Kate's an "old-timer" at the festival.

She works at Kadon Enterprises. If that doesn't ring a bell, it's the booth over by the Market Stage and the ice cream place where you can pull up a stool and try out an old game that's new to you. Let me let her talk:

My first Renaissance experience was the Festival's last year in Columbia (1983?). My simple little booth with just a few games was pretty primitive by comparison to the large pavilion we built in Crownsville the next year. One season hooked us on the verve, enthusiasm, bon vivant conviviality, the zest and energy created by the many talents, in the great outdoors where it was OK to get dirty. The mood was contagious, and it irresistibly swept up the visitors into the spirit of revelry. A favorite character was a dragon on stilts, who would leer down at kids in strollers and growl, "Ah, meals on wheels."

The growth and evolution of the Festival over the next 15 years have been wonderful to see and be a part of. In 1998 we're building a new pavilion, larger and very beautiful, for Ye Olde Gamery, where visitors match wits with each other and against the resident game master. We look forward to the weekly visits of His Majesty and his royal guests as they vie for victory at The Royal Game of the Goose.

It only remains to be said that all this royalty stuff is only MAKE-BELIEVE, and even a staunch libertarian like me can play along without compromising dignity and philosophical integrity. Therein may lie the fundamental reason for my MRF addiction: the freedom to be, to play, to share my creations, to interact spontaneously with incredibly talented people in one of the world's largest communal role playing games. Every moment is intense...and benevolent. What more could one ask of life, except that it should last more than just 9 weekends a year?

Check out Kate's booth's Web page, too.