It was a tiring but lovely 2 weeks for us. Each year, in the autumn, we run 3 booths at the Shakespeare Festival which keeps us very busy. We have our own booth which has the rosaries, the religious jewelry, the Kanzashi Flowers and Theresa’s soap.
Beside us is our grandson, Tony’s booth. It is a game booth called “Rock the Realm” where you “get to” throw stones at the chess pieces in order to knock them down. It is always a busy booth! What kid (and adult) doesn’t like to throw a few rocks!?
The other booth is one that my husband started last year. The “Mushroom Man” has mushroom tinctures, mushroom jerky, homemade mushroom soup and then deep-fried mushrooms. He does well with the booth and is a very personable salesman so he has some great times!
We bump into a lot of people that we have known through the years and we get to know others who live in the locale and touch base with them. It is two weekends in a row, from Friday to Sunday, 5pm – 11pm.
To give you an idea what the Shakespeare Festival is (because, you know, you may want to come next year!!) here is an excerpt from their website:
The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival is a community based initiative focused on providing patrons with classical outdoor theater under the stars of Northeast Kansas.
Each fall the festival transforms a wood affectionately known as Sir William’s Hollow into an outdoor Shakespearean Amphitheater and Festival. Located in St. Marys, Kansas the festival was established in 2010 and has grown into a successful annual event. Last year’s performances saw over 6,000 theater enthusiasts attend over two weekends.
This year the play was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” It was a great performance…with much hilarity throughout the play! We watched it under the stars on “Vendor Night” when they do the performance for those who can’t miss the festival….as both go on at the same time from Friday to Sunday. It is a wonderful experience!
A few videos from the Weekends:
Practicing for the Festival with dear friends, Ernie, Stephanie and Baby Anastasia….
Sean joins in the fun!
Here is a short clip of Angelo and our grandsons juggling. I have to admit…the whole fire stick performance was nerve-wracking for me. I didn’t realize Angelo had been practicing with the fire until a couple days before the festival. I said to him after the festival….”Remember the boys who juggled the firesticks while on top of the shoulders of another boy. And then they would toss them back and forth? At least you don’t do that!
He grinned at me and said quietly, “Yet….”
Ce C’est Bon Sung at the Festival…
A little dancing by the stage….Virginia Reel!
Festival Fun!
Gallery!
Below is a few galleries of this year’s festival. Click on the first picture of each gallery to view… Some of the pictures are by Invictus Photography.
Elf Ears were available to purchase and so was part of the fun for some this year. So if you see a bunch of elves running around in the photos, you will know why!
Everyone helps! It is a joint effort.
“Love and friendship are the remnants of the earthly paradise. In this vale of tears, when we encounter so many difficulties, to have people you can call friends is such a joy, such a comfort, such a gift.” -Dietrich von Hildebrand
Sign up for the Fall Soap Giveaway by following this link!
Help make Advent more meaningful for you and your family with the Spiritual Christmas Coil Flip Book! Follow along and prepare your heart for the coming of Our Lord each year at Christmas using these special picturesque and prayer-filled cards to help keep your mind and heart focused each day. Keep the cards in a visible spot in your home as a reminder to your and your children. Available here.
Christmas Around the Fire ~ Available here.
Christmas is a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus with family and friends, to gather together in sacred and jovial celebration of the Incarnation. Yet in our fast-paced, hyper-digitized lives, we are losing the sense of a good story enjoyed among good friends around a good fire.
In Christmas Around the Fire, Ryan Topping invites us to turn off the television set, put down our devices, quiet ourselves, and gather our loved ones to share some of the best writing (in a variety of forms) about Christmas. Whether or not your family has an actual fireplace around which to gather is not so important, but it helps!
Included within are entries from legendary novelists and poets such as Leo Tolstoy, G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Willa Cather, and more. Also included are profound thoughts from great religious figures such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Pope Saint John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI.
For those who love the true spirit of the “most wonderful time of the year” and love reading in almost equal measure, Christmas Around the Fire will quickly become a family tradition and the first piece excitedly pulled out of storage every year. This is one of those rarest of books—one around which family memories are made.
Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas: A Guide to the Customs and Feast Days of Advent and Christmas ~ Available here.
Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas is a treasure, one that offers its riches year after year. It is a valuable resource for understanding and celebrating Advent and Christmas as a Catholic. Beyond providing the historical roots of traditions, such as the Advent wreath and Christmas tree, it also features spiritual reflections and suggestions for practices to enrich your family’s Christmas preparation and celebration.
You’ll find all of the major Feast Days of Advent and Christmas along with devotions and traditions that will help your family get more out these important seasons.
Inside you’ll learn…
- why candles are placed in windows
- why poinsettias are used as a Christmas decoration
- the origin of the Christmas tree
- when Christmas actually ends
- and more
. . . so that you and yours can appreciate more fully the significance of these traditions and grow in love and honor of Christ.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
My sweetie could have totally juggled with Tony, yes, even the torches! 😇
Another year perhaps….. A blest day to you!
How neat! 🔥
This brought back good memories when my husband and I went on Sept. 30th this year! Thank you for sharing the pictures and the videos Leane!💝 I’m glad we went that night, it was a perfect temperature with a balmy wind that kept the bugs mostly away as we watched the play. EVERYTHING WAS JUST PERFECT. It was especially sweet when the *real* full moon 🌕peeked itself through the trees🌳 right above the stage, as if it appeared on cue. My husband and I shared a pizza and I sniffed the lovely soaps I bought from Theresa, as gifts for family, during the play. We relaxed, enjoyed being with each other, as well as the whole evening immensely. There were many sites and shops to see, music to hear, bridges to cross! We treasure that evening! I highly recommend attending next year to everyone😄. I know, God be willing, we’ll be looking forward to being there one of those weekends in 2024 for the Shakespeare Festival🎭!
It was so nice to meet you Doris! 💞