Hey folks!  Welcome to post number five of my feature on dragons at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival!  (If you missed any of the earlier posts, you can see them here.)  Aren’t these guys cute?  From My Dragon Pets, these dragons mold around your wrist, your walking stick, or anywhere else you want to wrap them, and come in a variety of colors and styles.  According to their website:

Engineer, alchemist, artist, and craftsman, Richard Terry, creator of My Dragon Pets™, is a true Renaissance man. Whether working in his home studio outside Houston, TX, or his mobile workshop on the road, Richard meticulously hand crafts each item. Utilizing his artistic talents, extensive knowledge of organic chemistry, and his fine eye for detail, he creates fantasy objects that delight both children and adults alike.

Tyra Terry, pictured below, along with her husband Richard, daughter Nikki, and various family members make My Dragon Pets a family affair.  They have a wonderful tent right inside the Queen’s Gate where you can peruse their wares.

The team behind Dragon Pets travels all around the country to Festivals and Cons from January through November, from Florida to California, Texas to Maryland, and many stops in between.  Check out their events page to find them somewhere near you!  But if you can’t see them in person, they also have a wonderful online store where you can order your very own Dragon Pet all year round!

They have many styles of dragons from baby, juvenile, and mature with different wing types, four different snout styles, and tons of color options.  They’ve even got some that look like Toothless and the new Light Fury from HTTYD 3, and some of them even glow in the dark!

Beyond their regular dragons, Dragon Pets even makes Two Headed Dragons, Steampunk Dragons, and Zombie Dragons!  I think these two-headed ones look a bit like Barf and Belch from HTTYD, but that yellow/white one in the top right corner could be an angel dragon in this light, don’t you think?

The white dragon here is a great example of the mature dragon style.  They have single color dragons, two color dragons, and also combination colors, including rainbow and sunrise, and some also come with bling like the one on the top right!

In this photo you can see some of the neon colored dragons, as well as more armor, and even a Zombie Dragon on the bottom right!  But it’s perfectly safe — as their description says, “Don’t worry, they only eat dragon brains.”

The advice from the creators is to “treat your dragon like a real pet and he/she will last you a long time.  Do not swing them around by the head or tail.  If you wouldn’t do it to your dog or cat, don’t do it to your dragon!”  Make sure you check out the Dragon Shop for more pics and to order your own, and you can follow My Dragon Pets on Facebook to see their latest creations!

Next up we have another non-dragon feature, but I’ve purchased a few costume pieces from this shop over the years (and the staff did me a huge favor last year — thank you again!) so I just had to showcase their awesome wares!

Domba Tribal is the company behind Domba Bellydance out at this beautiful booth at Fest, and according to her website, owner Heidi Alexander of Arizona was the “first instructor of Tribal Style Bellydance in the Phoenix area … Her unique style combines elements of American Tribal Style, Tribal Fusion, Cabaret and African dance, creating a high-energy blend of Bellydance that exudes pure joy.”  Read more at her About page!

It’s a veritable riot of color in Domba Bellydance where you can pick up something to match any outfit, like these Coin Hip Sashes folded up on the counter, and also the Crochet Hip Scarves hanging down.  I’ve always just called them jingles — I have the coin hip sash in the bright blue on the top right, though my coins are silver, and they’re so much fun!

I just love this next display outfit!  There are a lot of different costume pieces here, and as the website explains, “Heidi’s Tribal Style Costumes are inspired by the earthy elements of Renaissance Faires and Tribal Dance.  She began her Tribal Costume career at the Arizona Renaissance Festival, with her dance partner and fellow costume designer, Jennifer Giacomelli (Jenabah of Tree of Life Studio in Chelsea, Michigan).”

You can pick up skirts, blouses, bras, and more in this shop, and the lovely staff will help you craft a costume worthy of dancing in the ancient courts of Egypt or on any stage in the Renaissance Festival circuit that Domba Bellydance travels to from February to September!

There really are so many options to put together a beautiful costume here — maybe shades of a single color like the blue at the top, or many bright colors like on the right, or with more earthy, coordinating tones like on the left.

Here are some more beautiful clothes.  I just love all the colors and I can almost hear the jingling while I sit and type, even these many months later!

In this photo you can see more of the costume pieces, including the Velvet Bra, Velvet Belt, Crochet Hip Scarves, Classic Circle Skirt, and Sequin Fringe Belts (another piece I own, in silver, but you can’t see the sequined top from here).  The layering effect of multiple pieces, even some of the same in different colors like the crochet scarves and fringe belts, creates an amazing look!

In this last photo you can see the Afghani [or Pakistani] Tribal Belts that Heidi writes on her website are “Imported from Pakistan … [and] deliciously decorated with tribal coins, pendants, buttons and tassels.”  She has more photos on her website of these unique pieces, check them out!  

I miss the Renaissance Festival so much after each of these posts!  And yes, I was a little late on this one, but I’m still on track with this month’s Birthstone dragons, don’t worry!  That post should go up on Saturday, and next week look for the sixth installment in this Ren Fest 2018 series!

Thank you as always for reading, take care, and stay creative!!

Image credits:
All the photos in the post were taken by me at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota (just south of Minneapolis) on Sunday, September 30, 2018