Rennaissance Faire - 2009

Luann & I went to the Rennaissance Faire to see something we hadn't seen before... a belly dancing contest. And of course, there were other sights to see during our visit too.

We watched a several teams compete for the win, and we soon came to realize that a certain body-type is required so that the dance is filled with allure and sensuality. We do have to admit these girls have our admiration, because there is no way we would even think about getting up on stage, let alone sashay our hips like that...

There were differant dancing style and selections of music to dance to.

This 12 year-old girl did very well.

This troupe is my hands-down favorite. They worked very well together and were quite fluid in their movements and choreography.

As for this pair, I didn't quite grasp the outfits, or the music they danced to, which was reminiscent of a German waltz. Oh well, at least we were able to get an idea of what belly dancing is about...

We also walked around and visited the critters in the petting zoo.

Luann said this cute little ducky is for sale, but I didn't feel like bringing home something that would freak out our cat.

Now, this costume is awesome. He reminds me of one of those trees from the Lord of the Rings movie. Nice job!

A close-up detail shot. Yep, nice job.

I always get a kick out of the birds of prey show, and the falconer was walking around with this kestrel on her glove. Beautiful bird...

And here is one of the hawks she was flying too.

I got a kick out of this 'statue'. Especially when some guy told his teen-aged daughter to pose in front of it and the guy inside put his hand on her shoulder. I laughed so hard, we had to drop a dollar in his bucket. It was worth it.

As we strolled along, I asked Luann if the tree looked a little strange. She jumped a little when the foliage smiled...

And here is Katrina working in the corset shop. The ladies there assist potential purchasers with trying on the different wares there, and to instruct them in the proper way to lace them up.

Here is one of the kiddy-shows. The baby dragon talks to the wizard and gets a little sassy with him at times.

And there was a filming crew from the University of South Florida, working on getting a good grade for creating a Renn-Faire commercial.

Well, that was our day at the Faire, hope you had a nice day too.