Logan Jimenez runs through a crowd with bubbles at Scarborough’s Hollow on Oct. 3 in Waxahachie, Texas. Jimenez performs for Circus Pop! The Giant Bubble Show.
WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS — Pumpkins and bales of hay sat under fairy lights and damp trees. Performers stomped enthusiastically in murky puddles, chatting with every attendee who passed.
The air was misty, and the clouds were dark. Bagpipes and the pitter-patter of rain could be heard over the sound of attendees’ talking.
Despite the rain and mud, Scarborough’s Hollow, a fall version of the Scarborough Renaissance Festival, went on.
At one wooden booth, folded pages and book origami were scattered for passing visitors to see. One book, Stephen King’s “If It Bleeds,” was cracked wide open to reveal crystallized black and red flowers with fake blood dripping down the sides.
Erin Jordan, owner of Honey’s Book Garden, creates crystallized books and folded art. Her books include flowers in the middle that have also gone through the crystallization process.
“They’re dipped in a solution, and the crystals are grown right on them, and then I let them dry for 24 to 48 hours,” Jordan said.
Psychology senior Sam Alanis, left, public health alum Lynell Samreth, middle, and computer engineering senior Jack Yohn, right, wear gnome costumes at Scarborough’s Hollow on Oct. 3 in Waxahachie, Texas. They wore ponchos to keep dry from the rain
She rescues books from library sales, she said. Libraries often put out-of-circulation books on sale. After that sale, whatever books are left are thrown away. Once Jordan gets them, the books are turned into her art.
To protect the books from the rain, she said they offer customers plastic bags and cake boxes. They also let customers keep the books in their back room until the rain stops.
“We don’t get to put anything outside, but that’s OK,” Jordan said. “For the most part, we just have to be careful, see where it stays dry in here.”
Along with her crystallized and folded books, Jordan sells blind dates with a book, wrapped mystery packages with books readers might not have read already.
The books she puts out are thoroughly researched, she said. She makes sure they have a review score of 3.5 or higher on Goodreads and are by independent or lesser known authors.
“It’s not any popular author or any popular title because I don’t want somebody to have already read it,” Jordan said. “If you’re going to do it, get something you haven’t read before.”
While business owners tried to adapt to the rainy day, performers used it to their advantage.
Matthew Legare, known as Tobias the Adequate on stage, some performed on a sheltered, canopy-like stage.
He is aware of how people might find his dedication to the performance and his costume absurd, he said. He uses that sentiment in his performances to make his audience have fun.
“This is the most meta music act you’re going to see at a Renaissance festival because I have no shame about anything that I have to say here,” he said. “And when you play off the audience, then you have a different show each time because your audience is always going to be a little different.”
Legare considers his performances comedy shows with music mixed in rather than traditional bard performances.
He was originally a magician at fairs and festivals like the Scarborough festival for about 20 years, he said. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he was not able to interact with the crowd as much as he used to.
Wichita Falls, Texas, resident Dale McRae, 52, left, shoots an arrow while Arlington resident Lizabeth Williams, 30, watches at Scarborough’s Hollow on Oct. 3 in Waxahachie, Texas. Attendees could participate in games to test their skills.
“A friend of mine had made and given me a cigar box ukulele, and it’s like, well, I can learn to do this, and so I learned how to play it, and I started writing songs,” Legare said. “I can’t really stop.”
“We’re all kind of building, making something silly together and having some fun, getting outside of ourselves for a little bit,” he said.
Legare has performed in diverse spaces, including pubs, Renaissance fairs and festivals.
Musician Matthew Legare performs on a stage at Scarborough’s Hollow on Oct. 3 in Waxahachie, Texas. Legare used to be a magician at Renaissance fairs.
“I will perform anywhere you give me a place to stand and a place for my audience to sit,” he said.
Throughout the event, the rain’s intensity varied. Some visitors sought shelter under their umbrellas and in covered performance spaces when the rain got heavier.
For some attendees, the rain became another memorable part of the event.
UTA psychology senior Sam Alanis said this was her first year going to the fair with her friends. She dressed up with them in red gnome hats inspired by the game Burglin’ Gnomes.
“We came pretty prepared with ponchos and everything,” Alanis said.
She said the rain added a whimsical quality to the fair.
Waxahachie resident Tiffani Morning, 33, said she’s a die-hard fan of Renaissance fairs and keeps season passes to come every weekend Scarborough is open.
The rain brings out all the longtime fans of the fair and adds to the magic of the event, Morning said.
“If you’ve never been, just come. You’ll always come back,” she said. “They’re like potato chips. Can’t just have one fair.”
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