Oktoberfest Party Time
Oktoberfest life goals. Be this guy (the guy with the hat, not the guy punching himself in the face).
Incense
There are stalls filled with interesting vendors selling unique items around every corner at the Renaissance Festival. This vendor sold only incense and crazy incense holders.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
Charlotte Christmas Village
We went to the Charlotte Christmas Village this weekend. It was 40 degrees out and certainly had that Christmas vibe going on. One of the stalls has a mini doughnut maker that cranks out delicious tiny little doughnuts. I'm tempted to try to install one of those at the house!
It's not the largest Christmas market in the world (half of the park is blocked off for an NCAA event that never happened, thanks to Governor McCrory's HB2) but we still had a lot of fun! It's a great start for the very first year and I'm looking forward to watching it grow every year as it becomes a Charlotte Christmas tradition!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
The Trees Have Eyes
This giant Jack of the Wood can often be found wandering through the Carolinas Renaissance Festival. Despite being eight feet tall, he's a gentle giant, taking time to post with children. If you look closely, you'll see eyes behind that mask.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
Renaissance Siren
I didn't take nearly enough photos at the Carolinas Renaissance Festival. There are so many things to see and do! This woman was a member of a small four-person band that was performing on a tiny stage (really more of an old-timey kiosk) in the middle of it all. They were really good!
This photograph was captured with a very dusty Sony a6300.
Bored Princess
In keeping with the festival theme from yesterday, this one is from the Renaissance Festival. There's only one way to bore a princess at the Renaissance Festival and it involves a very slow and dusty beer and soft drink line. She perked up as soon as she got a sip of Sprite. All of the sulking and playing in dirt really paid off!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
Oktoberfest Tent
The Waldhorn restaurant just outside of Charlotte puts on a great Oktoberfest. The surrounding woods have trails that keep the kids entertained when they aren't on the dance floor. We always bring a glowstick for each of our kids. They really enjoy the glowsticks but more importantly, it makes it really easy to keep an eye on them as they zip through the woods. In fact, you can easily see Annika and her glowstick in this photograph. It's a bit like a game of Where's Waldo.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
Beech Mountain Kite Festival
The Beech Mountain Kite Festival is held every Labor Day weekend and is a great time. They even give out little kites to the kids to decorate and fly. This is our daughter — she dressed herself Punky Brewster-style — taking her kite for a test flight. She spent at least an hour running at top speed from the bottom of the big hill to the top and back. Apologies to anybody she ran over along the way! Today is her fourth birthday so I thought I'd post a photo of her to celebrate!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.