August 11th, 2009
Jane Austen in Bath
Since I’m an avid Jane Austen fan, I couldn’t pass up the chance to participate in the Jane Austen Festival in the City of Bath. The first thing I did, after I unpacked at my Bath Hotel, was to make sure that my Jane Austin costume got cleaned and pressed. This will be my first time to attend and I want to make sure everything is perfect. I even made an appointment with a hairdresser not far from the hotel and asked if they knew how to do period hair. They did and they knew that I was referring to the Jane Austen Festival. How exciting, I thought. The whole city seems to be involved.
The Festival was the brainchild of David Baldock, the director of the Jane Austen Center. The first Festival started in 2001. I haven’t been able to attend any of them until now, I was studying abroad, but now I’m back in my home in London. Mr. Baldock said the reason he started the Festival was to draw attention to Jane Austen whose works were influenced by the City of Bath. He wanted Austen fans from all over the world to come and be able to immerse and indulge themselves in everything Austen.
Every year the Festival, which is held in September, expands and grows exponentially. More and more people dress in the Regency costumes; celebrating the life and works of Jane Austen. All of Bath, there will be events organized by the Festival and it’s volunteers. I’ve heard that the most spectacular day is on Saturday where the festivities officially open with the Regency Costumed Promenade through the streets of Bath! This year, I’ll be one of the ones promenading in my handmade 18th century attire. We will be led by a Town Crier and accompanied by soldiers and sailors adding even more interest to the parade.
My friends don’t understand my fascination with Jane Austen, but now that doesn’t matter, cause I’ll be amongst new friends who share the same love and obsession as I.
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