'Tis the time of renaissance festivities for many states. Do you enjoy going? Does your faire do anything unique? Do you have a favorite ren food or event perhaps? Do you dress the part and join in? Maybe you work at one?
/giphy meh
Fun to take the kid to. We don’t dress up. Fun things like a maze to walk through, jousting to watch, old-school carnival games. I would like to go without a kid sometime and drink lots of alcohol because they have a bar-crawl type of thing where you’re supposed to go through and get a beer at each stop. I would need to get a fancy-ass goblet or something to use for it.
@medz if it’s a gelding, which most male horses are, it comes out a little so they can pee. It’s just a bizarre thing to make. Instead of worrying about a penis, I would of fixed the coloring on the back legs so it looks more like a horse instead of the cow it was taken from.
@RiotDemon you seem to know a lot about the subject… I’m suddenly concerned about @Barney and her Jethro as I have forgotten who ended up with him after the shenanigans were over…
@llangley@RiotDemon Jethro is doing just fine. Rather than come back to the land of Oz with me, he decided to seek employment with the undertaker in the town formerly known as Troll’s Butte. Lots of coffins still need to be hauled around there and he’s just as happy as a pig in mud. He’s making money hand over fist, er…hoof over hoof.
He comes to visit me in Oz ever so often. I’m trying to get him to retire and come and live with me, but he’s not ready yet. He’s such an independent ol’ cuss.
@Targaryen I enjoyed the A&S (Arts and Science) stuff. I’ve made clothes, a leather bound travel journal, glass beads, wire work and chainmail, and cordials. Lots and lots of cordials.
I liked archery and thrown weapons too. Something about chucking a large knife or small ax a few yards and hearing it thud into the target is very satisfying. Heavy list fighting was great to watch, but not something I personally participated in, aside from being “the lady” cheering them on.
I definitely would encourage anyone who has an interest to look up a local chapter.
@LeviOhPlz@Targaryen I’m a founding member of AMTGARD Medieval Society. Fought every weekend for about 12 years. Here’s a picture of me defending the bridge about 30 years ago. I mostly fought with an 8’ spear. Best cross fit workout I’ve ever done. I also participated in SCA, but mostly in the arts. I’ve attended many renfaires as a guest, with the club doing demos, and as an art vendor. Sometimes I wear garb, sometimes I go as a mundane.
@LeviOhPlz@Targaryen My longtime friend Dan Kitka is an international champion in IMCF and travels around the world participating in live steel competitions. Here he is fighting at Malbork Castle in Poland. He started in AMTGARD as a teenager and eventually became a big league fighter.
@LeviOhPlz@moondrake Without knowing the hows of the combat how do they decide who wins? I know (from a friend who did NERO) that they worked roughly on a point/limb damage type system? So what is happening in this video?
@LeviOhPlz@Targaryen I actually am not well familiar with this sport. Just watching it, it seemed to me that it was about striking those metal discs. But in this big melee it looks like it’s really a beat down. I don’t see Dan that often anymore, we used to game and play AMTGARD and SCA together and we both worked at City Hall in different departments. But we are in different places in our lives nowadays.
I’ve been to a few but it’s been quite a while. I do enjoy attending. I do not participate. I really love the bagpipes more than anything and the overall atmosphere.
@sammydog01@speediedelivery yup, I’m the guy! Funny enough, the main picture used is the old Colorado Renaissance Festival gate. My wife and I are cast members on the court for that fair (no, we don’t live in Colorado).
Fairs are fun and they are what you put into them. If you with a smile or looking to just enjoy the day and have some fun, they are totally worth it. If you’re going to judge/poopoo stupid humor and people dressed funny, it might not be your thing.
It comes every year for about 5 weekends. There are some shows that change, but there are some shows that are the same exact script, year after year, after year. The Washing Well Wenches are funny the first time. When it’s 20+ years later and they do the same script, it gets kinda lame. If I’m going with someone new, I’ll bring them to see the show because I know it’ll be funny for them.
Last year was the first time I went with someone in a wheelchair. Do not recommend unless you have a motorized one and an air horn. People were super rude, just standing on the rubber path they put down, instead of to the side. There was many times I had to literally grab people’s shoulders because they wouldn’t listen to my very loud, “Excuse Me”. During the jousting they have a sheet of plywood for wheelchair parking. This particular time it was very busy and people piled up in front of the wheelchair. I had to ask the people to sit, and then I had to ask them to not sit on the person’s feet. I was so frustrated at how people tend to completely ignore people in wheelchairs.
My favorite food is definitely turkey legs. I usually split one with someone because it’s a lot in one sitting to deal with in the sun. I try to go on days that are cooler, but it’s Florida. You get what you get.
I always buy an incense called Dragon’s Blood. I’ve bought other incense called that, and it’s always smelled like garbage. I don’t know what’s so particular about the one they sell there. I wish I could send the incense to someone to analyze the smell because it is amazing. That would be expensive, I’m sure.
I don’t normally buy anything else because most things are so expensive. Maybe a necklace here and there.
I bought the most beautiful purple dress years ago to wear… But then I was afraid to wear it because purple is reserved for royalty and was afraid that the cast would start asking what kind of royalty I am. Lol. So stupid. Now it doesn’t fit me anymore.
Last festival was the first time I saw something very unique. The performer made a bologna and cheese sandwich with his bare feet, and he got someone from the audience to eat it. That was something else. Granted, he used hand sanitizer on his feet first… But I would of hoped some water was involved to at least remove the sand, lol
I have not been, but I’m not opposed to the idea of going. I lived less than two hours from the Bristol one in Wisconsin for many years. I should have gone.
Possibly true fact: Renfaires popped up in the early '60s, and what with them and the damned hippies The Lord of the Rings was finally published in a paperback edition in 1965, ten years after the hardback publication in the UK, because all that medieval shit was hot.
So without Renfaires it’s possible that the Lord of the Rings wouldn’t have been such a huge hit.
The Texas Renaissance Festival starts next weekend [Oktoberfest]; runs thru last weekend in Nov [Thanksgiving]. Located about half way between College Station (Texas A&M) and Houston. Admission is $32 per adult, $299 for ‘season pass’.
@compunaut@phendrick the origination is in the 1800s (1810?) when the Bavarian king Ludwig got married. The celebration was 5 days and so much fun it was held every year to celebrate the wedding . I believe it’s in Sept. everywhere (including Bavaria, I was just there 2 weeks ago and went to a beir tent) as the weather is often better/warmer Sept. then Oct.
In 1963, Los Angeles schoolteacher Phyllis Patterson held a very small Renaissance fair as a class activity, in the backyard of her Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. On May 11 and 12 of that year, Patterson and her husband, Ron Patterson, presented the first “Renaissance Pleasure Faire” as a one-weekend fundraiser for radio station KPFK which drew some 8,000 people. The fair was designed by the Living History Center to resemble an actual Spring market fair of the period. Many of the original booths were no-charge reenactments of historical activities, including printing presses and blacksmiths. The first commercial vendors were mostly artisans and food merchants and were required to demonstrate historical accuracy or plausibility for their wares. Groups of volunteers were organized into “guilds” to focus on specific reenactment duties (musicians, military, Celtic clans, peasants, etc.). Both actors and vendors were required to successfully complete workshops in period language and accents, costuming, and culture, and to stay “in character” while working.
The original Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) was held in the Spring 1966 at the Paramount Ranch located in Agoura, California, focusing on the practices of old English springtime markets and “Maying” customs.
It moved around after that and politics got involved in the Living History Center group and it went to hell.
We’re going to the Michigan festival tomorrow. Dressing up. We go every year on the one day they are open for school kids during the day. The shows are supposed to be a little less raunchy. My kids love the pickle vendor. I like the musical performances.
Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. We used to go a couple of times a year, street clothes but for some reason fell out of it. Definitely waited for cooler weekends (it ran from mid July to Labor Day weekend). Plainclothes.
One armory carried arms and armor made by Christopher Poor (real, quality items) but I never could talk myself into spending the bucks for a beautiful rapier or companion dagger.
We still occasionally play songs from Molly and the Tinker, and Tourdion whose CDs we bought at the Faire.
I went to Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Texas several times when i was in high school. My dad worked with the guy who played Henry VIII. I want to go back but it’s a long drive (6 hours) and expensive so it just hasn’t happened. I was a member of SCA for a while but there’s not one down here in the boonies. I’ve become acquainted with the woman who has plays Queen Margaret (Henrys sister) at Scarborough so I’m dying to go see her do her thing.
Man, used to the Maryland Renaissance Fair religiously back in our college days. Drinking, hanging with the wenches, catching some inappropriate but somehow still kid friendly shows.
The absolute best seasons though were the ones when we had friends working the taverns. Get a few free meads during the day but even better, hang around after close and things got really interesting! Good times.
Huzzah! Though the ones out here in the PNW aren’t as big as the ones on the east coast where I grew up. PA Renn Faire was my favorite, though the one in MI wasn’t bad. I’ve recently started dressing up occasionally, depends on my mood.
/giphy meh
Fun to take the kid to. We don’t dress up. Fun things like a maze to walk through, jousting to watch, old-school carnival games. I would like to go without a kid sometime and drink lots of alcohol because they have a bar-crawl type of thing where you’re supposed to go through and get a beer at each stop. I would need to get a fancy-ass goblet or something to use for it.
/image fancy ass goblet
@craigthom
/image pimp goblet
I’ve never been. I wouldn’t mind trying it out in street clothes.
/giphy neigh
/image renfest girls
@medz Funny the King Richard’s Faire https://kingrichardsfaire.net near my hometown has a cleavage contest.
@Targaryen I do have a healthy appreciation for the female form.
If you go as a Centaur, the view for the person in back never changes…
@daveinwarsh I think i recognize that guy from the Texas renfest. Love that place.
@daveinwarsh @lowlypeon Yeah, this guy is at TRF. He is definitely… hung like a horse (the costume has a giant penis that he can control).
@Bogie That is awesome.
@Bogie @medz it is? That’s just weird.
@Bogie @RiotDemon Weird? Realistic, you mean.
/image horse pants
@medz male horses… Their penis retracts into a sheath. He can make it realistic without having an extendable penis. Weird.
@RiotDemon Yeah, but they aren’t always retracted, now are they? #freethecentaurdong
@medz if it’s a gelding, which most male horses are, it comes out a little so they can pee. It’s just a bizarre thing to make. Instead of worrying about a penis, I would of fixed the coloring on the back legs so it looks more like a horse instead of the cow it was taken from.
@RiotDemon I acknowledge and respect your position on the matter.
@RiotDemon you seem to know a lot about the subject… I’m suddenly concerned about @Barney and her Jethro as I have forgotten who ended up with him after the shenanigans were over…
@llangley @RiotDemon Jethro is doing just fine. Rather than come back to the land of Oz with me, he decided to seek employment with the undertaker in the town formerly known as Troll’s Butte. Lots of coffins still need to be hauled around there and he’s just as happy as a pig in mud. He’s making money hand over fist, er…hoof over hoof.
He comes to visit me in Oz ever so often. I’m trying to get him to retire and come and live with me, but he’s not ready yet. He’s such an independent ol’ cuss.
@Barney @RiotDemon
glad to hear. Can’t be too careful around those darn bandits!
if you know what I mean…
@Barney @llangley I used to own a male horse. I spent over 15 years around horses. You have to learn these things.
@llangley @RiotDemon Um, I’m lost. What is it that I have to learn? And do I want to learn this?
Sorry @Barney. I meant to untag you.
@Barney @RiotDemon I think we already have a little TMI lol. Just pokin’ fun is all!
Yay! I was a casual participant in my local SCA shire for a few years. Not quite the same as Ren faires, but it put them boldly on the “someday” list.
@LeviOhPlz I figured there had to be somebody here that did. That’s cool so what did you do?
@Targaryen I enjoyed the A&S (Arts and Science) stuff. I’ve made clothes, a leather bound travel journal, glass beads, wire work and chainmail, and cordials. Lots and lots of cordials.
I liked archery and thrown weapons too. Something about chucking a large knife or small ax a few yards and hearing it thud into the target is very satisfying. Heavy list fighting was great to watch, but not something I personally participated in, aside from being “the lady” cheering them on.
I definitely would encourage anyone who has an interest to look up a local chapter.
@LeviOhPlz @Targaryen
/giphy heavy list fighting
@Targaryen @therealjrn Almost.
@LeviOhPlz @Targaryen @therealjrn The one I went to had horses and jousting. And mud, lots of mud.
@LeviOhPlz
@LeviOhPlz SCA friends taught me the wonders of the camping daiquiri machine - two buckets housing a garbage disposal with a hose. Good times!
@LeviOhPlz @Targaryen I’m a founding member of AMTGARD Medieval Society. Fought every weekend for about 12 years. Here’s a picture of me defending the bridge about 30 years ago. I mostly fought with an 8’ spear. Best cross fit workout I’ve ever done. I also participated in SCA, but mostly in the arts. I’ve attended many renfaires as a guest, with the club doing demos, and as an art vendor. Sometimes I wear garb, sometimes I go as a mundane.
@LeviOhPlz @Targaryen My longtime friend Dan Kitka is an international champion in IMCF and travels around the world participating in live steel competitions. Here he is fighting at Malbork Castle in Poland. He started in AMTGARD as a teenager and eventually became a big league fighter.
Here’s the 16 vs 16 melee US vs Russia from that event.
@LeviOhPlz @moondrake Without knowing the hows of the combat how do they decide who wins? I know (from a friend who did NERO) that they worked roughly on a point/limb damage type system? So what is happening in this video?
@LeviOhPlz @moondrake Very neat, actual fighting and what we expect thanks to the movies is very different.
@LeviOhPlz @Targaryen I actually am not well familiar with this sport. Just watching it, it seemed to me that it was about striking those metal discs. But in this big melee it looks like it’s really a beat down. I don’t see Dan that often anymore, we used to game and play AMTGARD and SCA together and we both worked at City Hall in different departments. But we are in different places in our lives nowadays.
I would like to attend one some day. There are a few within an hours drive so it is plausible I will make it out to one soon.
Oh…also the pickles!
@medz YES!
I’ve been to a few but it’s been quite a while. I do enjoy attending. I do not participate. I really love the bagpipes more than anything and the overall atmosphere.
I love them! Don’t dress up though. We had someone here who was into them- I bought some spinners he printed from Etsy. Who was that?
@sammydog01 @Bogie and Mrs. Bogie
@Bogie @speediedelivery Yes! There’s a photo around the forums somewhere.
@sammydog01 @speediedelivery yup, I’m the guy! Funny enough, the main picture used is the old Colorado Renaissance Festival gate. My wife and I are cast members on the court for that fair (no, we don’t live in Colorado).
Fairs are fun and they are what you put into them. If you with a smile or looking to just enjoy the day and have some fun, they are totally worth it. If you’re going to judge/poopoo stupid humor and people dressed funny, it might not be your thing.
I’ve been to the Florida one many a time.
http://www.ren-fest.com
It comes every year for about 5 weekends. There are some shows that change, but there are some shows that are the same exact script, year after year, after year. The Washing Well Wenches are funny the first time. When it’s 20+ years later and they do the same script, it gets kinda lame. If I’m going with someone new, I’ll bring them to see the show because I know it’ll be funny for them.
Last year was the first time I went with someone in a wheelchair. Do not recommend unless you have a motorized one and an air horn. People were super rude, just standing on the rubber path they put down, instead of to the side. There was many times I had to literally grab people’s shoulders because they wouldn’t listen to my very loud, “Excuse Me”. During the jousting they have a sheet of plywood for wheelchair parking. This particular time it was very busy and people piled up in front of the wheelchair. I had to ask the people to sit, and then I had to ask them to not sit on the person’s feet. I was so frustrated at how people tend to completely ignore people in wheelchairs.
My favorite food is definitely turkey legs. I usually split one with someone because it’s a lot in one sitting to deal with in the sun. I try to go on days that are cooler, but it’s Florida. You get what you get.
I always buy an incense called Dragon’s Blood. I’ve bought other incense called that, and it’s always smelled like garbage. I don’t know what’s so particular about the one they sell there. I wish I could send the incense to someone to analyze the smell because it is amazing. That would be expensive, I’m sure.
I don’t normally buy anything else because most things are so expensive. Maybe a necklace here and there.
I bought the most beautiful purple dress years ago to wear… But then I was afraid to wear it because purple is reserved for royalty and was afraid that the cast would start asking what kind of royalty I am. Lol. So stupid. Now it doesn’t fit me anymore.
Last festival was the first time I saw something very unique. The performer made a bologna and cheese sandwich with his bare feet, and he got someone from the audience to eat it. That was something else. Granted, he used hand sanitizer on his feet first… But I would of hoped some water was involved to at least remove the sand, lol
I might consider if they put a few of the lesser actors in the bucket of a trebuchet, and launched them.
I have not been, but I’m not opposed to the idea of going. I lived less than two hours from the Bristol one in Wisconsin for many years. I should have gone.
Possibly true fact: Renfaires popped up in the early '60s, and what with them and the damned hippies The Lord of the Rings was finally published in a paperback edition in 1965, ten years after the hardback publication in the UK, because all that medieval shit was hot.
So without Renfaires it’s possible that the Lord of the Rings wouldn’t have been such a huge hit.
@craigthom That’s exactly the Renfair I am blessed/cursed with. i’m not going to go to it, unless my daughter makes a big deal about it.
@rtjhnstn How far are you from there? And how far are you from the mushroom farm on 50?
The Texas Renaissance Festival starts next weekend [Oktoberfest]; runs thru last weekend in Nov [Thanksgiving]. Located about half way between College Station (Texas A&M) and Houston. Admission is $32 per adult, $299 for ‘season pass’.
@compunaut I was an avid goer of the Tex Renfest for years. There aren’t many experiences that i recommend more.
Now that I’m living up north, i tried to go to the Maryland renfest and was severely disappointed.
@compunaut Why is Oktoberfest in September?
@compunaut @phendrick the origination is in the 1800s (1810?) when the Bavarian king Ludwig got married. The celebration was 5 days and so much fun it was held every year to celebrate the wedding . I believe it’s in Sept. everywhere (including Bavaria, I was just there 2 weeks ago and went to a beir tent) as the weather is often better/warmer Sept. then Oct.
Blame California - I do. And I’d be correct too
In 1963, Los Angeles schoolteacher Phyllis Patterson held a very small Renaissance fair as a class activity, in the backyard of her Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills. On May 11 and 12 of that year, Patterson and her husband, Ron Patterson, presented the first “Renaissance Pleasure Faire” as a one-weekend fundraiser for radio station KPFK which drew some 8,000 people. The fair was designed by the Living History Center to resemble an actual Spring market fair of the period. Many of the original booths were no-charge reenactments of historical activities, including printing presses and blacksmiths. The first commercial vendors were mostly artisans and food merchants and were required to demonstrate historical accuracy or plausibility for their wares. Groups of volunteers were organized into “guilds” to focus on specific reenactment duties (musicians, military, Celtic clans, peasants, etc.). Both actors and vendors were required to successfully complete workshops in period language and accents, costuming, and culture, and to stay “in character” while working.
The original Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California (RPFS) was held in the Spring 1966 at the Paramount Ranch located in Agoura, California, focusing on the practices of old English springtime markets and “Maying” customs.
It moved around after that and politics got involved in the Living History Center group and it went to hell.
Sad but true.
@Cerridwyn The SCA was being founded at about the same time, in about the same place. Still, damned Californians
@compunaut
yeah, but that was up in the mists. kinda the same idea, though, back yard event.
and unlike in other parts of the world, the SCA and ren fairs didn’t get along - politics in it’s way. or commercialism vs non profit, meh
It’s done for the year here. I like to go once every few years. It’s fun, silly, and I like looking at all the art and stuff for sale.
We’re going to the Michigan festival tomorrow. Dressing up. We go every year on the one day they are open for school kids during the day. The shows are supposed to be a little less raunchy. My kids love the pickle vendor. I like the musical performances.
Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. We used to go a couple of times a year, street clothes but for some reason fell out of it. Definitely waited for cooler weekends (it ran from mid July to Labor Day weekend). Plainclothes.
One armory carried arms and armor made by Christopher Poor (real, quality items) but I never could talk myself into spending the bucks for a beautiful rapier or companion dagger.
We still occasionally play songs from Molly and the Tinker, and Tourdion whose CDs we bought at the Faire.
My wife and I at Colorado Renaissance Faire for the 2018 season: picture
@Bogie looks like you cut-up my grandma’s couch to make those fancy outfits.
@Bogie Great pic. Looks like you were born in the ‘ruling class’
@Bogie very nice!
@Bogie Excellent picture!
How heavy and hot are those?
@Bogie That looks fun!
@Bogie Dashing!
I’m going tomorrow to the one in Todd Mission if anyone wants to say hi let me know.
I went to Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Texas several times when i was in high school. My dad worked with the guy who played Henry VIII. I want to go back but it’s a long drive (6 hours) and expensive so it just hasn’t happened. I was a member of SCA for a while but there’s not one down here in the boonies. I’ve become acquainted with the woman who has plays Queen Margaret (Henrys sister) at Scarborough so I’m dying to go see her do her thing.
@ivannabc Hey, I went to that a few years ago. It was pretty fun.
@ivannabc Where you at?
@compunaut south arkansas. Tiny little town of 400 called Thornton.
Man, used to the Maryland Renaissance Fair religiously back in our college days. Drinking, hanging with the wenches, catching some inappropriate but somehow still kid friendly shows.
The absolute best seasons though were the ones when we had friends working the taverns. Get a few free meads during the day but even better, hang around after close and things got really interesting! Good times.
Huzzah! Though the ones out here in the PNW aren’t as big as the ones on the east coast where I grew up. PA Renn Faire was my favorite, though the one in MI wasn’t bad. I’ve recently started dressing up occasionally, depends on my mood.
Love the Renns, been to a number of them across the states…all are fun entertainment and great for people watching.