32 Reasons I Love the Minnesota Renaissance Festival:

1. Incredibly (alarmingly) creative people
2. Lots of guys with beards
3. Music everywhere!
4. Live stand-up comedy all day
5. Playing duets with my violinist dad
6. Spending all of every Saturday and Sunday in August and September OUTDOORS
7. Mud sculptures
8. An excuse to play dress-up
9. The smell of wet hay bales
10. Waking up early to be in Shakopee by 8am
11. Getting everyone’s stage names confused with their real names and not knowing how to introduce them



12. Being ‘kidnapped’ every few days by the pirates…
13. The daily musician’s jam at the Troubadour Stage
14. Scottish Dancing and Bagpipes!
15. Kilts
16. Washing my hands at the end of the day with hot water and soap
17. Playing harp outdoors
18. No cell phone or computer
19. The old oak trees on the Festival grounds
20. Seeing people who don’t work at the Festival just as often as you see some people who do
21. Playing for tips
22. Chocolate-covered strawberries
23. Impromptu duets with other musicians



24. Taking shelter from heavy rain in a shop full of people and playing harp music for them
25. Learning how to make your old clothes into paper
26. The color of the evening sun through the dusty air as the drum jam starts
27. Picking up with old friends right where you left off last September
28. Collapsing on the grass in a corner and just watching people
29. Having a chance to perfect my harp pieces until they barely resemble what they started out as.
30. Wearing my cloak
31. Being on the grounds before opening cannon when it’s possible to image that you’re actually in a Renaissance-era village
32. Swords!

Next post: A Tale of Two Orchestras

Twin-Cities harpist Stephanie Claussen invites audiences to explore new locales and eras through her music. Influenced by her love of fairy tales, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the world music section at her local library, she performs a unique mixture of Scottish tunes, J.S. Bach, and anything rich in medieval or French harmonies. Sign up for her e-mail newsletter to receive important announcements and notifications of upcoming performances.

Photo Credit: Ulf Hildebrandt