Mythic Worlds 2015

 Last weekend, I attended Mythic Worlds. For those of you who don't know, Mythic Worlds is the "premiere mythic music and arts festival on the West Coast."  Now, faeries and the like are not exactly my personal obsession.  Don't get me wrong.  I love fantasy. From Labyrinth to Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, fantasy is my fiction of choice.  But I went for the niblings.

I don't get to see them very often and my sister, Alison Spokes (their other aunty) suggested I join her at the festival while she had the kidlets.  It was a blast.  The dancing, the people, the costumes!

I was dressed like a mountain goat faun, yet somehow I felt underdressed at this event. A lot of the costumes were intricate beyond imagination. There was a dragon whose wings actually unfolded and folded back up again.  There were some pretty poofy dresses that would give Sarah from Labyrinth a run for her money (Jareth did make an appearance). Down to the nitty gritty detail of beadwork or hand-painted paper flowers, some of the people put hundreds of hours into their costumes.  

(See the guy on the left? He's not on the stage.  He's wearing stilts.  The lady in the middle with the big dress? It's made of plastic plates and cutlery. Jareth is on the right and somewhere behind the faun is the dragon.)

I wish I could have watched the fashion show where the vendors get people to model their wares.  Jo got the opportunity to participate with her lovely face paint and toting an adorable headress, but it proved too much for her and we had to go deal with some tears.  She walked on that stage, though! (Actually, it was quite a magical moment. She was getting nervous right before the show and, since she was sporting her Elsa dress, all the other models burst into an impromptu rendition of "Let It Go." It cheered her up... Until she got on the actual stage.)

(Jo in her face paint and headdress right before the fashion show)

Oh yeah.  That bird lady.  She was creepy. Yet all the children loved her.  No issues walking right up to her and posing for a pictures.  The kids also loved Wotan (not sure if I'm spelling that correctly) the Faerie-Smasher. I didn't actually get a picture of him! I was too busy laughing at Jo and Nolan casting spells on him to make him think his hammer was a puppy.  That guy must have been seven feet tall!

My favourites must have been the Shadow Man and the giraffe. He may have just been wearing all black, but The Shadow was just as hard to see in real life as in this picture. It was mysterious. The giraffe may have been a guy taking advantage of needing forearm crutches, or he may have just been using something of the sort for effect.  There was a lady who transformed her medical scooter into her dragon mount, after all.  How creative!

That picture is hard to see, I know. But it was only at the masquerade that I saw him.  Another character of note would be the jellyfish - also on stilts.

It all makes me want to make costumes! On that note, I have informed the girls of Naughty & Spice burlesque troupe that I would be quite happy to help them with their costumes as well as make my own. I'd really like a challenge! I'm also hoping to get some proper sewing lesson from a lady in town named Anne Warren.  Her rates are ridiculously reasonable at $65 for four two-hour sessions. But it will have to be a paycheck or two away, as I'm still recovering from the trip to Mythic Worlds.  Would do again next year... If only for the shopping (that I didn't get to do this year).

Please... Feel free to post any pictures of costumes you have made! I love seeing creative outfits!