"We Don't Do Anything"

This video is from evening pub sing in the main hall. Drunk & Sailor always get the crowd singing along--"You will participate, or the Captain will come out there," is what they like to say. And he certainly does seem to like to single out individuals or small groups of people (usually newbies) who are not playing the game with the rest of the audience, and encourage them to join in the fun.

This song may be familiar to some readers, but we'll just chalk that up to our collective cultural literacy--you, me, and my rennies here--and ignore that. But if that is the case, you will also notice that I failed to record the whole song, which is rather long to sit through if you're not here for the music. (Although I know you may be here for the pirates.) But no matter!

What I took this video for was to show the collective behavior of ritual--yes, ritual. That and how you can tell who is a "cultural insider" at this faire. You can see how the people down front who know how this show goes are jumping with the music as if this is simply how the world works. And at KHRF, it is! (You should see the version of this that happens in the Twisted Thistle, the over 21 pub on site. There is more...bouncing...involved. Think wenches in tight bodices. But this here is a family show.)

Now notice how some of the ones along the edges, like the faeries who were visiting from Great Lakes Medieval Faire, weren't quite sure how they should join in. Meanwhile, the king was up front jumping around like a little kid. (He's a good egg.) It was a lot of fun watching the people from the other faire acclimate to this one over the course of the weekend.