Newcomer here! What do you DO at faire?

[Aelynn of Georgina]

Greetings from a northern newcomer!
I attended my first ren fest last year and loved it.  It was only a one day event though, and the first faire I am attending this year is a 4 day event (we are probably only going to be there for 3 days though).  My husband and two daughters (10 & will be joining me this time, and I am trying to get some friends to attend too, but they all keep asking me the same question...

What do you DO at faire for 3-4 days? 

I have searched around online and seen lots of pictures and read many a tale, but there is no way to know if 3-4 days is too long.  There is very little information about the events at this particular faire available yet, because it's not happening until June, so aside from telling them that you meet people and watch the shows, and of course, shop the vendors, I'd like to offer them a bit more.  How long should we plan to be at faire every day? Do the events and shows usually repeat themselves or will every day be different enough to make it worth attending each day? Is there stuff for the kids to do specifically?  We will be more than a couple of hours away from home, but should we plan on having a babysitter so my hubby and I can attend some of the faire without the kids in tow?  Should I bring different garb for each day, or will one set suffice for the 3 days?  For that matter, does everyone attending faire wear garb or would we stick out like sore thumbs if we were in mundane wear?

I hope that I'm not being too much of a pain in the rump. I know I may be asking what seems like second nature to most of you, but to someone who is brand new to the whole thing, I have no idea what to expect.  I was hoping to hear from some of you well seasoned Rennies, and even from others who are rather new to this too, about the whole experience.  Anything you can offer will be wonderful. 

Thanks!

[Merlin]

It depends on the faire.

Some have many shows to see....many events to take part in. I could have fun just people watching for 3 days.

A typical day for me begins in the parking lot for the pre-canon get together. (meet and greet)
Then it's inside and to the right. I stop in every shoppe.... get an idea of show times for the shows i want to see that day and plan the route accordingly.
Eat....drink....walk.... talk.... eat some more...drink some more.... and before ya know it... it's closing time.

[Steev]

I'm a relatively new faire-goer and like you I got the bug immediately after my first visit.  My advice would be to go in garb rather than civvies- the experience is much cooler if you feel like a participant rather than an outsider. Same garb for all days is fine, tho I know many of the veterans bring multiple outfits and sometimes multiple personas for different visits.  I think your budget and ambition will decide for you.

Regarding activities, my family tries to avoid over-scheduling.  Make time to just wander- some of the best entertainment is found away from the "scheduled" events.  If possible, find a place to hang for a while, eat, rest, people watch before diving back into the fray.

Having said that, scan the schedule and identify a few entertainers/events that interest you and make sure you get there in time for a good seat.  Over time you'll find acts that you'll religiously follow!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Garb, definitely!  You will become part of the experience, instead of watching the experience.  The same garb is fine for the 3 days, and you may find something new at faire that you would love to buy and wear.

As to things to do, where is this faire?  Many folks on this board go to lots of different faires, and they would have knowledge of the entertainment, vendors/shopping and everything else that makes faire - faire.

I would also look on the faire's website for when they post the entertainment schedule.  When my husband and I go to a new faire (been going since 1980), we try to see most of the shows in the first day, if we can.  Then we find that we return to shows that we really like.  Some times the performers sing the same songs, others they do different songs, but if we've gone back, it's because we enjoyed their show and don't mind seeing or hearing the same thing again.

We took our children when they were young, the youngest is now 25 and he still enjoys faire and goes with us.  We have boys, so they weren't interested in shopping too much, but they loved visits to shops that sold weapons and chain mail (always supervised by us).  Most faires now have a children's kingdom (they didn't when our kids were young) with rides, games, storytellers, and other things geared to children.  And a lot of faires have a time where the king or queen knights the children.  And everybody loves the joust, the birds of prey show, the fairy kingdom, if there is one, and the parade.

Again, I suggest telling us the name of the faire, so those who have been to it can give you a better idea if 4 days is too much time to spend there, if it's a very tiny faire, or if you'll want to be there from opening cannon to closing every day.

[LadySeasan]

Well at some faires, they have kids areas so the young ones will have fun. But there is lots to do.  Shows, browsing through the shops, food and drink! It's all about how make the experience for yourself

[will paisley]

1) Knowing which faire it is will really help with giving the answer.  Knowing the faire, people here can tell you which acts they like, which vendors have really good bargains, even which shows are not appropriate for children.

2) Most large faires have more shows than you can possibly see in a day.  The three big faires in the mid-Atlantic region have between 8 and 10 stage shows each, all running more or less continuously.  Most musical acts bear repeated viewing, as they rarely play the same set of songs twice.

3) If you're asking *us* what we do at faire, that answer may not be applicable to your situation.  Most of us here have been going to a particular faire for a while, and we're part of the rennie "community".  I know people at my home faire who don't miss a single day out of a 9 weekend run, and I'll bet they haven't seen three shows the entire season.  They'll sit at the pub, drink cider and talk with their friends all day (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That®).  Also, the regulars have come up with some rather unique ways to spend the time, such as wenchings, roguings, plunderings, pub crawls, romance wars and other activities that defy description.

4) As far as garb goes, nobody will say anything about wearing the same garb for three days (although you're obviously going to want to wash it at some point).  Performers usually wear the same (or at least the same looking) garb every faire day, usually as a way for their character to be identified.  The same idea works for patrons.  BTW, I highly recommend interacting with some of the street characters on cast.  I have been to tiny faires with only one or two stages and a handful of acts, and had a thoroughly wonderful time for several weekends just interacting with the cast.

5) At my home faire, I usually make gate and stay till closing. Then again, our faire has a closing show that I'm absolutely devoted to.  At other faires, I may stay to the end just to confirm where everybody is going to dinner afterwards (again, this is more applicable to people who are entrenched in the ren community). 

[Aelynn of Georgina]

I will be attending the Great Northern Medieval Fayre the first weekend of June.  Being from Ontario this faire is about as close to home as they get. As far as I know there is only one closer - the Toronto Renaissance Festival at Casa Loma, which was my very first faire ever last year and, I believe, rather small in scale compared to many of the others.  Many of the Ontario faires are happening on the same weekend as GNMF this year so I am disappointed that I won't be able to attend more of the Ontario faires this season.

Since we will be staying at a resort, I am not sure if I will be able to wash anything, so I am going to try to make another set of garb for myself and I plan on making at least two shirts for my hubby so that he can stay fresh.  My daughters will most likely be ok in the same garb for the 3 days, if not, oh well! LOL

I am very excited to be attending with my family this year too!  I hope they love it as much as I do! If they do, I'm hoping we will travel a little further abroad too.  I'd love to meet some of the faire folk from these boards and see the faires that everyone else speaks so fondly of.

*smiles*
Aelynn

[Aelynn of Georgina]

I should note that I believe this is a brand new faire... The website states that this is the first year of this faire, so it will all be completely new.  Don't know what to expect of that, but hopefully it's a smashing success and continues for many years.  That also means there will be lots of new people to meet and friends to make.

[robert of armstrong]

Welcome to another Northerner to the boards!!

I completely agree with Will Paisley:

sit at the pub, drink cider and talk with their friends all day (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That®).  Also, the regulars have come up with some rather unique ways to spend the time, such as wenchings, roguings, plunderings, pub crawls, romance wars and other activities that defy description.

I highly recommend interacting with some of the street characters on cast.  I have been to tiny faires with only one or two stages and a handful of acts, and had a thoroughly wonderful time for several weekends just interacting with the cast.

I usually make gate and stay till closing.

Although I have to travel to all the big (more than one day or one weekend) Faires that I go to, all of these notions apply.  I regularly hit Sterling, Great Lakes, Michigan, Ohio and Maryland.

As the GNMF is a one weekend Faire, and is brand new, I'm not sure if it has permanent structures or how big the grounds are.  I live in Barrie, so I'm going to have to check it out.