Battle of Bladensburg Event 2016


This past weekend, my unit the Royal Marines and I participated in the Battle of Bladensburg in Riverdale, Maryland. The last couple of times we've attended it was either pouring down rain or your typical July Summer. This year was different; it was ...a bit warm….did I say warm? I meant hot as an oven at 450 degrees!!! 

This past weekend, all of Maryland was HOT with a heat index of 110. Too hot to be outside and too dangerous to be outside to be doing events like this. But we trudged on anyway. We packed everything we could think of for this event: water, water, ice packs, water, more ice, First Aid Kit, Food, even more ice, fans, umbrellas, 100 SPF sunblock, hats, Gatorade, and of course…6 crates of water thanks to the Museum. It seemed we were all ready for whatever the temperature had to throw at us. And surprisingly, we did hold up pretty well. We even selected the perfect shade for all 3 British Units to stay under, while the American Units stayed in the equally large shades on the other side. 

As for the visitors we were so eager to do this event for? . . . Only 7 at a time. And were mostly locals. By 11am, we all figured it was way too hot for there to be a turn out, and decided to just do our own thing while sticking to the event schedule. We had a huge picnic, did a self guided tour of the Riverdale Mansion, met Mrs. Calvert and company, and even mingled with other reenactors on the "opposing side" who were participating and trying to keep cool. 

Everything was pretty good, but by the time 3 O'clock rolled around, the heat and humidity it was getting to be too much for me (even while I was in the shade). So back indoors of the Mansion I went, and took advantage of their A/C system. HVAC never felt so good :) 











Next month is the Colonial Market Fair at George Washington's Mount Vernon. 

Updates soon to follow : ) 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bram Stoker's Dracula Movie (1992) Synopsis Pt. I

Image
Going back a little further here on the movies that I feel are now 90's classics, I definitely want to review this movie that I felt had good acting, really good special effects, perfect actors that matched the characters in the novel, and of course the beautiful costumes that surprisingly carried cultural and religious symbolism. I'll also talk about the comparisons between the movie and the novel itself. While the movie is tightly based on the novel, there are some contrasts that I'm sure you will find just as surprising. (Spoiler: This is a synopsis) The movie opens up with Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, a solicitor, embarking on a long and arduous journey into the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania to meet the elusive and mysterious Count Dracula. . . . I'm sorry, that's not how it began. That was in the book. The movie actually opens up with a viscous war going on in 15th century Transylvania, with Prince Vlad Tepes (played by Gary Oldman), killin...
Read more

Fichu construction & Tutorial

Image
First bit of progress done With only 5 days left until the battle reenactment at Mount Vernon, I realized I didn't have anything to work on for a demo for my seamstress impression. Then it hit me: why not a fichu/neckerchief? It would be really easy and quick to sew, and I wouldn't have to keep track of all the pattern pieces (considering it's only a giant triangle). That in mind, I got right down to it and started cutting the fabric out of 100% cotton striped remnant I picked up from Burnley & Trowbridge this past weekend. While I could have sewn this up in a heartbeat with the sewing machine, I opted to be more traditional and sew it all by hand; I wanted this piece to be historically accurate for educational purposes (since sewing machines weren't invented until the late 1800's). I won't have this project finished until Sunday for demonstration purposes, but I can't wait to have it completely finished. If you'd like to make your own, ...
Read more

Time Skip Perona Cosplay dress Part II

Image
As mentioned before in my last post I'm getting started on my Perona cosplay early for Anime USA. For the dress's construction, I made the bodice out of a corset pattern, and added a zipper in the back and a large ruffle on the bottom to act as the top skirt tier for the dress. For the next couple of tiers I had to do some brainstorming, because if I continued to sew all 4 tiers to the bodice, the weight alone would cause it to slide down. Now there is the option of sewing clear bra straps to the bodice, but at the same time they're not really something that I'm fond of. With that being said, I grabbed the next color, the orchid/lavender, and used an elastic waistband and made a skirt. This would relieve the extra gravity off of the bodice, and focus on the hips. As I worked my way down each tier, I did have a few mishaps such as making the ruffles; with all of the fabric being seriously heavy on my little sewing machine, it would unravel and I'd have...
Read more