Bad Faeries Masquerade Ball - Faerieworlds Winter Celebration 2010
Faerieworlds Winter 2010 * McDonald Theater * Eugene, Oregon * January 30, 2010 * 7:30-12:30 *
An amazing night following the Good Faeries Night at the 2010 Winter Celebration of Faerieworlds was the notorious “Bad Faeries Night”. For this celebration, it was by far my favorite of the activities spun for the three day event. The doors to Faerieworlds opened up around 7:30 pm, with several merchants in the hall hawking their steampunk and faerie wares; costumes galore with steampunk influence, and kids dancing in the theater awaiting the amazing acts. Blossomed forth from the infamously successful Summer Faerie Festival extravaganza … Faerieworlds … comes a rather new evolution of their festival - The Winter Celebration. Hosted indoors similar to a “Con” rather than a “Festival” … partakers of the merriment gathered together to celebrate Imbolc and the season of Winter with concerts at the McDonald Theater and a marketplace during the day with workshops, activities, and performances at the Lane Events Center in radical Eugene, Oregon. The second night of the event was the “Bad Faeries Masquerade Ball” held exclusively in the McDonald Theater. The Steampunk costumes were amazing. Adam Hurst did a fantastic performance warming up the stage afterwhich was taken over by Seattle’s Steampunk band “Abney Park“. Then Kelly and her bellydance troupe did an Amazing Dryad Imbolc Rite with mesmerizing tree spirits dancing in the moonlight. The evening was concluded with the ethereal and stunning performance of Zoe Jakes and Beats Antique. Simply Amazing Evening. Of course it ended too soon … just after midnight … but all good things must come to an end. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

Windsor Ruins
Bruinsburg, Mississippi
One of Mississippi’s most fantastic secrets, hidden away in the swamps out in the middle of nowhere, are the ghostly remains of the Windsor plantation. The Windsor plantation was built from 1859-1861. The plantation was built, owned, and first inhabited by Smith Daniell who only was able to live in the mansion for a few weeks before he passed away at age 34. Smith Coffee Daniell II was born in 1826 as a son of a Indian fighter turned farmer. He was married to his cousin Chatherine Freeland (1830-1903) who bore him three children. Construction of the mansion cost him $175,000 to build it which included its furnishings. It was built with slave labor. The construction was designed by David Shroder. The original grounds were well over 2,600 acres. Atop the mansion was a roof observatory where Mark Twain would muse over the Mississippi River that inspired his works of art. Twain compared the plantation to a college instead of residence because of how large the plantation was. This observatory was also home to signal equipment that would notify Confederate troops of Yankee movement. The mansion was fixed with elaborate furnishings in its beginning, hosting wrought iron staircases to get from each of the four floors. Tanks resided in the attic to provide water for the baths within. There was 25 rooms with 25 fireplaces, a basement with a school room, dairy, commissary, doctor’s office, and plenty of storage rooms. The main floor held the master bedroom, a bath, 2 parlors, a study, a dining room, and a library. The third floor were 9 more bedrooms and an additional bath. The fourth floor held a unfinished ballroom. The roof held an observatory. It was a distinct portrayal of Southern Life during its era. The Mansion saw a bit of death - from Smith Daniell’s death to a yankee who was shot in the front doorway. Other deaths took place when the mansion once served as a union hospital and observation post during the civil war. Its involvement in the Civil War as a hospital saved it from being burned down to the ground during the Civil War. After the War it was burnt down during an accidental fire involving a misplaced cigar on the upper balcony during a house party on February 17, 1890. After the fire, it was never rebuilt. Parts of the mansion were scavenged, and even the wrought iron staircase found its home at nearby Alcorn State University. All that remain of the ruins is the foundation and the 23 - 30′ high Corinthian columns, some pieces of broken china, a set of wrought iron stairs, and portions of the balustrade. The Ruins have become famous, especially by Hollywood, as it was used as a setting for films such as “Raintree Country” (1957) and “Ghosts of Mississippi”. The property is now owned and maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1971. The Ruins are located 12 miles southwest of Port Gibson off Highway 552. Also of interest in the area is the Ghost town of Rodney. A must see for any history buff. Rating : 5 stars out of 5.

Faerieworlds Winter 2010 Market

Faerieworlds Winter Celebration Market 2010
* January 30th, 2010 * Lane Center * Faerieworlds Winter 2010 * Eugene, Oregon *
Out of the two days of the Faerie Market, I was only able to do Saturday as I had a flight out of Portland on Sunday. Alot of the wonderful Faerie vendors one have come to know from Faerieworlds Summer were there, with I imagine a few new ones. Great art, clothes, jewelry, crafts, and gifts. I’ll be honest though, I’m not a fan of faerie arts being indoors … and while its understandable for winter (rain outside even on this date) and it was aimed for large attendance, having it at the fairgrounds exhibit hall / auditorium was just too “boxy” and hard to absorb the energy. Good bands and performances, but very few danced. There was a great kids activity center, and workshops amass, but unless you were focused on a shopping spree, it didn’t hold entertainment very long. Very little in the food and drink department too … they certainly should have had more food vendors and entertainment mixed around the marketplace. Its evolving I understand … so I look forward to its next evolution cycle. Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5.

Kids Activity Center

Good Faeries Masquerade Ball

Good Faeries Masquerade Ball
* January 29th, 2010 * McDonald Theater * Faerieworlds Winter 2010 * Eugene, Oregon *
Blossomed forth from the infamously successful Summer Faerie Festival extravaganza … Faerieworlds … comes a rather new evolution of their festival - The Winter Celebration. Hosted indoors similar to a “Con” rather than a “Festival” … partakers of the merriment gathered together to celebrate Imbolc and the season of Winter with concerts at the McDonald Theater and a marketplace with workshops, activities, and performances at the Lane Events Center in radical Eugene, Oregon. The first night of the event was the “Good Faeries Masquerade Ball” held exclusively in the McDonald Theater. A spectacular event put on by members of the band “Woodland” and the arts phenomena known as Imaginosis combining together to create “Faerieworlds”. The weekend of art, music, and imagination came together beautifully as a select group of faerie artisans had tables in the lobby, a full-service bar downstairs and upstairs in the balcony, and a place to get the concert artists souvenirs and music. Everyone’s costumes were fantastic and appropriately creative to toss one into feeling like one is in the world of the fae. Doors opened at 7:30 pm, and Adam Hurst opened the stage with a great performance at 8:30. Following Adam was the ethereal melodic rhythmns of the Pagan folk band “Woodland” enchanting the audience in faerie bliss from 9-10:30. At 10:45, Vancouver’s (BC) hottest Celtic-India fusion band “Delhi 2 Dublin” took to the stage mixing Celtic and Dub flavors fusing tabla, celtic fiddle, dhol, punjabi vocals, and electric sitar and electronic beats. Dancing was fantastic. The audience was captivated until a little after midnight when the Ball ended. Great evening of enjoyment. Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.

Good Faeries Masquerade Ball

Dollar Rent-A-Car
( Portland International Airport )
I’ve always been a BUDGET Rent-A-Car man, but this time I wandered outside of my usual to Carrentals.com and was lured over to Dollar for cost and a deal that had Budget quite beat. $67 Lock-n-Low special from Thursday late night through Sunday early evening. Since I’m not a credit card user, their web site said they only took a $250 hold on funds from your debit card vs. Budget’s $300 hold. I’m a budget traveller and that $50 difference is a world of difference for me. I completely disagree with the pirate-tactics of car rental agencies to lock your bank account funds in such a way when using debit cards instead of credit - but unfortunately the industry has us trapped. Dollar at least appears more sympathetic by having a lower hold fee. There was no line or wait at the Portland airport to pick up my car. The agent was very friendly (though tried to get me to add in extras) and hooked me up with a nice subaru (see above picture). The car was very new, clean, with heated seats, electric windows, sunroof, great sound system, and all the perks you’ve come to love in a vehicle. I loved my rental. The check-out process was streamlined. Oddly though when he checked me out, he stated you couldn’t leave the state of Oregon or Washington. It didn’t matter for this trip since I was just staying in Oregon - but in the future could see a problem with that. Unlimited Mileage and affordable prices. No problems with the car. It was a very nice ride. Check in was very efficient, streamlined, and got my receipt quickly. I had a very positive experience with Dollar. Thank you Dollar! Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5. Well counted my blessings too soon: They took the $250 debit card hold and charged it, the day AFTER I returned the vehicle. No charge for the $67 has appeared on my statement as of this writing (2/3/10) but they took my $250 and still have not returned it. After this experience, I’ve become wary of Dollar. Especially since after an hour of phone calls with them yesterday (2/2/10) ending in no resolution. They said it could take 2-5 days before refunding the money they were supposed to get a credit hold on and release the day the car was returned but instead cashed and are holding out on crediting back. As of this point, the company has made a 2 out of 5 rating as of this date (2/3/10). Rating: 2 stars out of 5 ~ Trust not what the representatives state and be very wary of their accounting techniques. In addition, for the Portland Office - they manage their own accounting. The Manager “Reza” was rude and not helpful, argued with me that he indeed submitted the payback, which according to my bank has not been submitted. With staff such as “Reza” - Dollar is bound to be heading downhill.