The Faire's the Thing...

[Wombat]

BTW: There are easily 10 Faires within drive of San Francisco - Northern Faire is not the only one.

Now this is probably true.

Back in my day, however, there was only Faire, and Oak Ash & Thorn still sang there

 

[rexartur]

homesickness ensues. I like to tell people that the only thing I miss about Kansas is the sky, but I do miss the KC ren faire too...

The King Richard's Faire out here in Mass is actually getting better instead of worse. The first time I went it was pathetic compared to bonners spring - no weapons shops at all, few people in costume who weren't paid to be there, not a lot of real fun. But the last couple of times I've went its been more of what I remembered from my youth, and I'm looking forward to going this weekend (and not just cause my honey is buying me an engagement ring from the puzzel ring dealer whose always there...)

Kahuna burger

Hey Kahuna Burger, Congrats!! My fiancee and I have been going to KRF (almost every weekend when it's around - much to the chagrin of my gamers) for the past 5 years and we, too, have seen the change. We're also getting our wedding rings from Puzzle Rings by Pepi.

a small, big world, indeed

 

[Mercule]

And, as the fair has become more and more popular, I am beginning to find the experience gradually less enjoyable.

This has been my experience at the Minneapolis RenFest, as well.

Of course, the constituancy of my "party" has changed quite a bit, too. First the "guys from college", then throw in 5 marriages, 2 divorces, a handful of kids, and a potpourri of extended friends and family members who have come and gone over the last decade or so.

I don't really have a problem with people going in "civies". Like someone else said, they're where the money is made, and they really don't detract much (if anything) from the event.

I prefer to go in garb because it makes me feel like more of a participant. That, and carrying a sword around is just kinda fun. Also, shopping for more stuff is a blast, especially when I get to talk my wife into leather pants.

About the only thing that annoys me is that we've still got one or two "hold outs" in the group that go in jeans. Over the last couple of years, the rest of us have started picking up "accent colors" and such so that we look like an actual company rather than a ragtag band. But then we've got this guy in jeans hanging around with us.

Has anyone been to both the KC Ren Fest and the Minneapolis one? Any comparisons? We're pretty much equidistant from both (in Iowa), but picked the MN Fest arbitrarily. If KC is better, we'd certainly go there.

Also, does KC allow swords (sheathed, of course)? I know some don't, and when pretty much everyone owns a sword -- my household alone has almost $1000 in steel and accessories -- we aren't going anywhere that won't let us carry.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Texas has two major renfests every year, and most of the members of my gaming group attend both at least one weekend, and most of us usually go in costume.

The Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, north of Houston, runs from the first weekend in October to the middle of November. It is the biggest renfest in the country in terms of acreage, and one of the largest based on attendance. The weekend closest to Halloween, they have a big costume contest. It's something to see. Two of the players in our gaming group had their wedding there a few years back. The whole wedding party was dressed in costume. I was best man. That was a blast. The mead they serve here is quite good. The steak on a stake is good, as are the apple dumplings and the fruit cobbler -- both with ice cream!

Scarborough Faire is in Waxahachie, south of Dallas. It runs from mid-April to the first weekend in June. Toward the end of its run, it is too hot to go in costume, at least for me. We always try to go early. This festival has improved greatly in the past few years since they added permanent flushing toilets. Before that it was just porta-johns. When the weather turned hot, the porta-johns would stink to high heaven, lending the fair a too-real medieval touch for me. The mead they serve here is too sweet for my tastes -- I feel like I need a stack of pancakes to pour it over whenever I drink some. This fair has a food booth that serves wonderful Italian food, all made fresh each weekend by the cook. He changes the menu each weekend, so your never sure what he's going to serve, but it's all good. And the fajitas are outstanding. The best dessert is sliced apples covered in caramel sauce.

During October Scarborough Faire is remade into Screams, a horror theme park. They have several haunted houses, a haunted hay ride, etc. It's a lot of fun as well. We usually go to that one night during the month. They serve the fajitas then, too.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

Has anyone been to both the KC Ren Fest and the Minneapolis one? Any comparisons? We're pretty much equidistant from both (in Iowa), but picked the MN Fest arbitrarily. If KC is better, we'd certainly go there.

Also, does KC allow swords (sheathed, of course)? I know some don't, and when pretty much everyone owns a sword -- my household alone has almost $1000 in steel and accessories -- we aren't going anywhere that won't let us carry.

Alas, although the KC RenFest is a beautiful venue and a very impressive experience, they do not, if I recall correctly, allow blades. It has actually been a few years since we encountered that particular issue (... the hard way, of course... ), so it may no longer be true. I've noticed blades being carried by the "cast", though they are frequently peace-tied.

A source of some consternation for me, as well, since I also possess a fine collection of steel.... though the thought of being pulled over on I-70 with a collection of blades in the vehicle could be quite sobering...

 

[Mercule]

A source of some consternation for me, as well, since I also possess a fine collection of steel.... though the thought of being pulled over on I-70 with a collection of blades in the vehicle could be quite sobering...

I realized this year on the way home from a small, local faire that I was speeding pretty well, had just passed a cop car, and had a sharp, unfettered knife strapped to my forearm (my left bracer has a knife on it that never seems to get peace-tied). I was rather happy when it appeared that he didn't have his radar on.

I really wasn't looking forward to keeping my hands on the wheel and saying, "Officer, I hope you take this in the non-threatening way I mean it, but I've got a knife in a sheath on my arm. Just thought you should know."

 

[Theron]

I got pulled over one night after an SCA fighter practice. In the back of my VW bug, I had two people's worth of fencing gear, a shield, all my heavy armour and weapons, piled pretty much to the window level. The (small town Texas) cop stuck his head in the back, shined his flashlight around and said, "Boy, you plannin' on startin' a war or somethin'?"

"No sir."

"What is all that stuff?"

"Fencing gear, sir."

"It's all yours?"

(my passenger, a not-too-shabby looking young lady jumped in)

"No sir, some of it's mine."

(Cop looks her up and down)

"Well now, y'all don't go startin' any trouble, y'hear?"