Huzzah!

I first put my fingers on the strings of a harp at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It was the very harp that Jack McGowan would take home and later give to me.

Ever since that day, I've toyed with the idea of being a performer at the Festival. I even auditioned while I was still in college, but a shoulder injury that still plagues me sometimes prevented me from going ahead with the plan. Then life got in the way of the dream, my schedule got crazy and my performances went in other directions.

I still think the Renaissance Festival is a magical place. So when the Festival entertainment committee put out a call for Irish performers and exhibitors to participate in Irish Heritage weekend at the Festival, I decided this was my chance to be a part of the magic.

I dusted off the Renaissance girl costume that Mom made me about 15 years ago. I begged Mom and my Auntie Sheila to go with me for moral support and general entertainment. I told them they had to dress up, too. Their costumes were a mixture of craft store chic, closet raiding and frantic sewing on the drive to the Festival.

Auntie Sheila was kind of Mother Superior...of the Dungeon.
Mom looked like an escapee from the harem.
I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time.

Despite the rain and the chill in the air, it was a wonderful experience to finally perform at the Festival. I even reconnected with a harper I've admired since I first started playing. It was a little nerve wracking when he stopped to listen to me play.

Children loved the harp.
This little one even danced to the music.

The harp sounded so sweet out there in the open air,
with a costumed, jolly crowd going by.
I think it knew it was home.