In celebration of love and community

The Moscow Renaissance Fair starts this weekend and the fair royalty is ready to celebrate their home and the community in it.

Rebecca Rod and Theresa Beaver have been together for 30 years — 31 in November. They were surprised to get the call asking for a list of their community involvement but were excited to be the royalty at the fair.

“To be here in a liberal, progressive community and church, really is freeing,” Rod said. “You can’t live your life fully if you’re always hiding, so we value that about our community.”

Both Rod and Beaver are members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse and have been for years. Their first wedding was in the church in 1996. They would go on to have four wedding ceremonies in California, Canada, Pullman, and most recently in Moscow in 2014, after same-sex marriage was legalized in the state.

“Finally, we got married in Idaho, which is where we wanted to be married all along because that’s where we live, when we own a house and we have all this stuff together,” Rod said.

The couple said they are grateful for the community they have on the Palouse and have spent years contributing to it in any ways they can.

Beaver, now retired, worked at Washington State University for 25 years as a horticulture instructor and coordinator of the online viticulture and enology certificate. She has led students on international wine tours and become “The Worm Lady.”

She has taught community composting and gardening classes as well as educating local elementary students on the benefits of home composting. Beaver also was a founding member of the Koppel Farm Community and Children’s Garden, where she taught generations of kids about gardening.

In 2014, Beaver was an Artwalk artist at the Moscow Food Co-op. She has served on the Moscow Food Co-op board and the Moscow City Sister Association board.

Rod is also now retired after working for a decade at the University of Idaho, first as a librarian and then in the Women’s Center, coordinating the LGBTQ programs. Rod has made Raku pottery for about 20 years, with some of her pieces being used as the awards given to honorees by the Moscow Arts Commission.

In 2005, Rod would once again work at the University of Idaho at a position in the Women’s Center, and she was the first employee in an LGBTQ-specific role in the state of Idaho. Rod would go on to plan Lavender Lunches and graduations for LGBTQ students, and she worked to make a welcoming space for all students.

“My task was to continue what they had started on campus but also to develop programs and events and things centered around the students — making the campus more welcoming,” Rod said.

The Moscow Renaissance Fair starts at 10 a.m. Saturday with the royalty welcome. There is a full list of events with live music and performances scheduled for the weekend on the Moscow Renaissance Fair event Facebook page. For other information on the fair, visit moscowrenfair.org.

Kali Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Moscow Renaissance Fair

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: East City Park, 900 E. Third St., Moscow