Elf Fantasy Aftermath.

the Elf Fantasy Fair was almost a week ago, and I've only come round to blogging about it now - that means something, right?

First of all: the evening before.
My boyfriend and my buddy Laurens were both staying over, simply because it would make the next day a whole lot easier (not having to wait till someone's bus arrives, and all that).
We had nice food together  and did all the necessary preparations for the next morning, then went to bed. And by 'bed' I mean 3 air mattresses on the floor of my mother's workshop, which is actually very cosy.

Then it was Saturday, and a glorious Saturday it was.
A last-minute decision by my mother and me made sure we didn't put the gold on in the shape of a mask, but just covered one half of my face in it instead. We also decided to use real gold instead of fake, which was a good move. The fake gold (on which we had experimented a few days before) was too shiny and harsh for what I had in mind. The real gold looked much softer and looked much better with my costume. It took a while to apply, but it was soo worth it.
Special thanks to my friend Karen, who was kind enough to lend me her spirit gum for this insane project.

A photo in the car: lots of pearls and gold. Also, the hearts in my earrings are Swarovski.

So decadent...

The car ride took about an hour and a half. We left aroudn 10 (later than we had planned, but hey) and had fun in the car, doing a capella versions of all kinds of silly songs. We arrived at the fair around 11.30.
Then, we shopped, and had nomz, and generally had a good time.

Upon arrival. Left to right: my brother, my boyfriend, me, and Laurens.

Meeting up with an old friend
(who thought he might make some money by removing and selling the gold-covered half of my face).

I wasn't the only person with gold on her face - but I was the only one with the real deal.
These girls were absolute darlings.

Tournaments rule.

 In the afternoon, we went to a lecture by Brian Muir. This name probably won't ring any bells, but I'm quite sure you've already seen lots of his work - unless you've been living under a rock for the past 30 years. Brian Muir is a sculptor who makes props and backgrounds for movies - he has worked on Star Wars (he sculpted Darth Vader's helmet and worked on the Stormtrooper armour), James Bond, Indiana Jones, Alien, Harry Potter, and lots lots more.
After the lecture, we got a chance to talk to him, and he's actually a really nice and modest guy. Turns out most movie props are destroyed after filming... Shame. We bought his book (and got it autographed), and took a photo with him.

My mother and me with Brian Muir.

Then, we had to go see Roland Rotherham's lecture, which started only 15 minutes after Brian Muir's. Luckily, my boyfriend (who hadn't attended the first lecture with us) saved us some seats - it was incredibly crowded! Can't say I was surprised though: Roly, as everyone tends to call him, is just awesome. He is an English professor specialised in Grail studies, with massive knowledge on anything mystical or historical. This lecture was on visionaries: men who saw the future (Leonardo Da Vinci, Jules Verne, etc.). While he told us so many interesting things in such an amusing way, he handed out candy to anyone who could answer one of his questions (unfortunately, there were only 3 questions).
Afterwards, we talked to him as well. We had a question about registering a coat of arms (more specifically: how can an Englishman register a coat of arms on the mainland) and got a very helpful answer - and candies!

After that, we went to see the science fiction bit, where we ran into some bounty hunters - who immediately started to ambush Laurens ("you only have one shot... there's four of us!"), then took a photo with us. So many nerdgasms! Lol.

Boba and co.

 I also ran into some old friends. I know Bas, Gijs and Aron from when I used to LARP (Live Action Role Playing - don't have the time for it now though). I was especially happy to see Bas again, since he went on a world trip over a year ago, and has only recently come back. God I love my roleplaying peeps. LARPing together really creates a bond.

First time I saw my buddies Gijs, Aron and Bas in a loooong time.

 At the end of the day (after some more shopping), we saw a folk band named Estampie. We really wanted to see that, since we're into folk (derp), and also because we're huge Qntal fans (and the Qntal singer is also part of Estampie). It was awesome. As Estampie performed, it slowly turned dark. I met my LARP friends again aind had some fun with them while watching the concert. By the end of the concert, they had lit torches all over the terrain, which looked awesome in the dark. The mood was just perfect.
Nothing beats watching a folk concert with friends and some mead from your cosy spot in the grass on a nice spring evening.

Estampie concert at the end of the day.

Don't let the cave-in get you down, Sokka!

We only got home around midnight and were all knackered (after all, we got up at 6 in the morning), so we went straight to bed.

The next day, we took everything very slow. Late breakfast, some goofing around with laptop, etc.
That afternoon, we booked our hotel for Elf Fantasy Fair Arcen in September. The whole family (mother, brother, boyfriend and me) are spending the whole weekend there. I can't wait!