Is there a place online where I could get reliable and current information on Ren Faires? I’ve checked several sites, but they advertise Faires that occured back in 1999 or 2000. Are there any sites that have updated lists?
RENAISSANCE magazine has the list: http://www.renaissancemagazine.com/fairelist.html
It’s not a particularly good magazine, but if you’re just looking for the list, there you go.
That is just what I needed. Thank you very much.
There is also a link on our local ren fest (www.kcrenfest.com) to www.atthefaire.com
The KC fest is amazing. Last time we tried to go there were 30,000 people + there.
WARNING WARNING WARNING
RenFaire mag is put out as a vanity piece by a firm that owns several of the state faires. Their coverage is, therefore, skewed.
I speak as one who knows. They’re good in their way but they have the expected blind spots.
The big daddy of them all is the Texas Renaissance Festival, about 55 miles north/northwest of Houston. It goes from the first weekend in October for seven weekends. It is owned by one (very eccentric) man, who three years before starting TRF, founded the Minnesota Renaissance Faire, also a very big faire. The TRF grounds are huge, and well maintained. Plus, they have patron camping, which can get pretty wild with drum circles, fire spinning, and creative campsites. I also work TRF for Nichols Games, a game contractor.
Technically, they close at sunset, but they take their time getting people out, especially if the weather is good and people are spending money. The place is beautiful at night. Just suspend your disbelief of electricity during the period. The weather gets cooler as the year goes on. I recommend going on the last weekend. The participants are seasoned and ready for fun. The shopping deals are better, and the patron campsite approaches “Burning Man” intensities (There is also a quiter camp area as well).
If you hurry, you can still makeScarborough Faire, south of Dallas near Waxahachie. Its last weekend is Memorial Day. A damn good faire. The landscaping is wonderful. It is not as big as TRF, but it is certainly larger than average for a Ren-faire. They must be more restricted in space to grow, but they pack a lot of stuff in a more modest space, kind of making it look more like a Renaissance city. Unlike TRF, it is better to go early, while the weather is cooler.
I also went once to the Louisiana Renaissance festival. It is much smaller. There are still good shows and characters, but it deals with crowds in the hundreds, approaching 1000.
I had a link somewhere which listed all of them. I will get back to this thread.
I don’t know if this is GQ, but I would like to see this thread as a portal for links and personal experiences with local faires the posters attended.
The KC Faire looks impressive!
Go to renfest.com
I go the Maryland fest every year. Well at least for the last 16 years or so. It is fantastic. I can’t speak for the others listed at this site but there should be one near you. Let us know how it goes. -OR- See you at the Maryland Faire this fall!
I’ve attended the Maryland Faire since 1986. It’s grow enormous over the years and remains fun. I have pals who’ve worked there and once spent a night above the shops with some vendors. Big fun.
The last few years I’ve also attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival at Mt Hope Winery in Manheim, PA. In fact, I’ve been thinking that would be a great place to have some Dopers get together this summer.
This year, since we’ve moved, we’ll hit the Ohio Ren Faire in Dayton, OH. I’ve never been so I’m interested in seeing how well they do it.
That’s something like 15 minutes from my house. A Doperenfest would be incredibly cool…
Actually, I was asking on behalf of my mother, who lives in Spokane, Washington.
There’s one going on here in Muskogee, Oklahoma through May. A little out of your way though.
The New York Renaissance Faire is pretty darned fun.
I live very close to it, and we attend most summers. A nice afternoon’s outing. Killer food. Killer comics. The Mud Show is always hilarious.
Cartooniverse
I was used to going to the one in North Carolina, which you literally have to walk through the woods to get to. The best thing about it is the amazing atmosphere. It’s very easy to suspend your disbelief and feel like you’re part of the times.
Then I went to the one here in Phoenix (coincidentally owned by the same people) and it was a whole different story. It’s hard to imagine you’re in middle-age Europe when the ground is dry dirt, the only plants you see are cactuses, and there are craggy, rocky mountains in almost every direction.
If you come to the Northern California Renaissance Faire in late September - October, you can find this Unix administrator under the assumed persona “Stephen of Solaris”
What?
Stephen of Weblogic just didn’t sound right. 
And you can usually find me in pantaloons, a blouse, and a whole passel of cross necklaces.
But I’m undercover.
If you look close you’ll find that one of the necklaces is really a Star Trek communicator on a leather thong. I’m actually from the Enterprise and exploring this strange and primitive culture.
Hey, I’m from Dayton and now I live in the Washington area. So I did the reverse of you. I went to the Ohio ren fair in Waynesville two or three times in the early 1990s. It was quite fun then but it was a good deal smaller than the Maryland fair. I’ll be interested in knowing what your experience is like this year.
I don’t know about the others around the country, but I can no longer get excited about going to the Minnesota Rennaissance Festival. It has become the Minnesota Rennaissance Mall. There have always been shops aplenty at the Fest, but the shows are becoming fewer and fewer. Those shows that remain are becoming ever more sanitized. And street performers are nonexistent. Sad, really. It used to be a lot of fun.
In SoCal, the Renaissance Pleasure Faire is going on right now, every weekend for another couple of weeks IIRC.
It used to be better, but it is still a lot of fun, very big with lots of people.
This site keeps a current list of faires: http://www.renfaire.com/