Empire claims a bit of Lenexa for a day at 29th annual British Faire

Before the cucumber tea sandwiches and sausage rolls were eaten, and the tea in fancy cups consumed, in came the royalty.

They may have entered a big room in a Lenexa senior center, but they had the pomp of somewhere grander. Say, in England.

“All rise!” The words filled the center. “All rise for her most royal majesty.”

Soon, the lady in purple — dressed as Queen Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of King Henry VIII — addressed the crowd: “Are you enjoying your time here this day?”

A man in the back, who hollered out a “yes,” and hundreds of others seemed plenty happy to soak in all things English at the 29th annual British Faire, the largest fundraiser of the Daughters of the British Empire in Kansas. The afternoon teas were packed, and people streamed through a maze of vendor booths.

Brenda Marks, president of the group in Kansas, looked out at the full tearoom and smiled. She knows people love this.

“They get to dine out of fine bone china and be served tea,” Marks said. “And we get to teach people about our culture.”

Katherine Spencer has worked every tea at the Faire. She remembers that inaugural year when it was held in a church and about 100 people attended.

Every year, she sees many more people enjoying the rituals and cultures of a place her family is from. Her grandparents were from England, and her mother was born in London.

“This is a way to keep my heritage alive,” Spencer said.

Next door to the senior center where all the tea cups were being tipped, people shopped the Faire inside the Lenexa Community Center.

It was Judy Hampton’s second Faire. She enjoys tea and knows good places around the city to get a cup.

“I think it’s a good idea to get people out and get to know something about other places and cultures,” she said. “You need to branch out.”

And with the Chiefs scheduled to play a game in London next year, the British intrigue could rise even more in Kansas City.

“And don’t forget the new royal baby on the way,” Spencer said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Empire claims a bit of Lenexa for a day at 29th annual British Faire."