chilling with the paper.
This is a very expensive helicopter.
Drivers and Executives don’t like to be stuck in long lines of traffic on race day, so they fly in.
Here’s a ‘Life Flight’ helicopter that no one wants to fly in.
Reminds me of the movie ‘Capricorn One’.
I’ve ridden in helicopters before and I love them.
If I had a choice of being a pilot for a plane or helicopter, I’d pick helicopter every time.
I love the control you have with a helicopter. Up, down, left, right, forward, backward, you can go everywhere.
Harrison Ford got certified to fly helicopters and even rescued a hiker off of a mountain. They didn’t know Harrison Ford was the pilot until told later.
This is the coolest helicopter pic I ever took at a NASCAR race. Race Day morning these birds are flying everywhere.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Blog Post about cool conveyances of NASCAR.
Had to get a pic with this car.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had a job that was all about traveling. I worked in Motorsports for about a decade and visited every major city in the U.S. several times a year.
This Blog Post is about some of those cities and even some places in Europe. I hope you enjoy reading about my journeys.
My sister wanted a pic at the airport in Houston as we were headed to California.
This time I was at Houston Intercontinental Airport.
Gotta love First Class travel. I wish I could afford it all of the time, lol.
I always enjoy the view from the plane.
The first place I’ll take you is to Philadelphia, the home of the Liberty Bell.
I was in town for a drag race, so I came in a day early just to tour the city.
Next, I’m at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. I was in nearby Sturgis for the motorcycle rally, so I made the drive to see such a historic place.
This next pic is from a crane in Sturgis. I took a ride up to see the town from above.
Here I’m with Johnny and Wendy in Chicago on the pier.
Boston is a fun town to visit. And you’ve gotta have the lobster.
Johnny and I in Orlando, Florida.
Now I’ll take you to NYC for a few pix.
You can’t go to New York and not go see the Statue of Liberty.
Wendy and I at the NYC Stock Exchange during the holidays.
I always try to get a pic with the flag people. They stand on boxes.
This might be, well, it is, my favorite Silver Man. See the box.
This guy was on a box also.
I’ve visited the Empire State Building a couple of times and love going to the top.
Here’s from another visit.
The view is awesome.
Now let’s see some pix from Times Square.
You can’t mention Times Square and not talk about the Naked Cowboy. Can you say Ripped?
Winnie the Pooh and Elmo too.
Mario and Luigi.
Woody from Toy Story fame.
I love the Broadway people advertising different plays and shows.
Love the derby.
She is cute. Too bad the shade from the hat obscures her face.
This is one of my favorite NYC pics.
NYC’s Finest.
Men in Black.
I’ve actually never gone to his website.
And now a few more Silver Men from Times Square, NYC.
The Tin Man.
I wonder how much they make doing this. It looks like a lot of effort and a lot of clean up.
Brooklyn.
Taking a ride through Central Park with Kellie and Wendy.
Wendy and I in Central Park.
And Wendy and I in Times Square.
A shot from on top of Seattle’s Space Needle.
And now, let’s go to Sin City… Vegas, baby.
This is in front of Treasure Island Casino.
I was at a convention and got this shot. Fun girls.
Here I am inside of one of the casinos.
In front of Caesar’s Palace.
Next, I’d like to take you to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This pic is from inside one of the many museums in town.
Having lunch with my sister.
In the plaza, listening to good music.
Brunch with my sister again.
This pic was taken some time later, as if you couldn’t tell from the hair, lol.
My sister and I went to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival and had a good time.
We took a tour of the city. Our Tour Guide works in movies in Santa Fe as a western extra. He looks the part.
At another museum in Santa Fe.
Having lunch with the sis again.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a shot of ‘The Protector’ sculpture in front of my sister’s Santa Fe house. Stunning. It looks better when it snows.
Arrested in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Nope, not arrested. Just kidding around.
I love these guy’s costumes. So much color.
Gotta love the motorcycle cops of NOLA.
And the cute Louisiana gals.
Gotta get me a colorful jacket like that.
It was her idea to pose like this. That’s why I’m laughing so hard.
This little guy was on the boardwalk in Monterrey, CA.
I definitely wanted a photo with this pirate.
Took a horseback ride in the Pocono Mountains.
Visited Graceland while in Memphis.
I was in Indy for the 500 when I got this pic.
This photo is from the Daytona 500 weekend.
My sister and I took the Paramount Pictures studio tour while in L.A. Here I am with Bumblebee, from the Transformers movies.
We enjoyed the tour quite a lot. If ever given the chance, you should do it.
I was in Galveston, TX for the Lone Star Rally in this next pic.
Also in Galveston, I caught this Great White off the shore.
Okay, I didn’t really catch a Great White, lol. It’s fake, in front of a store for photo ops.
Next, Tricia, Johnny and I took a hike on a nature trail in the Pocono Mountains.
It was a beautiful day and the scenery was great.
I got this pic right after the Indy 500 parade. Fun time.
I was in NYC for the NASCAR Awards Banquet and got this pic.
Back in Galveston for the Dickens on the Strand weekend.
Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
I love this pic of the Phoenix race track.
I also enjoyed halloween in Phoenix one year.
As I toured the country, I was asked to help run the Extreme Bikini contests. How could I refuse, lol.
My co-workers and I rented a pontoon boat while in Arizona and had a great time.
I snapped this pic of the Golden Gate Bridge while riding a bicycle there from Fisherman’s Wharf. I’d never do that again. My legs were killing me.
Some San Francisco Silver Men.
Wonder how long to get it all off of your face and hands.
Colorful… and yes, gay.
Now I’d like to take you to Europe for a few of the cities I’ve visited there.
First is Paris and the famous Notre Dame cathedral.
One of my first selfies.
Beautiful.
My sister snapped a pic of me in the subway station.
This might be my favorite travel pic of them all. Love the Eiffel Tower in the background.
I’be been to the top of the tower and shot video and got photos.
I also took some photos from different angles.
This is a pic of the little apartment atop the Eiffel Tower.
During good weather months, the tower area is really crowded.
A pic from the top of the tower.
And straight down.
I love that it lights up at night, every hour on the hour.
Really beautiful.
One of my first pics with the tower.
Now, I’ll show you a few pix of the Louvre Museum.
I’ve been several times and it never gets old.
You could wander for days and still not see everything.
I always go see the Mona Lisa.
Here I am at the Palace of Versailles.
My sister and I took a Paris boat tour. It was enjoyable.
Another Paris selfie.
Having lunch in Paris.
At a Paris flea market.
I had to stop by the Paris Harley-Davidson shop.
This pic is from my first trip to Europe. I’m in Italy.
Another pic from the Italian Riviera. Portofino.
Now off to London, England.
This is the Tower Bridge, a very famous bridge. My friend and I took the tour of it and went through the top of it. Very cool.
Buckingham Palace.
Another of my first selfies.
Buckingham Palace during the holidays.
Kissed by a Beefeater.
I bet he gets tired of this, lol.
I couldn’t stand or sit on a horse and be perfectly still and not say a word all day… plus having strangers take pix of me all day.
And lastly, to my favorite European city, Amsterdam.
I’ve been here about as many times as I’ve been to Paris and I love it.
Notice all of the trash in the Red Light District?
They clean the streets every night. This pic is from early in the morning after they’ve cleaned up.
Enjoying a burger in an Amsterdam restaurant.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at pix from my travels. I’ll be adding as I take trips.
To begin this blog post about inspections, we should start at the car, the main focus here.
These are the templates that teams use to build the race cars.
And here’s what one looks like at the beginning of the process.
Now to the finished product.
Every team uses check lists to make double sure that everything is done on race day morning.
Some things are double checked and some things are quadruple checked.
There’s lots to do and check on a car before a race.
Some teams have less of a sheet.
And some teams have more of a sheet.
A crew chief looks over this checklist with a very discerning eye.
Sometimes last minute decisions can be made based on the checklist.
After the team feels the car is ready for inspection, they push it to the NASCAR Officials. You can see me in this next photo, conducting a Garage Tour by the Inspection station.
The teams can stress at times about their car passing inspection.
It’s like they’re pushing their baby in for a doctor’s exam and they’re hoping for a good outcome.
The inside room of a NASCAR Inspection is off limits to a lot of people. Let’s take a look at some rooms around the country.
The inspectors have their checklist also.
It can be a solemn room. One that can make or break your day.
They use these weight plates to measure the weight of the car across all four tires. There has to be a certain distribution. Not anymore on the left side, specifically.
The teams use lead bricks to counter the weight if it’s too low. Minimum weight used to be 3400 pounds, now it might be 3500.
The engine is a 358 cubic inch 5.8L V8.
A NASCAR race car can generate over 700 horsepower.
The race car is measured every which way you can think of.
Here’s a better look at the weight scales.
Simple, really. But it does the job.
Here’s a car going through the inspection at Texas Motor Speedway.
Teams and Sponsors never miss an opportunity to put a logo on something.
This is called the claw. It measures the overall dimensions of the car.
This is again at Texas Motor Speedway.
Bush’s beans. Where’s the dog?
The inspectors go over every detail of every race car they see.
And keep diligent notes.
Here are some parts NASCAR allows the teams to use.
And here are the weights teams use to increase the weight of the car if it’s underweight.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at a NASCAR Inspection. The winning car always gets a post race inspection also, along with a few other cars too.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
An NHRA Drag Race can take up a lot of ground. So much so, that many people feel the need to use a cart of some sort to get around.
And speaking from a person who has walked around a track and also ridden around a track… the riding is much more fun.
What follows is an article about all of the vehicles you see around an NHRA National Event.
This first cart is very stylish and can carry 4 people. It has a collapsible front windshield.
It also has a roof for sun shade and in case it rains. I bet this cart has the plastic side walls that would keep everyone dry in a downpour.
This cart can carry 4 but no roof. It’s got good seats and a high suspension for rough terrain. It especially has the Dale Earnhardt #3 on it.
This is a companies cart, not sure which. I see Good Year, Chevy and VP Fuels.
Here’s a nice one for Performance Parts.
No missing who this cart is for. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and at a drag race.
Check out this fake engine on this cart. Pretty funny. Look at the back fin. It’s an older model Chevy. Maybe ’57.
This is a cool cart. We were in Gainesville, Home of the Gators.
High suspension, roof, flames, 4 seater. Nice ride.
You rarely see a one front wheel cart. This is a throwback.
Here’s a Plain Jane cart for Summit. No frills.
At least Fram painted their cart in their Trademarked Orange color.
Notice the motorcycle matches the cart’s flames.
This is a racers cart. It looks like Ball Racing.
This cart had some loud speakers on it. Only a 2 seater. Boo.
Notice the surfboard. This was a high dollar cart when it first came out.
The maintenance guys have to get around too.
This was a cart set up that PowerADE did when it was the Primary Sponsor of the series.
They would load up fans and give them headphones for the noise.
Then drive them right up to the starting line and give them a front row seat.
Cool thing for the fans to see and experience.
Some dudes just ride their hunting ATV around.
Food service had a nice little truck.
With enough room to carry some things.
I missed them passing by me, but they had a nice cart. A 6 seater and a roof.
Nice paint scheme, only a 2 seater, but they crammed 3 in the one seat and I don’t like the pitch of the roof. Too low in front.
This was a cool cart.
Two guys from the Widow Maker racing team. Wonder how their wives feel about that name?
You saw this cart earlier and now these 3 guys are cruising the track.
I like the effort on the paint job, but the flames suck out loud.
Gator Boys!!
Here’s that 6 seat cart I missed earlier. This might be the nicest ride in this article. Check out the chrome rims and oversized tires, along with the Brush Guard in front. Great paint, great seats. Good Job.
Fram’s cart was really special also.
Great seats and colors.
I’m guessing really expensive.
And some guys ride alone, lol.
Now for the Kid Conveyances.
That baby can’t even be 1 year old yet. Start ’em young, I say.
A Radio Flyer with a twist. Nice job.
Now this kid had a set up. Simpson Racing seat, Ear Protection, Steering Wheel, Gauges, Stick shift and Racing Decals. Pretty cool. Sippin’ his Sunny Delight, rollin’.
This next photo wins for cuteness.
He even go a pic with a model.
This kid rode around like a king. Now that’s having it ‘made in the shade’, lol.
Everybody knows somebody that’s gone to an event and gotten so drunk they got arrested.
These next pix are of the PoPo, 5-0, Gmen, Coppers, Pigs, the Blue Force, you get the point.
Here’s a mobile Command Center.
Florida State Trooper.
Sheriff.
Sheriff.
Sheriff.
Police.
Sheriff.
Sheriff.
Police.
Police.
Motorcycle Cops.
I’ve thought motorcycle cops were coolest ever since CHiPS, the TV Show from the 70’s.
These are big, powerful motorcycles, capable of high speeds. Look at how big this next cop is. He dwarfs that big bike.
And look at how far he’d have to duck to get under the front windshield. He’s got to be 6’6” or taller.
This is a cool cart. Great logo’s and flags. Great pic.
Now this truck has seen its’ best days.
Now for some Firemen. At a drag race, you ALWAYS need Fire & Safety present. It’s a ‘Life and Death’ sport.
Probably a Captain’s car.
Ambulances are very necessary to have on hand.
I like how they took the time to paint the rims. It looks nice.
Now for the bigger vehicles.
Anybody remember the show from the 70’s called ‘Emergency 51’? With Gage and DeSoto as the paramedics in the field.
Everybody admires a good Fire Truck.
Ready in case of an emergency.
These next guys were nice enough to pose for me.
Cool design on their shirts.
This guy reminds me of Scruffy from Futurama, the animated series.
Big truck, big smile.
An EMT, emergency medical technician.
More EMT’s.
Chillin’ ’til ‘Go-Time’.
And Cookie, who used to clean the track after an oil down.
Now for some crazy rides.
I photographed a truck just like this one at Sturgis one year.
It’s too wide for a car lane, so they must take the tires off to transport it from place to place.
Pretty huge truck.
Remember the first Bigfoot Truck from the 70’s? I think it was blue. It made quite a splash and started a worldwide phenomenon… Monster Trucks.
So this is the new Bigfoot.
What if you rode to school in this bus?
All aboard… and buckle yo ass up!!
“Yes, yes, They’ll be to school on time. Early in fact.”
This made me laugh. A Cadillac race car, complete with sponsor decals.
Now this is no laughing matter.
That is a work of art.
And lastly, someone actually rides this little shit around. Well, I hope you enjoyed this trip to the drag strip and the pics you saw.
That completes this NHRA 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
Dale Jr. is the famous son of a great NASCAR driver, Dale Sr. In fact, Dale Sr. is tied for the most all time championships at 7. Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson also have 7.
Jr. went through the lower series’ in racing and made it into NASCAR, just like his dad still raced.
Dale had one of the best sponsors in racing and his fans loved that he was sponsored by Budweiser, their beer of choice.
Dale learned a great deal from his father.
There’s not too many that have felt the rush of racing alongside your father at 200 mph.
Jr. was good friends with all of the drivers because he grew up admiring them. Here he is with Jeff Gordon, a 4 time champion.
At the time, there was nothing more patriotic. This was before Budweiser sold out to foreign interests.
It was hard on Dale after his father died at the great Daytona 500, but Jr. got back into that race car and took care of business.
Dale Jr. was voted Most Popular Driver in NASCAR all of the time. The fans loved him and he inherited his father’s fans after he passed.
Some of the companies I worked with were sponsors on Dale’s car, so I got to work with him occasionally. He always had a smile and was easy to work with.
In this photo, Dale is about to ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to greet the fans before the Brickyard 400.
Many fans across this country got to go to a ‘Meet & Greet’ with Jr. He would sign items for them.
And pose for photos with them.
His fanbase was enormous. Several fans across the country painted their buses to look like his Budweiser race car. This was one of the better ones.
In this photo, you can clearly see The Outlaw logo on the rear quarter panel. That’s the product of the company I was working for.
Here you can see it in front of the tire well.
Dale signed a ton of diecast race cars in his day.
Jr. drove for his dad’s company, DEI. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. The companies I represented had contracts with DEI, so I was around their teams quite a lot.
I’ve been to the DEI shop. It’s so large and clean, they call it the Garage Mahal.
It’s been said that Dale Jr. is worth around $400 million, making him one of the richest athlete’s of all time… not only in NASCAR but all sports. See, signing all of those diecast cars paid off.
Dale drove for other sponsors after he left DEI, but I’ve chosen to focus on the time when he drove for Budweiser. It was a sort of Camelot, if you will.
Things were great for Jr. at this time. He was driving for his dad’s company and racing against him on weekends.
Jr. never won any championships like his father. His best finish was third in 2003.
He did win 2 championships in the Xfinity series, which is like the college ranks for NASCAR.
Dale did sign with Rick Hendrick after he left DEI and Budweiser. The problem?
He wouldn’t have the #8 car any longer. What could this mean?
Dale chose the number 88 at Hendrick Motorsports. Why do you ask?
He chose 88 so his fans could easily get their tattoos fixed to represent his new number, just add an 8, lol.
Here the teams are at Indy for the Brickyard 400, waiting to get inspected prior to racing.
Dale’s cars have been photographed tens of thousands of times over the years. Here are some photos the fans would have loved to be close enough to get.
The generator behind the car keeps the fluids warm and ready to race until the start.
Does anybody still wear Drakkar Noir?, lol.
This is at the Brickyard 400 at Indy.
Here they’re about to cover the car for rain.
And here’s a full rain cover in action. I think it looks pretty cool with that cover on.
Now for a few racing pix.
Dale drove cars with different paint schemes whenever his sponsors came up with a new promotion.
Dale only read a half a book about himself. It was written by someone else, and he didn’t even read the whole thing.
He says that since he already lived all the experiences, the interest level was just not there for him to continue the book. He still thinks the author did a good job, though.
Dale drove the number 8 car because it was his grandfather’s number, when he raced.
I was at the track the day Dale’s father died. It was terribly hard for Jr. He was at the hospital where his father was brought.
They told Dale Jr. the news and then he had to walk out of that hospital in front of all of the media. He kept a straight face, but inside he was torn up.
Imagine losing your father in that way and then, plus the fact that Dale Sr. was a living legend.
Every driver now wears a HANS device to prevent head and heck injuries. HANS stands for Head And Neck Support.
Here’s another story for you. Dale Jr. is the son of a 7 time champion. Adam Petty is the grandson of a 7 time champion, Richard Petty.
Adam Petty was in a race and came into the pits. While the car was jacked up, the crew chief dove under the car to check something.
The crew lowered the car on him and when it hit the ground, Adam floored it… driving over his crew chief and killing him.
I don’t know that Adam Petty ever recovered from that, but it goes to show that racing is a dangerous sport.
When I started in racing, the Pit Crews didn’t wear head gear. Now it’s a rule and every guy or gal over the wall has to have head protection.
And I say gal because there are a few women tough enough to go over the wall and work on a car.
I always enjoyed great views at the track.
After winning one race, Jr. rode around with a skull and crossbones pirate flag. I wish I could find that photo.
This is a shot that explains a lot.. It’s what fans loved about Dale Jr. He was a legacy, drove a car with their favorite beer and was very patriotic. This was America for millions of fans around the country.
Here’s Dale wearing an Outlaw hat and posing with the trophy from the Talladega Super Speedway.
Although Dale Jr. spends his time commentating now…
There’s no replacing the fun times he had as a racer.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
The Natl. Hot Rod Assoc. (NHRA) is not nearly as big as NASCAR but they’re a close second. In this post, we’ll look at some marketing that goes on in the NHRA.
First, we’ll start with Hospitality tents.
The tents are usually erected between the haulers.
This allows the fans an up close and personal view of the teams working on the cars.
They always seem to measure it out perfectly.
Now to begin the final touches.
Almost finished.
And now, with the inflatable, it’s finished.
It makes for a great environment to entertain your guests.
Here’s a few shots of the inside.
It’s amazing what some green and black material can do.
Plenty of tables and chairs to watch the action.
There’s a banner wrapped around the square trash box.
Come race weekend, the guests are all very happy to be in the shade enjoying their day.
Sometimes, they served themselves.
And sometimes, the staff served them.
The fans loved the closeness to the driver.
Fans lined up for a chance to meet a driver and get an autograph from him.
We also handed out bags for the fans to carry their Swag in.
Our bags were better than other companies, so we never had a problem flooding the race scene with Quaker State bags.
Everybody loved our bags.
And they could be seen all over the track all day long.
In the Sport Compact series, we had a display stand made to hold the bags.
Now let’s switch gears, as one in racing might say. Another part of hospitality marketing is putting up banners around the track and surrounding area.
This is a pre-school and they always let me put banners on their fences because they said the kids loved it.
I was the only Banner Boy to ever put banners on the train bridge.
I always asked the companies on the way to the track if I could put banners up. If you don’t ask, they’ll just come cut them down and you will have wasted your time and supplies.
Here’s my crew, utilizing a wooden fence by the track.
This is right in front of the track entrance.
Everybody coming and going will see these banners.
Here are some pix around the tracks.
This is actually a good placement to deter banner thieves. But a pro could steal this banner from the other side with ease.
The food court is always a good place to banner, considering everybody goes there.
Barrel covers make a huge difference instead of just trash cans.
Bannering the Food Court gives the event a fun, carnival atmosphere.
Now let’s take a look at the entrance to the suites.
Notice the signage on the awning? The bannering? The barrel cover?
Now, a few years later, with a different sponsor, they neglected to logo the awning and don’t use barrel covers.
Adding ‘Welcome Race Fans’ ups the ‘Cool Factor’ of a banner.
Race fans love to take banners that say that.
Here we see banners and inflatables.
Here’s some banners without ‘Welcome Race Fans’.
Bannering is an important job and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Companies depend on you to get the word out about their products.
And you can see how many different companies have Banner Boys.
I enjoyed being a Banner Boy. It was lots of fun and practical jokes.
Now for a couple of inflatable pix.
There’s always inflatables near the starting line.
This one is near the suites entrance.
Here’s a good pic of some inflatables lined up and ready for TV time.
Hospitality marketing doesn’t have anything to do with the signage on the suites, but it’s still a very important part of the overall marketing program.
I’ve hung banners all across America.
Most of the time, it’s early in the morning… with the morning dew.
I was able to travel quite a lot while being a Banner Boy.
Here, Johnny and I are decorating a restaurant for a party.
Gotta love pennant roping.
At a drag race, there’s always a Primary Sponsor. They get dibs on the best spot for a tent.
And most often they have interactive things to engage the fans.
I’ve had to organize many a line for driver autographs.
Here my sister stands by Tony Pedregon as he signs for the fans.
This little kid had saved coke cans to buy a go kart, then it was stolen from him.
Quaker State heard about it and invited him and his family out to the drag strip and gave him a new go kart. I remember driving around Topeka, KS in our big truck to pick it up.
That kid had the best day ever. We let him drive down the road in front of all of the fans cheering for him.
Now for some big boys marketing.
These teams travel with this hospitality tent set up week to week through the whole season.
They have some of the nicest supplies money can buy.
It makes going to the races a whole lot of fun.
Now for some lower budget set ups. Here’s the entrance to the hospitality area.
Not much by way of decorations.
And here’s a look at the inside. Pretty no frills atmosphere.
Now here’s something I can appreciate. Lots of companies use models in the NHRA.
And I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like that.
I worked with a model or two in my time.
Fe and I worked a lot of races together.
I represented Pennzoil and Quaker State., as well as other companies.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at NHRA Hospitality Marketing.
That completes this NHRA 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
The Indy 500 Parade is one of the high points leading up to The Great American Race.
Everybody turns out to see the sights. It’s a wonderful family affair.
These motorcycle cops are fantastic. Each has a letter or the number that spells out Indianapolis 500.
They rode in a pattern and were perfect.
This has to be the highlight of these motorcycle cop’s year.
It’s one of the coolest things about the Indy 500 parade.
Here’s the first car to ever win a 500 at Indy. Ray Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968) drove the #32 Mormon ‘Wasp” to victory in 1911.
And here’s some other former race cars from the big race.
The current drivers in the 500 get rides with their wives or girlfriends.
There’s always plenty of bands playing in the parade.
Here’s some more drivers.
I love the horses.
I think they ride in the parade in the position they’re going to race from.
Ruth Buzzi, a famous comedienne in her day.
Blow it, baby.
I didn’t have a hard time getting people to wave. I was practically in the street with them.
Horses with American flags is very cool.
More High School kids doing their part to make a great parade for the fans.
Another former race car.
He was nice enough to wave.
Standing up in the saddle is tough to do. They’re pros at it.
I love all of the colorful uniforms.
Rupert from the show Survivor.
He waved at me.
These mounted police officers were kind enough to wave also.
Being a mounted police officer must be cool. Look at them.
These next 2 pix are the best ones I took at the parade.
It reminds me of a Ticker Tape parade in NYC.
Lots of color, I love it.
Cool older vette.
Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy. He remembered me from the night before in the bar talking with him, so he waved.
Here’s a tropical themed group.
Not sure what they were doing besides just dancing down the street.
Everybody loves Beauty Queens.
This float was full of them.
I wonder if the ones on top were more important… probably.
And here’s the last of the Beauty Queens.
An old time Fire Truck, very cool.
Never get tired of hearing the bands play as they pass.
Some old soldiers. Respect.
They marched right along the parade route and always got a big hand from the crowd.
Here’s their Flag Bearer.
Not sure who this was, but they waved.
I think this is an old Camaro.
A Tiger!
The Shriner’s on horseback.
I think these are some drivers from previous years.
The Chinese made an appearance.
This was a very cool balloon.
I think this is Chinese also.
The Flag Corps.
Here’s a slice of Americana, watching the parade.
And I know everybody loves cheerleaders.
Here’s some more famous people riding the parade route.
More older race cars.
The World’s Largest Drum.
I bet it would be fun to be in the parade and see all of the people cheering.
Another driver of the race.
These horses are huge… and beautiful.
Nice wave.
More cheerleaders.
And lastly, the Budweiser Clydesdales.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Indy 500 parade.
That completes this IndyCar 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
A lot of things have to fall into place before a NASCAR race can happen. Here is a photo of the Pit Road at Texas Motor Speedway.
It’s amazing to think of all the activity about to happen in this area. Race cars, Pit Crews and thousands of fans will roam this area before and during a race.
Pit Boxes are an essential part of the equipment NASCAR teams use to try and win a race. They’re also called War Wagons.
The Pit Boxes are about the only thing that NASCAR teams don’t transport to the race themselves. They pay a company called Champion Tire & Wheel to do that.
It costs $4,540 per team, or $18,000 total, each week.
Why carry a Pit Boxes back and forth across America every week when nothing changes on it. That’s just extra weight, extra room and extra gas for the Hauler.
Here is what the front of a Pit Area looks like with a Pit Box and wall banner.
This area is logo’d for TV coverage. Never miss a chance to get your logo on the boob tube.
This Pit Box has an All Weather cover for the Crew Chief and other members.
The Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the only race where the track paints the driver info on the Pit Wall.
A pit box provides a high-tech way to monitor the car during a race — and keep a close eye on the weather, too.
A NASCAR crew’s Pit Box is sort of like the bridge of the starship Enterprise. It’s loaded with electronics, all of which relay important information to the crew.
Once a Pit Crew member makes it on a regular basis with a race team, and if they do, it usually takes three to four years. The average salary is $80,000 to $120,000 a year.
Pit Crew superstars can make anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 a year.
It might be because I worked for Pennzoil, but I like their Pit Box very much. It’s a bright color and the logo-ing stands out and is eye catching.
McDonald’s has one of the nicest set ups.
Having the TV on the back enables the crew to watch the action, as well as fans on Pit Road.
Pit Boxes serve as the center of the pit crew’s universe, showing replays on television monitors, displaying scoring and lap times, and sometimes even providing that welcome bit of shade during a sunny race day.
Now this is fan friendly. People lucky enough to get on Pit Road during the race appreciate the TV’s.
The Geico Pit Box needs some color. The white is kind of bland.
Would look much better with blue instead of white.
This crew member is installing the satellite dish.
The M&M’s Pit Box would look better with the roof on. It just looks unfinished now.
Pit boxes also include the essential tools for the over-the-wall pit crews.
They hold the jacks, wrenches, duct tape and other essentials that drivers hope won’t have to be used during the race, like that dreaded big bat and sledge hammer.
Some of the pit boxes take hours to set up, with multiple satellite dishes and lots of technology. Others are much more simplistic, boasting the bare minimum of “bells and whistles”.
I have to give Burger King a failing grade for their logos… one logo. Hardly noticeable and when a crowd gathers, ti will be totally blocked.
Here’s another that could use an overhaul.
Cup war wagons start at around $55,000. Adding just a bit of technology can tack on another $25,000 to $40,000 per box.
NAPA’s set up looks great, very noticeable.
Even with a crowd in front of it.
It’s a good thing people know the Target logo.
Otherwise, no one would know what team this is because there’s no wording. Failing grade.
This next Pit Box has a high profile logo.
Too bad they don’t have any TV’s for the fans.
Mobil 1 & Office Depot have good logo’s.
The lady in the foreground has a great seat to enjoy all of the action during a race.
3M does it right.
Some pit boxes are incredibly elaborate, with multiple television screens, including race broadcasts, as well as satellite feed.
Many also include video cameras, VCRs, DVRs, computers and a warm up hub with lug nuts for the tire changers to practice before each pit stop.
Aaron’s has good logo’s.
I just wish they used a colored background instead of white. It just looks unfinished.
Best Buy has a nice set up, but notice the logos at the bottom.
During the race, they’re barely seen. They should have some logo’s by the TV’s.
Motorcraft started out with their roof on.
Then they took it off for the race. Notice the driver’s wife or girlfriend checking her phone instead of the race, lol.
I worked for Quaker State also and I like their Pit Box a lot too. The colors pop.
CAT has great logos, but no TV’s for the fans.
Here’s a Pit Box prepared for rain.
Now for the smaller teams. This team has no sponsors at all on their bare bones Pit Box.
Here’s another small time program.
Now, I’ll show you the progression of Pit Road.
Fans are taking pictures, going on Pit Tours and enjoying VIP access.
I had a great vantage point for these photos. I was on top of the NASCAR TV screen hauler.
A former co-worker now had a job driving this hauler for NASCAR. I always received a ‘Hot Pass’ and VIP access when I visited him at a race.
Here’s a pic of Pit Road during the race. I had just walked the distance and photographed all of the Pit Boxes during the race.
I hope you enjoyed this Blog Post about NASCAR War Wagon’s / Pit Boxes.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
NASCAR is a huge sport, one of the biggest around;
Seeing the race crowd, will astound.
The fans are rabid, for their favorite driver;
More popular than, a finals of Survivor.
Drivers sign autographs, by the droves;
Fans follow, wherever he roves.
Gordon’s got four championships, but Jimmie’s got seven;
If he gets to eight, he’ll be in heaven.
Earnhardt Sr. was the toughest, people always say;
I wish, he was here today.
Many drivers are rich, and claim a lot of fame;
Everybody knows Jeff Gordon, by his name.
There is no doubt, NASCAR is big in the South;
Smack talk a driver’s fan, get punched in the mouth.
Companies spend millions, to sponsor a car;
Sometimes, it doesn’t get far.
When interviewed, drivers say their sponsor’s name;
Driving for Extenze or Viagra, would be really lame.
Been to many races, seen all the big tracks;
Race fans wear all the logos, on their fronts and backs.
All around, Indy, Daytona and Charlotte;
A pit lizard, is a harlot.
Girls throw themselves at drivers, at every race;
Some sign on titties, and every other place.
Motorsports is good, for the economy;
We all drive, it’s our autonomy.
Go to a race, and yourself you’ll see;
It’s exciting, it’s not just me.
Fast as hell, they drive;
Some don’t make it, out alive.
Risk their lives, for our entertainment;
What a dangerous, arrangement.
NASCAR is great, and the drivers are fearless;
When it comes to driving, they’re peerless.
Get an autograph, and buy a hat;
Your friends will say, where’d you get that?
I love racing, it is the best;
Man and engine, a great test.
I’d like to be a racer, and drive really fast;
I’d probably end up, in a body cast.
You know you like it, you drive fast too;
Maybe you’re a fan, and just never knew.
Go to a race, it’ll change your mind;
You’ll become hooked, on speed of any kind.
I could go on, for many a part;
Gotta end, the race is about to start.
Spider Michaels
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
There are many people that have great ring collections. I don’t think mine is any better than most, but I happen to own some very special rings.
I’ve earned rings throughout my life and I’ve only lost one, my High School ring, and I will get that one replaced one day.
Below are some pictures with stories about my rings. I hope you enjoy it.
First up is my college ring. I graduated from McNeese State University in 1988. McNeese is in Lake Charles, LA. I grew up nearby.
It took me 4 and a half years to graduate because I bounced around between schools. I started out at McNeese, then transferred to the University of Louisiana. From there, I took some classes at Houston Community College so I could continue working at the waterpark I was working at year round. After all of that, I transferred back to McNeese and graduated.
After graduation from McNeese, I went to the University of Houston for Post – Baccalaureate work.
I enjoyed college and had some very fun times. I remember drinking lots of coffee and staying up all night to finish a project or cram for a test.
I made lots of friends in college and I often wonder what they’re up to. Maybe one day I’ll track them down and surprise them.
When I wear my college ring, I wear it with pride because I know how hard it is for some to afford college, or even make the grades to get into one. Hell, I got into four, lol.
I like my college ring because it reminds me of my friends from school, the good times and the hard work I put in to earn it.
This ring will always be very special to me.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, in 1988.
My next ring I earned while working at a waterpark called WaterWorld in Houston, TX.
I was on a lifeguard team that won 10 straight State Championships. We were awesome.
This is another ring that reminds me of good times and old friends. When we had our moment in the sun, we were the best and we reveled in it.
Not many can say that they were a champion lifeguard when they were in their youth.
I got my nickname, Spider, at the waterpark and we were called S.T.O.R.M. (Strong Team of Rescue Men).
After lifeguarding for over a decade, I went to work in motorsports.
It was my job to travel all over the U.S. and attend these big auto races and do marketing for really big companies.
I got to work hand in hand with the race teams and I got to know and like them all quite a lot.
I was with Sam Hornish, Jr.’s team, Panther Racing & Pennzoil, when he won his two IndyCar Championships. That’s how I received this next ring.
Working in the IndyCar series, I attended the Indy 500 every year and that was a blast.
I came close to being eligible for a team ring for the Indy 500.
Sam never won the Indy 500 while I was working with him, but after he changed teams he won The Great American Race, the Indy 500.
I like my IndyCar Championship ring. It reminds me of all the fun I had at the Indy 500 each year.
I have lots of photos and videos to remember those days, but my ring is most special to me.
I enjoyed my time with Panther Racing and the IndyCar League.
While working in motorsports, I also worked in NASCAR as well as IndyCar. I also worked in the NHRA too.
When I was working in NASCAR, I got to work with Jeff Gordon’s team doing Marketing work and entertaining their VIP guests.
I would take the VIP’s down into the Pit Area and Garage before the races and teach them all about NASCAR and racing.
What I taught them in about 30 to 45 minutes improved the quality of their race viewing that day because they understood better what was going on.
I traveled to many tracks across America to earn this ring and I’m probably most proud of it.
Jeff Gordon is a four time champion and I worked with his team for all four championships.
They say that there’s about 75 million NASCAR fans. I bet some would give their right arm to have had the chance to earn a ring like I did.
I’m one of the few people living that has earned a ring in the IndyCar Series and also NASCAR. Pretty rare, I have to say.
My Jeff Gordon Championship ring might be my favorite.
Here’s another ring from my NASCAR days. It’s from one of the bigger races in the season.
It’s from the Brickyard 400, which is run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.
So I got a ring from Indy after all, lol.
My Brickyard ring is pretty cool and I like it a lot.
I started out my career in Motorsports working in the NHRA (Natl. Hot Rod Assoc.). I’m happy to have a ring to remind me of all the good times and good friends I made in those days.
My first job in Motorsports was that of a Banner Boy. I loved it and would do it again.
In 1987, I got certified as a SCUBA Diver.
I went on several dives and loved diving.
I went down in the Bahamas, in the Florida Keys and some places in Texas.
I had this ring made for me specially because the Dive Organization doesn’t sell them.
One day, I’ll get them to use my design and sell it to other divers. I know other divers would love a dive ring once they got certified.
This first ring was just a test and it came out pretty good, although I don’t wear silver. 113 was my radio number at the waterpark. And PADI stands for Professional Assoc. of Diving Instructors.
Well, I contacted PADI and Jostens Rings to come up with this Dive Ring. I’m still working on getting it to all divers.
Jostens gave me the first ring off the production line for free.
This ring is much nicer. I was certified in 1987.
When I went to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, I came across this booth selling rings from the Rally, so I definitely got one to commemorate my experience there.
My Sturgis ring reminds me of some good times I had there.
Quite impressive when lined up side by side, if I do say so myself, lol. These rings represent lots of long, hot days on your feet all day. Also, lots of great friends and fond memories. And don’t forget all of the laughs I had along the way.
I have some other rings in my collection, but these are my favorites.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my rings and reading about them.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
Born on August 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California, Jeff Gordon began competitive auto racing at age five.
He notched four Series Cup championships after joining NASCAR’s top circuit in 1992, his popularity helping to expand the sport’s appeal to a mainstream audience.
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. respected the young Gordon when he entered the series and began to win a lot of races.
Jeff was ‘The Man’ during his career. Many companies wanted to work with him.
Here’s Jeff at the Driver’s Meeting before the Brickyard 400. You’re not supposed to take photos in here, but my photographer didn’t know that, lol.
Among NASCAR’s all-time leaders in victories, Gordon announced he was stepping down as a full-time driver in early 2015.
Jeffrey Michael Gordon was born on August 4th, 1971, in Vallejo, CA.
Parents Will and Carol divorced shortly after he was born. Carol began dating a co-worker named John Bickford.
Bickford stoked Jeff’s interest in auto racing before becoming his stepfather.
Gordon began racing BMX bikes at age four, and the following year he slipped behind the wheel of a quarter midget for his first competitive driving experience.
He won the national quarter-midget championship at ages 8 and 10, and continued to dominate older children in go-kart events.
When Gordon was 13, the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana, so he could race powerful sprint cars without the obstacle of a minimum age requirement.
After joining the United States Auto Club at 16, he won the organization’s National Midget championship at 19 and its’ Silver Crown championship the following year.
Having taken an interest in stock cars, Gordon earned a chance to race for owner Hugh Connerty in NASCAR’s Busch Grand National Series in 1990.
He joined Bill Davis’s team the following year, his first on the circuit full-time, and was named Rookie of the Year.
Gordon soon caught the eye of owner Rick Hendrick, who marveled at the young driver’s control of his vehicle.
Gordon signed with Hendrick in May 1992, and he made his Winston Cup Series debut that November in what turned out to be auto legend Richard Petty’s final NASCAR race.
Named the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1993, Gordon broke through with victories in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994.
With crew chief Ray Evernham and his “Rainbow Warriors” helping to keep the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet in top form, Gordon claimed his first series championship in 1995.
Gordon helped transform auto racing from a regional spectacle into a mainstream sport.
His corporate image rubbed some of racing’s old guard the wrong way, but even the critics had to acknowledge his immense skills.
Gordon became the youngest driver to triumph at the Daytona 500 in 1997 and tied a modern record with 13 victories in 1998, finishing both years as the series champion.
He notched a fourth championship in 2001 with new crew chief Robbie Loomis in tow, culminating an amazing stretch that produced 56 victories in seven years.
Here’s an autograph card made by Quaker State.
Jeff made hundreds of driver appearances over the years for all of his sponsors. Here we are in Arkansas, at a Wal-Mart.
Jeff’s merchandise hauler always had an eye catching design.
And there was always a crowd at his hauler, buying merchandise.
Jeff had fans of all ages and especially children.
Jeff was a lot like Dale Earnhardt, Sr., in that fans either loved him or loved to hate him.
A fifth championship proved elusive, but Gordon continued to rank among NASCAR’s elite.
He won his third Daytona 500 in 2005, and in 2007 he accumulated a modern-record 30 Top-10 finishes en route to a second-place finish in the standings.
Bothered by back problems in 2008, Jeff proved more than capable of keeping up with the sport’s young guns in 2014, notching a record fifth Brickyard 400 trophy among his four victories.
Gordon announced in January 2015 that the upcoming season would be his last as a full-time NASCAR driver.
At the time, his 92 career victories were third most all-time, and his four championships ranked fourth.
He launched the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation in 1999 to help fund pediatric cancer research. In 2006, he opened the Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, North Carolina.
Previously married to Brooke Sealey, a former Miss Winston, Gordon married Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006. They have two children, Ella and Leo.
These next 2 photos are from the Brickyard 400 in 2 different years.
Can you notice any differences?
This design looks great, but I prefer the flames.
Jeff was a fan favorite and a Media Darling. He was interviewed everywhere he went.
My photographer friend took these next 3 shots. I think they’re pretty good.
You never see photos like this.
Jeff was always easy to work with.
When I was working with Jeff, you always expected to stay late because of Winner’s Circle activities. We just thought Jeff would win at every race, and often he did.
The Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 were my favorite races to work. The photo below is from the Brickyard.
As well as this one also.
A lot of drivers in the veteran ranks didn’t care too much for Jeff’s pretty boy good looks, but the media loved him and he helped bring the sport into mainstream entertainment.
Jeff’s car is on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
Jeff holds the record for most NASCAR wins at the Brickyard 400, which is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He has 5 victories.
Can you tell which championship this was?, lol.
Having an autographed champions photo is pretty cool.
I know a lot of people who would have loved to get into the garage area and get a photo next to their favorite drivers’ car.
This was the last time I was able to get a pic with Jeff’s car before he retired.
Driving instructors gave me rides around tracks all over the country when I was there for the Driving School.
I was able to drive the number 24 car around Charlotte Motor Speedway, in the heart of NASCAR country.
I was involved in several Winner’s Circles over the years.
It was my job, on this day of the Daytona 500, to chaperone Bill Goldberg, the wrestler, around the track. He was happy Jeff won and thought going to Winner’s Circle was very cool.
This was Jeff’s 4th championship. I’m happy to have a photo of Jeff, Rick Hendrick and I.
Hendrick Motorsports gave out championship rings to a lot of people involved with the team. My sister received a championship pendant.
Some of the corporate people got rings as well, sized to their fingers and with their names on them.
It burned my ass to see some guys selling their rings online. I’ll never get rid of mine. I worked too hard for it.
I worked the Brickyard 400 every year, so it was nice to get a ring with my name on it.
Working with Sam Hornish, Jr. in the IndyCar series was fun and winning two championships was even better.
The side panel of my ring has both years on it… ’01 & ’02.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
When I came onto the racing scene, Dale Earnhardt was already a well established driver, having been driving for decades already.
NASCAR fans either loved him, or loved to hate him. They called him ‘The Intimidator’ and when other drivers saw him in their rearview mirror it usually meant they were about to be passed.
Dale would come up on drivers and ‘rattle their cage’, so to speak. The other driver would be so concerned with Dale that they would eventually make a mistake and Dale would overtake them.
Dale won 7 NASCAR Championships to tie Richard ‘The King’ Petty. Since then, Jimmie Johnson has also won 7 Championships.
Dale wanted to win the Daytona 500 his whole career. He finally did it in 1998, on his 20th attempt.
I was there that day and when Dale came down Pit Road, headed towards the Winner’s Circle, every team came out to congratulate him. It was quite amazing to see.
In 2001, Dale died in a terrible crash at the same track, The Daytona 500. He was blocking for his son and another driver when his car was clipped in the back.
He spun and drove straight into the wall at nearly 200 mph. He was killed instantly.
Here is a photo the instant he died. I was at that race also and we were working with Dale through sponsorships at the time. It was a sad night when we heard the news.
NASCAR fans mourned the loss of the toughest driver to ever race.
Daytona International Speedway erected a statue in his honor.
I try to go see it every time I’m at Daytona.
It’s one of the coolest monuments I’ve ever seen. The likeness is unreal and he’s holding the Daytona 500 trophy.
Dale was also known as the ‘The Man in Black’.
After dale died, that whole season NASCAR honored him by maintaining radio silence during the 3rd lap of every race, 3 being his number.
This silence included the tv broadcasters so there was no audio on the 3rd lap of any kind. Pretty amazing tribute.
Dale is also known for ‘The Pass in the Grass’ at 1987’s The Winston race when he slid off into the grass yet still was able to pass Bill Elliott to win the race.
At the time of his death, he had earned more money than any other driver in history.
By 2000, 25 percent of NASCAR’s $1.1 billion merchandising sales went to Earnhardt-related items.
Earnhardt’s auto-racing business, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., expanded exponentially, eventually making $41.6 million, with 200 employees and three cars on the NASCAR circuit.
The company had a corporate jet, a helicopter, and a 76-foot yacht, and the work area at DEI was so big that his mechanics called it the “garage-mahal.”
Earnhardt once summed up his driving style by saying, “I want to give more than 100 percent every race, and if that’s aggressive, then I reckon I am.”
He also said of driving, “It’s not a sport for the faint of heart.”
Dale’s Awards and Achievements: Seven Winston Cup Series Championship Wins (1980; 1986; 1987; 1990; 1991; 1993; 1994); 1979 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award; 2001 Winston Cup Series “Most Popular Driver”; 1998 (Named one of NASCAR’s Top 50 Drivers of All Time); 2002 Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee; 2006 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee; 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee
The season Dale died, his merchandising haulers were signed by fans all over the country. These are the pics I took.
The notes were sometimes very sad to read because you could tell his fans were hurting.
He had a merchandising hauler for several years after his death.
Following the death of Dale Earnhardt, the #3 car was officially retired from racing until the 2014 season. Kevin Harvick was named by Richard Childress as Earnhardt’s replacement, but drove under the banner of the #29 car.
Dale Earnhardt has multiple roads named after him. A street in Kannapolis,, North Carolina (his hometown) currently bears the name “Dale Earnhardt Boulevard.”
Earnhardt first earned his nickname “The Intimidator” during the 1987 All-Star Race in Charlotte, North Carolina during his famous “Pass in the Grass” moment.
This title was extremely fitting for Earnhardt who became well-known for his aggressive driving that none could match.
One of Dale’s 1990 race cars sold for a record fee and the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction.
It’s hard to believe that Dale died when he was 49. I’m older than Dale now, but I’ll always consider him my elder.
Dale once said, “Second place is just the first place loser.” No truer words were ever uttered.
I like a lot of drivers but Dale is at the top. What’s not to like about “The Intimidator’ and ‘The Man in Black’.
I made this collage after Dale died by using some of the photos from our company. I’ll always be a fan.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
NASCAR stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
A joke by some is that it stands for…Non Athletic Sport that Centers Around Rednecks, or Non Athletic Sport Composed of Amused Rednecks.
Today it boasts of more than 75 million fans.
The driving force behind the establishment of NASCAR was William “Bill” France Sr. (1909-1992), a mechanic and auto-repair shop owner from Washington, D.C., who in the mid-1930s moved to Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Daytona area was a gathering spot for racing enthusiasts, and France became involved in racing cars and promoting races. After witnessing how racing rules could vary from event to event and how dishonest promoters could abscond with prize money, France felt there was a need for a governing body to sanction and promote racing.
He gathered members of the racing community to discuss the idea, and NASCAR was born, with its official incorporation in February 1921. France served as NASCAR’s first president and played a key role in shaping its development in the sport’s early decades.
In the early days, the drivers raced down the beach of Daytona then turned and raced back down the road until they turned back onto the beach to come around again.
NASCAR held its first Strictly Stock race on June 19, 1949, at the Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina. Some 13,000 fans were on hand to watch Glenn Dunnaway finish the 200-lap race first in his Ford; however, Jim Roper (who drove a Lincoln) collected the $2,000 prize after Dunnaway was disqualified for illegal rear springs on his vehicle.
In the early years of NASCAR, competitors drove the same types of cars that people drove on the street–Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, among others–with minimal modifications. Today, the cars are highly customized.
In 1950, the first NASCAR-based track, the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, opened. More new raceways followed, including the Daytona International Speedway, which opened in 1959.
Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500, which was run on February 22 of that year.
The Daytona 500 became NASCAR’s season opener and one of its premiere events. Lee Petty’s son Richard, who began his racing career in 1958, won the Daytona 500 a record seven times and became NASCAR’s first superstar before retiring in 1992.
NASCAR roots are from Bootlegging moonshine across the South. Many drivers started out by tuning up their cars and hauling illegal liquor around the South.
Their fast cars helped them outrun the law. Then someone got the bright idea to cut a racetrack into a cow pasture and, as they say, the rest is history.
Today, NASCAR drivers race on multi-million dollar tracks in cars costing over $150,000, to the delight of hundreds of thousands of fans watching it live at the tracks; and millions more watching from home on TV.
Before we get started with the tour, I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. I worked in Motorsports for 10 years.
During that time I had many responsibilities. One of them was that I was a NASCAR Tour Guide.
I would escort VIP Guests into the Pit and Garage Areas and explain to them all the things about racing that they needed to know to enjoy the race that day better.
During my racing career, I was able to drive NASCAR race cars many times.
I drove the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where they host the Indy 500 every year, as well as NASCAR’s Brickyard 400.
Charlotte Motor Speedway was fun and it’s in the heart of NASCAR territory with most of the race teams in the area.
I also drove the Daytona International Speedway, twice. They host the Daytona 500 and it was a really exciting experience to drive on such a big racetrack with so much history.
I learned quite a bit about racing from driving these cars so fast.
I’m about to share some of that knowledge with you now on a virtual NASCAR Tour.
I hope you enjoy reading the rest of my article and maybe you’ll learn some things you didn’t know about NASCAR and racing before.
It’s in the garage area where the teams work on their cars, getting them ready to race. Now let’s talk about the cars.
A NASCAR racecar can cost between $150,000 and $175,000 dollars.
There’s no air conditioning, no headlights, no brake lights and the doors don’t work.
They don’t have a gas gauge or a speedometer. They do have a tachometer. They use this to check their speed when coming down pit road so they don’t getting caught speeding.
There’s only one seat and it’s molded to fit each driver’s body exactly.
The steering wheels come on and off to make it easier to get into the car because it is so cramped for space.
The engine size is 358 cubic inches and can cost between $45,000 and $80,000 dollars. The teams build their own engines and they take 100 hours to complete. It can generate over 700 horsepower.
On the two largest tracks, the teams are required to use “Restrictor Plates”. These plates go on the carburetor and restrict the flow of air so the cars can’t go as fast as usual, which is over 200 miles an hour on the other tracks.
Many times you’ll see celebrities. Here is Ben Affleck at the Daytona 500.
There is always a Blimp at the race for aerial coverage for the network broadcast.
Before the start of the race, the teams line their cars up on the track in their starting positions.
They will plug the cars up to a small generator.
This generator powers heating pads in the car that keeps the engine fluids warm and ready to race.
The picture below is at the Brickyard 400. This is the view from our suite for VIP Guests.
It can get pretty crowded on the track before the race begins.
Here you can see the generator better, that heats up the engine fluids.
The drivers will take a lap around the track to wave to the fans before the race starts.
The fans love this and cheer wildly for their favorite drivers.
The Pit Crew members are starting to become recognized for the Professional Athletes that they are.
They will stretch out so that they are ready for the Pit Stops.
Crew members will fill up their gas cans.
Here we see a team member hauling gas back to his pit area. You can imagine how hard this is to do when Pit Road is full of spectators.
Finally, the pace car leads the race cars out onto the track for the start of the race.
The race fans go crazy when the cars pass in front of them.
You may not be able to see them but each car has two roof flaps that raise up and catch air if the car gets turned sideways or backwards.
You can see them better in this photo. They catch air and help to hold the car to the ground instead of letting the air get underneath the rear of the car and lift it off of the ground and flip it in the air.
It can reach 140 degrees in a race car during the race and a driver can lose as much as 5 – 10 pounds of weight from sweating for over 3 hours in a race car.
By the floorboards of the car, it can get as hot as 170 degrees, so the drivers wear additional foot protection attached to the outside of their racing shoes.
When a race car is involved in a wreck or crash, usually the car is totaled.
It is reduced to a pile of rubble.
When a driver wins the race, he drives his car to Victory Lane to get the trophy, pose for photos and celebrate with his team.
It is a great time for the whole team.
They will stay in the Winner’s Circle for a while after a victory.
Most of the time, a driver will do a burn out after he wins. The fans love this.
At the Brickyard 400, the team and car are elevated and it makes for some great photos.
At the Brickyard 400, the whole team kisses the famous yard of bricks. At the Indy 500, only the driver kisses the bricks.
Here they are smooching away. You can see where the driver did his burn out earlier.
Afterwards, the team climbs the fence and the fans love it.
At the end of the racing season, NASCAR has an Awards Banquet in New York every year.
I enjoyed going to these Banquets. Riding around in limos and going to nice parties is always fun while in New York.
I usually try to attend the Texas NASCAR race every few years, if I can.
I always spent time around Jeff Gordon’s Crew.
Here I am with a NASCAR Spokesmodel, Miss Sprint Cup.
I’m with Gordon’s car as it goes through inspection in this picture.
Many won’t remember that I drove in NASCAR for a short time until injuries from a crash caused me to retire early. Here I am qualifying for the Daytona 500 in my car.
Just kidding. I was never a driver in NASCAR. I made this car by putting my logos on a real car with photoshop, lol.
But if I had ever been a driver, I would have loved to race in this car.
And sometimes if you’re lucky, you can get a photo with a NASCAR Champion.
The photo below is of the Rings of my Career.
College Graduate, Lifeguard Champion, NASCAR Championship Team Ring, Brickyard 400 Winner Team Ring and IndyCar Championship Team Ring to name a few.
I was fortunate to get a NASCAR Championship Ring for my work on Jeff Gordon’s team and also a Championship Ring for my work in IndyCar with Sam Hornish, Jr. Not many in Racing can say that. I’m probably the only VIP Tour Guide with rings from both major series in Motorsports.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Virtual Tour of NASCAR racing. Maybe you learned some things you didn’t know before.
I guess you could say this tour was 10 years in the making, lol.
I have some Motorsport videos on my site that you might enjoy seeing. The walk down Pit Road during the Texas race, in particular.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
The Indianapolis 500 is called ‘The Great American Race’. Most people just say Indy 500.
I’d like to start off by showing you some before and after photos from our suite.
Now I’ll show you around the area right near the track.
On the side of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a street with many vendors set up on it.
Even though there was traffic, people just walked in the street.
You can rent scanners to listen to the race while you are in the bleachers.
There’s plenty of souvenir stands to get your fill of race memorabilia.
I was invited into a guy’s house near this street and he had more racing memorabilia than I had ever seen.
I always enjoyed ‘People Watching’ in these areas. Man, you could see some sights.
See what I mean, lol.
You could also see fun loving girls. Look where her right hand is.
One year I was assigned to work with all of these models giving away free stuff at the entrance gates to the race. It was a fun day.
VIP guests who were invited to the race would get a Gift Basket waiting for them in their hotel rooms.
On Saturday night, before the race, the guests are invited to a dinner at the race teams’ shop.
They would receive gifts here as well. Here they get a miniature race car like the team’s real one.
A race simulator would be set up for the guests to try their hand at racing. They loved this.
The driver would make an appearance and speak about the upcoming race the next day.
After the dinner, the guests would get another gift in their hotel room waiting for them with a reminder of when the buses were leaving the next morning for the race.
When they arrived at the track race day morning, they would enter a nice VIP suite just for them.
They would check in and receive a race hat and other nice gifts.
Food and drinks are served all during the race.
The VIP guests can come into the air conditioning during the race and watch it on TV’s in the suite if they get too hot outside.
Here’s a view of the track, on race day morning, from the suite for VIP guests. I would always arrive early and just walk around or chill in our suite and have breakfast before my day started.
It was a ‘no stress’ start to a busy day, instead of getting stuck in traffic for hours just to get to the track.
About 6 hours later it looks like this.
Here’s the view in the other direction.
The track is 2 1/2 miles long and can handle over 250,000 in the seating and with the infield fans it grows to about 300,000 people inside the track for the race.
On race day morning, the teams work diligently preparing their cars.
Three drivers have won the Indianapolis 500 four times each:
A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977)
Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)
Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991)
The youngest driver to win the Indy 500 was Troy Ruttman, who was 22 years, 80 days old when he won the 36th Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1952. The oldest winner of the Indianapolis 500 is Al Unser, who was 47 years, 360 days old when he won the 71st Indianapolis 500 on May 24, 1987.
The fastest speed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 237.498 mph by Arie Luyendyk during qualifying May 12, 1996.
Luyendyk turned a lap of 239.260 during practice May 10, 1996. It was the fastest unofficial lap ever at the Speedway, as practice laps are not official.
Seven women have started the Indy 500, but Janet Guthrie (1977) was the first, qualifying 26th and finishing 29th.
An IndyCar Series car could run upside down. It generates 5,000 pounds of downforce when going 220 mph. Since the cars weigh only 1,575 pounds, this amount of downforce would, in fact, allow the car to run upside down on the ceiling if that speed is maintained, according to the IndyCar people.
The cars’ tires are marked with white chalk so the pit crew members know where the tires go on the car.
This helps them put the Left Front tire in the right location on the car, as well as the Right Front, Left Rear and Right Rear.
The race is 200 laps over a 2.5-mile circuit. This totals 500 miles, hence the name – the Indy 500.
Two drivers lost the lead on the 199th lap — Robby Gordon in 1999 and Marco Andretti in 2006.
On race day morning, local schools and organizations parade around the track for the early bird fans. Many don’t get to see this because they are stuck in traffic for hours just trying to get parked.
On race day, fans will consume 24,000 pounds of track fries. And if all of the hot dogs and bratwurst sold on race day were laid end to end, they would circle the 2 1/2 mile track more than three times.
It’s been said that Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl, Churchill Downs, the Colosseum in Rome and Vatican City all can fit inside the Indy oval (253 acres).
The Purdue band is a tradition of the Indy 500.
After inspection, the teams bring the race cars out to their pit area and continue to fine tune them.
The Pit Crews practice pit stops all morning long on Race Day.
Sometimes they will let a VIP sit in the car while they practice. They love it.
While the team prepares the car and practices, the driver conducts interviews for the media. This is a full time job for them.
Prior to race day, the driver and team take promotional Press Photos with the race car.
This is one of the few times that the team is photographed. Usually it’s just the driver.
Celebrities will ride around the track and wave to the fans. This is Patrick Dempsey from the successful TV show Grey’s Anatomy. He was recently killed off from that show.
Later, the teams will position the race car on the track in their starting positions.
You’ll see models posing for pictures before the race.
It’s one of the benefits of getting to the track early.
They look good coming…
And going, lol.
I always tried to get a photo with the track mascot, Firehawk.
I worked with Bart Conner, the Olympic Gold Medalist. He and I were with the Pennzoil Panther Racing team; so was Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan Head Coach now.
I told you there were benefits to getting up early.
Here I am with Rupert from the TV show Survivor. He’s from Indy so he’s always at the race.
I’ve run into Linda Vaughn at a lot of races. She’s famous for being a well known Racing model in her day.
Even The Donald made an appearance at the 500.
Here’s the trophy. When it was first made it cost $10,000, now it’s worth over one million dollars.
Here’s my picture from the museum that is on the property. It’s the first car to ever win the Indy 500.
The bright-yellow, wasp-tailed racer won at an average speed of 74.6 mph. The driver was Ray Harroun, and the year was 1911. The luminous yellow car made it onto a commemorative U.S. Postal Service stamp in 2011 for the centennial.
The Pagoda is a very cool building right at the Start / Finish line.
The view from this building must be fantastic.
Here are the Harrah’s Casino models.
And here are the Trim Spa models.
The State Troopers were happy to be at the race.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also called ‘The Brickyard”. The “Brickyard” gets its’ name from the 1909 surfacing project when 3.2 million street paving bricks were laid for the racing surface. On the current asphalt track, one yard of the historic brickwork is exposed at the start-finish line.
I always tried to get a photo with our race car before the race. I’m posing by that famous yard of bricks.
It’s these famous bricks that the winning driver kisses after victory.
The track turns into a madhouse prior to the start of the race. Fans crowd in to get a view of the drivers when they come out.
You can see what I’m saying in this picture. The drivers have to go through a sea of people to get to their cars.
Before the race starts, the drivers line up and get introduced to the fans.
Here’s Jim Harbaugh, like I said earlier. He’s a very cool guy.
After driver introductions, the drivers go to their cars and begin getting ready to race.
After their helmet and gloves are on, they squeeze into their cars. It’s a snug fit.
You can see why so many drivers survive those high speed crashes because not much is sticking out of the car; just the top of the helmet.
I always liked seeing the paint schemes on the helmets.
After the driver is strapped in, there’s a few minutes for a last little meeting before the start of the race.
Once the race track is cleared of people, the race gets underway to the thrill of the crowd.
The pit crews patiently wait for the opportunity to do their jobs.
A bad pit stop can lose a race. A good pit stop can win a race also.
In NASCAR, the car is lifted one side at a time. The right side tires are changed first, then the Jack man brings the jack around and lifts the left side, so those tires can be changed.
In IndyCar, the race car is lifted from underneath, in the center, so that all four tires are off of the ground at the same time. This allows the Pit Crew to change all four tires at once, as you can see in the photo below.
After a crash, there’s not much left to these race cars. Just trash to be hauled away.
Most times, the drivers just walk away from these crashes because the cars are so safe now days, but fourteen drivers have been killed in the past as the result of accidents during the race, including Bill Vukovich in 1955, who was trying for his third straight victory.
After pit stops and crashes, the race continues on for 500 miles.
Finally, the checkered flag waves to signal the end of the race and to announce the race winner.
The winning team head to Victory Lane to celebrate.
The driver gets a wreath around his neck and is photographed by everybody.
This driver has his family with him. What good memories his kids will have of the Indy 500.
After the driver makes a victory lap to wave to the fans, he comes back to the Start / Finish line where all of the photographers are waiting of him.
He then kisses the famous bricks of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I’m right in the middle of this photo in the red shirt. This picture was the centerfold shot in ESPN the Magazine. I thought this was pretty cool so I bought some extra copies for posterity.
Most times, the driver will climb the fence and the fans go crazy. Here, the winner and his teammate do it together.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about the famous Indy 500.
It’s way more exciting to see it personally than it is to watch it on TV, so if you ever get the chance to go, do it!
The photo below is of the Rings of my Career.
College Graduate, Lifeguard Champion, NASCAR Championship Team Ring, Brickyard 400 Winner Team Ring and IndyCar Championship Team Ring.
I was fortunate to get a NASCAR Championship Ring for my work on Jeff Gordon’s team and also a Championship Ring for my work in IndyCar with Sam Hornish, Jr. Not many in Racing can say that. I’m probably the only Banner Boy with rings from both Major Racing Series, lol.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a little of what the Indy 500 is all about.
That completes this IndyCar 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
The tires on a NASCAR car weigh 50 pounds each, and someone has to push them and carry them to the pits for all the changes.
The specialized NASCAR fuel is Sunoco Green E15, a 98 octane, unleaded fuel blend specifically engineered for high-performance engines and race cars.
Only a few years ago, NASCAR used leaded fuel in the cars that circled the racetrack each weekend.
All backed in.
And Wendy and I in Times Square.
A shot from on top of Seattle’s Space Needle.
Here I am inside of one of the casinos.
Dale only read a half a book about himself. It was written by someone else, and he didn’t even read the whole thing.
