What single thing at faire hurls you off into the depths of rage?

[Jack Daw at Work]

I dunno why, but I become enraged when bearded men eat turkey legs in public without a veil to hide their grotesque display.

Oh, did I say 'enraged' I meant...um...'humored.'

[Lady Rosalind]

Grabby hands and people who think it is fun to steal my stuff from the royal court area, and give it to others to give back to me in a "humorous" way. It wasn't funny, it wasn't cute, and I wasn't flattered. If people want to "be a part of the act", then come to us earlier, introduce yourself properly, and don't ask to do anything that will interfere with the shows or be out of character for the actor involved (he interrupted the question/answer session of my show!).

The whole experience ruined my mood for the rest of the day, and made a patron who was roped into the interruption very uncomfortable. I made sure to reassure her that it wasn't her fault, while my escort took the guy off to the side and had a serious talk with him about why this type of interaction was not welcome. The patron was mortified, and I could have kicked the guy just for that reason alone. We ended up having a nice talk, and I think she'll still come back next year.

The interfering patron got a nice talk from our large security folks, courtesy of my escort.

Grr...

[Baron Dacre]

After reading all the replies, I guess here in California we are in some cases very strict, and in others lax.

I hate costume Nazi's!!!! (The main reason I quit working the big southern faire here years ago. I understand now they are even telling what feathers to use and who can use them.)

Rumba Rue

@Rumba Rue,

Southern does try to keep a quality and consistent look. The look of each group and booth is dictated by the group and booth. The whole thing is then the coordinated by the faire's costume director.  If you are working, you must follow the rules, it is a trade-off. Remember that faire is a theatrical construct.

If you are a patron, and a cast-member is talking smack, find out who they work for and let their booth-owner/guildmaster know. It is very bad show and makes us all look bad.

[cowgrrl]

People who have loud things on their costumes. Jingling coins & small bells I'm good with. Today, however, I had to listen to COWBELL attached to a kid as it clanged all over the Faire. It was very disruptive to Sarah Mullens beautiful harp playing & jarring at other times of the day. I was highly tempted to say something to the parents but they were bigger than me & had horns so I refrained!

[Alaric]

Had a Dane at mdrf brush his lit cigar on my arm.  Glad I had my sleves rolled up of it would of burnt my shirt.  As crowded as it gets there walking around with a lit cigar in your hand is a pretty poor idea. 

At the Pittsburgh fair there is this one beef jerky vendor that is a super pushy/rude.  Guy really got on my nerves and I ended up avoiding the area he was in. I hope he is gone this year.

[arbcoind]

I hope he is gone this year.

Me too!

Gina

[Anna Iram]

Had a Dane at mdrf brush his lit cigar on my arm.  Glad I had my sleves rolled up of it would of burnt my shirt.  As crowded as it gets there walking around with a lit cigar in your hand is a pretty poor idea.  

At the Pittsburgh fair there is this one beef jerky vendor that is a super pushy/rude.  Guy really got on my nerves and I ended up avoiding the area he was in. I hope he is gone this year.

I'm sorry, Alaric. I'm not laughing at your burn and I hope it wasn't bad, but you made me think of another thread:

You know you're a true rennie when you're garb means more to you than your own skin.

[Rowan MacD]

   More annoyance at bad manners than rage, I guess.  Still early in the season, but the 'cranky patron effect' is apparent already..The comments cited below are aimed primarily at mundanes, the vast majority of Rennies aren't this rude (I hope).
  I realize that some people are (rabidly) loyal to certain faires, and that's cool.
  What is not cool, is going to a small faire, (or a website, or a news blog contribution) and making lengthy and disparaging comparisons to much bigger, and much, much better funded events.
  That's like comparing the annual town Carnival to Disneyland.  
  Making loud and snarky comments for everyone to hear (or read) about the lack of 20-30 different places to eat, high end artisans and top paid acts at a faire that only charges $10.00 at the gate is just petty, and does not make the snarker look or sound worldly or sophisticated, which we have to assume is the intention.
  I understand that some folks cannot bring themselves to attend a 'soft' faire, but please, if you do go, keep your comments to yourself.  Not everybody can afford Tartanic or The Tortuga Twins, and certainly not a  tiny venue barely making enough to pay the jousters. *Sigh*.
 
   
   
   

[raevyncait]

  More annoyance at bad manners than rage, I guess.  Still early in the season, but the 'cranky patron effect' is apparent already..The comments cited below are aimed primarily at mundanes, the vast majority of Rennies aren't this rude (I hope).
  I realize that some people are (rabidly) loyal to certain faires, and that's cool.
  What is not cool, is going to a small faire, (or a website, or a news blog contribution) and making lengthy and disparaging comparisons to much bigger, and much, much better funded events.
  That's like comparing the annual town Carnival to Disneyland.  
  Making loud and snarky comments for everyone to hear (or read) about the lack of 20-30 different places to eat, high end artisans and top paid acts at a faire that only charges $10.00 at the gate is just petty, and does not make the snarker look or sound worldly or sophisticated, which we have to assume is the intention.
  I understand that some folks cannot bring themselves to attend a 'soft' faire, but please, if you do go, keep your comments to yourself.  Not everybody can afford Tartanic or The Tortuga Twins, and certainly not a  tiny venue barely making enough to pay the jousters. *Sigh*.     

Rowen, one would hope that it is not rennies making such comments, as most of us understand that not all faires are the same and there is a HUGE pool of talent out there for various festivals to wade through in order to get their entertainers, many of whom are regional, lesser-known acts, who may be just as talented as the big names who command the big money.  Personally, I try to find something good to say about any festival I visit, and while there are a couple of festivals that I would like a refund on my time & gas (as I was given free tickets), I try not to publicly be ugly about them. Norman is one of my very favorite festivals, and if I lived closer, I would have been there this year, but it's already in my plans for next year.  Scarby will always be home, even if there are aspects that make me less than happy, I can still find happiness & joy out there.  Not every festival will appeal to everybody, but that doesn't make it a bad festival necessarily. It goes to "just because something doesn't work for me or bring me happiness doesn't mean it's bad or wrong, it just means it's wrong FOR ME."

[Alaric]

Had a Dane at mdrf brush his lit cigar on my arm.  Glad I had my sleves rolled up of it would of burnt my shirt.  As crowded as it gets there walking around with a lit cigar in your hand is a pretty poor idea.  

At the Pittsburgh fair there is this one beef jerky vendor that is a super pushy/rude.  Guy really got on my nerves and I ended up avoiding the area he was in. I hope he is gone this year.

I'm sorry, Alaric. I'm not laughing at your burn and I hope it wasn't bad, but you made me think of another thread:

You know you're a true rennie when you're garb means more to you than your own skin.

 Luckily I pulled my arm away quickly so I only got a small burn.  I just spent 80 bucks on a new shirt and would have hated to get a hole in it, tho to be honest it probably wouldn't have mattered as I managed to get a small hole in my pants somehow. Matching destruction FTW    

[The Rabbi]

What is not cool, is going to a small faire, (or a website, or a news blog contribution) and making lengthy and disparaging comparisons to much bigger, and much, much better funded events.
   That's like comparing the annual town Carnival to Disneyland. 
   Making loud and snarky comments for everyone to hear (or read) about the lack of 20-30 different places to eat, high end artisans and top paid acts at a faire that only charges $10.00 at the gate is just petty, and does not make the snarker look or sound worldly or sophisticated, which we have to assume is the intention.
   I understand that some folks cannot bring themselves to attend a 'soft' faire, but please, if you do go, keep your comments to yourself.  Not everybody can afford Tartanic or The Tortuga Twins, and certainly not a  tiny venue barely making enough to pay the jousters. *Sigh*.

Thank you so much my good lady. As a very small soft site faire I truly appreciate your comments. My faire is funded from my VA and SS check and ran as my wifes business so be it a money pit it is still ours. While we have yet to turn a cash profit we have reaped the benefits of seeing smiles on peoples faces that would otherwise have never attended a faire. We may be a small fair but we give our patrons 110%.

[Rowan MacD]

  Rabbi, you are most welcome.  A labor of love shows in the dedication of the people who run it, and the people who volunteer there.  Keep at it, you will grow....

   It seems that the most disparaging comments are reserved for the 'midsized' faires; particularly the ones that have a mix of hard booths with a section for tentage.   These venues typically charge between $10-$20 gate and may or may not have a dedicated site. Many only have volunteer cast and acts that are new or only semi-professional at best, while the big faires have the best of everything: fancy buildings, grounds maintenance, professional actors, and variety, and they charge $25+ for a day pass to pay for it all.  
  This obvious difference escapes these uninformed and amateur (but vocal)  'critics', who don't recognize the difference between a faire that is still evolving into a full blown, and hopefully, multiple weekend event, and a bigger one that they may have attended in the past.
   They apparently expect to see a miniature TRF or Bristol in the middle of a cornfield, like Venus rising full grown from the clamshell.


edit for spelling

 

[Captain Teague]

Well....Yer magic and all, aintcha?

[Merlin the Elder]

Only been to one that I could, would, and did disparage...in my home town. $5 admission, and 30 minutes later, we left, having seen and done everything. There was no cast. There was a short lecture and demonstration on jousting in a small paddock. There were a couple of vendors left over from the state fair. That was it. That was the best that a metro area of 3/4 million people could do??

I would fully support a start-up or small faire in my area, but they would at least have to try, and not just take someone's money and say they had a faire, like this one.  For obvious reasons, the "faire" was never heard from again.

To make a faire go, and to make a faire worth going to, you have to have the enthusiasm and love of faire, like Rabbi.

[Zardoz]

Not rage, but sort of annoyed.

I'm always saying "anything goes, just have fun" with your garb at faire.  But lately I percieve that there are people who's costumes are sort of a joke at other playtrons expense. They might have started as a gag, but seem like an intentional and somewhat mean spirited parody of faire.