fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2781 ]

[ SECRET POST #2781 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2781 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Game of Thrones]

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[Kevin Sorbo/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]

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[Transformers: Prime]

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[Darkchylde]

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I saw an ad for one today and I thought it looked interesting. Has anyone been to a renaissance fair? What was it like?

Oooh I've heard American ones are great. :-D

It's like a Middle Ages theme park minus the rides. You have people in costumes playing out games, plays and such in character. You have vendors selling Middle Ages themed items and food.

The ones I've been at have varied. I like them, but sometimes they are shitty. There's one in PA that's pretty great, and has a bunch of theme weekends, which are fun. If you enjoy dressing up and mingling with a bunch of people speaking Ye Olde English, looking at old timey crafts/drinking beer/etc. you will probably like it.

I've only been to smaller ones, but it was pretty neat. Lots of handmade crafts tht are really beautiful. In some cases demonstrations of things like swordfighting or period clothing. Some even recreate old recipes. Yum!

Don't know about others, but Ohio's Rennfest is fun. There's a large courtyard of buildings where people sell medieval-ish stuff: costumes, knives, leatherwork, cloaks, crystals, that sort of thing, plus multiple stages where people put on stage acts. There's swordfighting and comedy, and a troupe that reenacts plays in a mud pit, which is funnier than it sounds. The concession stands sell roasted turkey legs. There's a joust where people dress up as Queen Elizabeth's court.

You walk around and eat overpriced food and drink overpriced beer and windowshop. Being sober is not a good idea. There are pretty decent shows- like magic shows, insult comics, magicians, etc. Stuff like that. I've been to the one in Plantersville, TX. It's kinda a fun thing to do.

I've only been once and I was bored off my ass. note, despite being a costumer I didn't dress up, but I don't think that would have changed my perception.

I'm not interested in buying shitty knockoff swords and armor, I'm not interested in chomping on a giant greasy turkey leg, and the shows weren't all that entertaining. ymmv - if I could go to a Ren faire that had real competitive jousting and not fake-jousting for show? Hells yes I'd love that. some comedy troupes at some faires can be great while others are just lame. and I get so much second-hand embarrassment at the people walking around in-character that I just didn't enjoy it.

The bigger ones are fun, since they get more and better acts and there's more to see. They tend to be expensive, though.

It really, really depends on where you go.

I've been to ren faires where it's basically just "I'm in costume, buy my shit," and you come away feeling like you've wasted your time and money. I've also been to ren faires where I've come away feeling absolutely enchanted. There's one in my town that's held in a forest, and the atmosphere is otherworldly. There's another that's about an hour's ride from me where they've built a small town and put it behind a wall, so you kind of feel like you're stepping back in time.

Do your research. It could be super fun, and have some decent shows. It could also be super lame.

I've only been to one, but it was so so. The food was overpriced and we didn't dress up, but we did get to see a bit of glassblowing! The jousting wasn't as exciting as I would have liked, but I had massive cramps at the time so it's not like I could concentrate anyway. I enjoyed looking at all the shops and the costumes were fun, but it was a pretty unimpressive renfair. I'm sure there's much nicer ones elsewhere, and if you can find a good one it's probably worth a visit.

Used to work at one. It's fun. It's essentially a bunch of people in costume pretending to be cool people from the past and trying to entertain you. Essentially it's like a con but outside.

And typically much smaller so you can do it in a day. I miss going to those battles and seeing my teacher scaring the bejeebers out of all those tough, armoured guys with her hurling stick. <3

Depends on the Faire. But yeah, I worked small ones.

Ha, wish I had seen that.

"What it's like" varies from faire to faire. Where are you? If it's a regular event, odds are good that someone here might know about that specific one and have more specific things to say.

Mildly boring just walking around. Go if there's a specific event you want to see--lots of renfairs will have things like themed weekends or weird/ancient sports tournaments or things like that. I went to one once specifically because it had a free cider tasting, then ended up staying around for about an hour longer than I intended because one of the stage shows was pretty funny. Otherwise, they're great if you like peoplewatching and windowshopping for princess outfits and leather/metalware.

The one I go to is a pretty good size and popular, it's a fun thing to do in fall. There are a lot of specialty shops selling clothes, masks, jewelry, accessories, and weapons. One day, I'll totally drop a couple hundred bucks on a ridiculous sword I will never use. There are performers doing things from Dark Times-y comedy to gymnastic routines to geek shows (carnival geeks hammering nails into their noses, not talking about fandom.) There's a scripted joust every Sunday afternoon.

Everything is expensive. Getting in is expensive, the merchandise is expensive, the food is expensive, games are expensive.

Don't dress as Doctor Who. It's unoriginal and tacky.

Oddly enough, I just saw a photo of someone's where the renfair had a Doctor Who themed weekend. Wish I could remember where I saw that, but they had a TARDIS and tons of people dressed up.

Otherwise, I had no idea that was actually a thing.

The Arizona Renaissance Festival does "time traveler's weekend" every year. It's not officially Doctor Who themed, but that's how, like, 75% of the people who decide to play the time travel angle go. (The other 25% are steampunk.) There's always a TARDIS out by the gate -- I don't know if it's put there by the Festival organizers or by one of the performers/vendors -- and someone has a gorgeous TARDIS-blue motorcycle with Gallifreyan writing that's usually displayed next to it. I know this because this is the weekend my friend always insists we go, because my friend is an obnoxious obsessed fan. And I say this as someone who lives on the internet.

There are lots of attendees in costumes, some of which are really detailed and well-done. There are performers entertaining the crowds, putting on shows, or just walking around in-character as Medieval-era people (like Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc.). There are often booths where you can get your face painted, your fortune told, or throw axes for prizes. There are so many vendors with so much awesome stuff for sale -- period clothing, leather goods, weapons, chainmail, jewelry, toys, and more. There are expensive but tasty snacks and food. If you're at all into the Middle Ages and fantasy based on that time period, bring literally all of your money. It's an outdoor con for fantasy geeks.

I was going to say what everyone else already basically did, so I'll just add that you shouldn't go expecting anything historically accurate. It's more of a mix of Middle Ages/Renaissance, though I'm sure how much still depends on which one you go to. But it's not like stepping into a costume drama.

They are quite delightful! You have people walking around in costume, in character, most often you have a 'court' with a king and queen, stalls and booths selling everything from hand-forged daggers and hand-sewn leather boots to giant turkey legs and silly hats with plumes on them.

The Faire in Kansas City has fairies and orcs (or did) as well as Pirates, and twice a day there is jousting, and a human chess game.

It's usually a lot of walking, some dust, port-o-potties, and heat, depending, but there's also music, skits, beautiful jewelry/clothing/crafts, awesome food, and just - a ton of fun.

If you get the chance, try one!
http://www.kcrenfest.com/

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[ SECRET POST #2781 ]

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