History & Lore
Hosted as a joint venture between
TimTam's Bardic College in
The Tabaxi Territories of Evergreen Deep and
Brave New Deli College in
Twiddlewyren. The festival is hosted at the
Luxe in
Twinnam usually in the summer or fall.
The Haute and Bespoke Fashion and Baking Show or the
HabFaB's is considered the largest social event of the spring. The show consists of Espen's finest clothiers, tailors, haberdashers, and leatherworkers, all vying for the top prize of 3000 GP. Many of the fabrics are among the rarest in the world and are designed years in advance. An average of 8,000 work hours are put into the average piece presented at the HaBFabs. Though the winners take home a sizeable purse, the gold accrued from the auction can make in some cases catapult small shops into wide prominence increasing the desire for their products by as much as 350%
Though the real prizes are considered to be the pieces submitted for the competition which are auctioned off to the highest bidder each year. While many of these pieces are fully functional, most remain in art displays for many years or are hoarded by collectors. Being gifted a HaBFab winner is considered to be one of the highest honors in high fashion.
The baking portion of the show has been expanded to include 4 categories including baking, soups, Haute Culinary Arts, and desserts. The headlining show is inarguably the Haute Culinary Arts competition in which artists are gauged on two measures, taste and cost. Thus creating two avenues to victory. Considered to be one of the best dishes ever submitted in the competition, Acopa Tasua's Dragon Egg Flambé on Slow Roasted White Tamworth Boar and an Alta Flower Salad, costing over 6,184 GP to create and taking 9 hours to prepare, was and is widely considered to be the best dish in the history of the competition.
Cultural Relevance:
The HabFab's are an annual excuse for Espen's richest and most notable citizens to celebrate their own wealth. Opulence is the order of the day, from luxury horse-drawn carriages to lavish 12-course meals. Only serving to add to the negative perception of humans by many other races, the event, which carries with it an admission fee of 250 GP draws a clear line of delineation between the wealthy and the elite.
Observance:
Though there is no official date for the recognition of this multicultural event, it frequently dovetails with the gap in the late summer and early fall gap in cultrual-specific celebrations, however, it can be occasionally hosted in the spring as well and is differentiated by the moniker "Half-FAB"
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