I went to the “King Richard’s faire” (Carver , MA)-what a ripoff! I was glad that I got the tickets as a gift-I would have been royally PO’d had I PAID 20 bucks for this! First of all-the performances were schlocky-although they had a pretty good juggler. The jousting was a farce, the horses looked like they were ready for the glue factory! Also, NOBODY spoke the old english dialect-it sounded like 20th century english to me. Plus-the food was disgusting, and WAY overpriced. My impression was that these things are attended by people who want to dress up-there were a few “Xena” lookalikes who wern’t half bad-but also a lot of dopes whose costumes were not historically accurate. The fair seemed to be a mish-mash of centuries-from the 12th to the 16th. There was a big stand selling swords and battleaxes-these were REAL (sharp and VERY dangerous). I could imagine some drunk 9having too much mead) going wild with a clith more sword-somebody could kill a lot of people. My stepson (12) and daughter (13) were bored to death-there just wasn’t anything remotely interesting about the fair. I passed the time talking to the ogre who ran the “mystery maze” ($1.00 to walk through some old bedsheets hung on clotheslines)-he told me that this fair packs up next week and moves to North Carolina. Well-to all you NC’s-don’t waste your money! These guys should be prosecuted for falso advertising!
All of the various Renaissance Festivals suck.
Fucking dirty filthy people bugging the shit out of me all day, trying to make fun of me and get a rise out of me. Mostly I want to kick their asses but don’t want an assault charge on my record. Yeah the food sucks too.
I haven’t been in over 10 years. I just can’t stand it.
RenFairs generally suck donkey. But . . .
Well, most of them are not locked into one specific time period. Everyone has their favorites, and some costumes are easier to replicate than others. Some people have better costumes than others, of course. Some just suck.
Any reputable fair dealer will hold live steel until the buyer is ready to leave. At the least, they should (and again, most do) wrap weapons thoroughly. Tt SF cons, steel is almost always “peace-bonded”–that is, they are either secured into scabbards or marked in some way. It’s an honor system, but violators will be summarily ejected, and many places will call police if anyone threatens anyone with live steel.
But generally speaking, yes. Avoid all RenFairs like the plague. SCA events can be worthwhile, occasionally, and they usually have the advantage of being open to the public. And if you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, check out the Seattle Knights. Your kids will NOT be bored watching them–real horses, battle-trained, real armor, real steel. Real jousts. And often some real blood, by golly.
It’s expensive, but they still don’t make much money.
Every year there’s one of those things here, but they have a hard time putting it together, and it fails if they can’t get sponsors, usually Levis and Coke.
And for the participants and shop clerks, it’s a whole lot more expensive than a regular street fair. You should talk to them. Very few break even, but they still come every time for the flavor.
Thank God someone else hated going to a Renaissance Fair as much as I did. The only time I ever went to one I was stunned by how much it cost–I didn’t bring nearly enough money and couldn’t even afford one of their (overpriced) sandwiches. Stalls sold “weapons” and “artifacts” that wouldn’t have fooled a four-year-old.
As for “historical accuracy” (which BTW this Ren Fair advertised), don’t make me laugh. OK, I know that studying 16th-century English history might have given me high standards, but the Fair was a terrible conglomeration of medieval and Tudor history–everything remotely
“historical” got thrown into the pot. The “jousting” at the end of the Fair was a real joke even from an entertainment standpoint. The audience seemed to cheer more out of sympathy than anything else.
The predominant theme as we left was of families muttering “We’ll never go to this again.” Count me in.
I love SCA… when I went to a few ren-faires, I was sadly disappointed…
One person walked up to me and informed me that I must bow, and when I didn’t, tried to grab me and force a bow. One does not grab me, not in that fashion. I didn’t break his hand, but he was crying when he got up… I left right after that.
I love the SCA… it has a much broader base of history to draw from, and the garb and persona’s are from all over the world!
Also, while it may be with wooden weapons, we get out there and fight… not tag, not choreographed… fighting, swinging a stick with enough force to dent 16ga. steel, brutal, mean, sneaky fighting…
Down with An-Tir (said the guy who got wasted by your archers at the war several months ago…)!!
Hmm, i started a thread about roleplayers, so methinks I’ll start a thread about the SCA. Look for it in MPSIMS, under “Are you in a play…sca” or something like that.
Yeah, a lot of those “faires” are real ripoffs. What is worse, when we have volunteered to help, so we become “cast”, then you can go to the after hours parties- where nobody makes the slightest freaking attempt to stay in garb or personae, like we do in the SCA.
I did a little research on the group that puts on this joke. It seems a few years back, the owner skipped town (Carver, MA) owing a lot of local merchants money (and the town, for police details). Anyway, the next time he showed up, the sheriff was waiting for him-the sheriff took over the faire, and sold the tickets till the claims were paid. How about this “SCA” group-do they put on any fairs in new England?
The SCA is everywhere, and yes, that includes new england. But we do not put on “faires” per se. We have “events”. You see at “faires”, they are there to entertain YOU. At events, you are there to participate. You are expected to come in at least a reasonable attempt at “medieval” clothing (which we sometimes call "garb’). Lots of stuff goes on- there is usually fighting, arts & sciences competitions, court, merchants, and sometimes plays, etc. Usually there can be found, in the evenings, belly dancing, bardic circles, and much flirting. Some events are overnite camping.
Now as to the merchants. Different than faires- not usually as many, but they usually have better, more authentic stuff, at cheaper prices. Food is not as common, so ask 1st.
SCA = Society for Creative Anachronism.
They like to consider themselves one of the largest standing armies in the world. I’ll remember that next time all the gunpowder and explosives suddenly diappear. 
Those faire things are OK, but they don’t have to come around so often. Once every 5-6 years would do it for me.
Nu, so don’t go, already. It’s not like they’re beating down your door and dragging you out, now are they?
Thanks for the tip. Did you think of that by yourself, or are you reading the appology disclaimer on the back of their tickets?
I’ve enjoyed two that I went to, six years apart, and that was the right amount.
If they were really good, they’d run all year, after all.