Jane Austen Festival 2014, Part 1: Shoppes, Punch & Judy, and TEA!

We had a wonderful time at the 2014 Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky!  The festival is held almost every year at beautiful Locust Grove, a National Historic Landmark, and is purportedly the largest Jane Austen festival in North America.  For one weekend in July, the property is turned into a Regency mecca, complete with literary lectures, costume, hair, and crafting workshops, a delicious "Tea," and a Regency fashion show.

I threw together costumes for the outing--when else could you wander around in Regency outfits, and blend right in??

 

My mother, investigating the Militia encampment:

Here I am, also in the Militia encampment:

Together, in front of the Locust Grove House:

There was a large outdoor area of beautiful vender tents, called the "Shoppes of Meryton," that wrapped around the main house.  These tents included a wide range of products, including everything from parasols to plants:

All ladies of course wear a lace cap indoors, and under their bonnets outdoors, but if you somehow forgot your best cap, never fear, there were some for sale!:

There were also shoppes for blown glass, print-making (and swirling, for kids), and dry goods like fabric, ribbon, and patterns:

Lovely signage here:

 And here:

A dry goods shoppe:

A gentleman's clothier:

The merchants accepted many forms of barter or payment:

This vender was "moving to the continent," so she was having an extra sale (it was the close of the last day):

In the middle of the "Meryton Shoppes" area, two musicians played water-filled glasses:

 These gentlemen offered transport to festival-goers:

...so I enjoyed a sedan-chair ride through the Shoppes:

We reached the other end of the market just in time for a traditional "Punch and Judy" show.

Punch unfortunately somehow managed to kill everyone he introduced us to, including the Baby, Judy, the Doctor, the Policeman, and the Devil...

We preferred the indoor facilities, but one always needs to know where to find a "Necessary Room!"

We attended the Festival on Sunday, so we missed the Saturday Promenade and Evening Ball.  But there were signs everywhere proclaiming that Louisville had succeeded in its attempt to "unofficially" beat the Bath Festival's record for costumed attendance:

It was then time to go to our mid-day Tea, which was delicious!

Costumed servers brought us sandwiches, blueberry lemon scones with clotted cream, and miniature "hot brown," an open-faced local favorite--and, of course, tea!  There were also several kinds of bread pudding and rum cake for dessert:

We were told that all of the beautiful teapots used at the Tea were one person's collection:

There was a choice of four teas with the meal: "The Patience of Miss Price," "Mr. Knightley's Reserve," "Marianne's Wild Abandon," and "Mrs. Jenning's Delight."

These delicious teas were also available at the "Bingley's Teas" tent in the Shoppes, along with many other varieties. 

Each tea is named after an Austen character or literary event, and includes an explanatory caption.  You can find the entire collection here.

 

"Miss Lucy Steele" tea: "Sweet country charm with a bit of a dark side. Lucy Steele joins the party in a black tea with vanilla and apricot."  The website description is more detailed:

Country charm but not quite a peach!

 Miss Lucy Steele joins the party in this black tea that will win you over with juicy apricot, perfect peach, country flowers and overtly polite, sweet vanilla. 

* Tested and loved by fellow Janeites. A festival favorite!

"Mr. Darcy" is described as "Da Hong Pao, Roasted Oolong. Notes of Chestnuts, Plum, and Leather in this Greatly Respected Tea!"

Like the man himself, this elegant, dark tea, grown in rich soil, with a bold beginning yet a smooth finish has a complexity of character that will leave you wishing to know more.
Distinctive notes of leather, chestnut and plum in this well respected Da Hong Pao Oolong. Each steeping introduces you to more of its character. Good for 6 steepings Gong Fu style or 3 British style.

I was told that the tea I had drunk with lunch, "Mr. Knightley's Reserve," a wonderful Earl Grey, had taken the proprietress three years to find. "Gentlemanly Sophistication in an Earl Grey Tradition."

* Best Seller. An Earl Grey that is true and balanced. The Bergamot is smooth and steady. A tea to depend on and love more with each passing cup!

We had a wonderful day.  The weather was breezy and relatively cool, the food and shops were fun, and we were surrounded by people in an amazing variety of beautiful costumes and hats.

Next week, I will show you some of the outfits from the archery demonstration and the wonderful Regency Fashion Show, as well as some pictures from the "Regency Breastknot" workshop I attended.  I will also include some additional detail shots of the costumes I created for the weekend.