Our May Faire went a bit different than expected this year, but it turned out to be a great day. Jeff got sick last week and thought he would be better in time for the festival, but he pushed it too hard (instead of resting) and his sore throat turned into nausea. He didn’t want to spread anything to anyone and he needed to stay home and get better. So he stayed home on Saturday, but I decided to still set up our booth and do the May Faire with just Bracken and I. I was a bit unsure how that would go, but I’m glad I trusted my gut and just went for it. (There aren’t any other festivals I would imagine setting up at with just the two of us, but May Faire was an exception.)

This was our fourth year going to the May Faire and it’s something we look forward to all year long. It happens to be one of my very favorite festivals of the year. It was an exciting day for Bracken because it was the very first day of his business, Bracken’s Bookmarks. It’s been something he has talked about doing for a long time and he has sold some bookmarks to a few family members in the past. Jeff made him a wooden sign for his basket and he used leftover yarn from my knitting projects at the ends of his bookmarks (usually he saves the yarn bits to put in the garden for the birds to make nests.) Oh, and he also decorated his basket with dandelions. He had quite a successful first day of his business and told us that all the money he made will be going to buy things for his garden this year.

Bracken and I wore our flower garlands. (I’ve been working on new ones and plan to update my tutorial soon, by the way.) Bracken also wore his felted wool vest that I made him years ago and I snapped a picture of him in the garden in the morning before we left the house. (He wore it in the morning until it got too hot for wool, which didn’t take long. It was hot that day!) He’s worn that same light green vest for quite a few May Faires now and that’s one thing I just love about those wool vests (besides how easy they are to make) is the fact that they last so long. Arms can grow, but those vests carry on.

Bracken’s maypole dream came true last year and this year he got to do the maypole again, much to his delight. I didn’t take very many pictures this year, I was in the booth all day and hardly left it at all, but friends came and walked Bracken around to all the activities so he didn’t miss out on anything. I can’t begin to say how grateful I was for help on Saturday. A friend helped me carry all of our things into the field and helped me set up some things and another friend helped me tear down and then carry things to the car (and then kept an eye on the kids playing while I packed it all away in the car.) I really can’t thank them enough. It made my heart glad to see so many friends that day, what a wonderful community, and what a fun day we had. On the drive home Bracken told me all about what he had seen and done at the May Faire this year. I came home feeling deeply grateful for the help I received that day.

{This kicks off our festival season for the year. Next up will be the Wildflower & Music Festival at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum this Sunday (May 15th) from 10 am-5 pm. Jeff is better and we’re all so looking forward to this weekend! Hope to see you there!}