WEARING THE WHIMSICAL THING: So often, in this oh-so-structured life, we're called upon to choose the "correct" clothes to match the occasion. This isn't a negative thing, in the least, and getting a bit dressy for a wedding or donning a best friend's favorite color for her graduation is perfectly respectable, and, more over, full of respect. But very often we pause, before our closets, with a slight longing to be... a bit loopier. A bit truer to our inner nature. We want to wear the whimsical thing, the wackier necktie, the loud socks. We do not, however, love saving the flowery vintage hat or neon gloves for another occasion, one that isn't yet on the calendar. If you've been waiting for such an occasion to come, and Halloween is too far in the future (and too infrequently scheduled, for your tastes), be not fretful, fantasy fan; a magical weekend in San Jose awaits. It's the annual Fantasy Faire, which has much in common with a Renaissance Faire, except that the Fantasy Faire is very much about incorporating magical looks and offbeat ensembles, whether those ensembles are truly historically accurate or not. Yes, you're right, Renaissance Faires also have a lot of merry leeway in this department, but the San Jose Fantasy Faire is expressly built for the wizards, and the fairies, and the sprites. It's a place to show off your supernatural sartorial nature while frolicking in sweet storybook style. And springtime style, too, for the dates of the to-do happen to be...
APRIL 9 AND 10, 2016: Springier dates you couldn't possible find, and the lovely Discovery Meadow Park will be the pretty setting for the straight-from-a-fairytale festivity. Famous figures, like Sleeping Beauty, may be strolling the grounds, and arrr-unleashing pirates, too. There shall be vendors purveying in elfish jewelry and craft-tastic, artisanal goods of all sorts, and games to partake in as well. Plus: costume contests, the better to show off your wings or tail or crown. Lovers of other realms, this is the place where you can dress just how you like, hoop skirt or tri-cornered hat or you name it. What other enchanted activities await, you ask? Take flight now and flap for the Fantasy Faire's magical online portal to informative tidbits of all sorts.
