How would you change your local faire if you won the lottery

[DonaCatalina]

I've never been to PARF but I would prefer wood chips over pavement any day.

[McGuinness]

We're on a PaRF roll, aren't we?

I'd rebuild a couple of our older stages that have gotten a bit...shaky...and install AC/heated dressing rooms. With the rest, I'd by the 18th century mansion on site, restore it, kick the offices out and open it up as a B&B.

[Rowan MacD]

If I won a big enough lottery, I'd have to build a local faire, since we have none in my area. If it wasn't a big enough lottery win except enough to buy some land and build a house, I'd move to Waxahachie, and try to get on cast at Scarby, my home faire.

I would buy about 15 acres of farm land in Western Iowa/Eastern Nebraska or close to the main highways and build a miniature fort-like castle on it.  I would live in said castle, raising a herd of wee Highland Cattle and black faced sheep, while developing a  brand new faire and nostalgic event/living history site a few miles away complete with
good access roads, hard top parking lots, buildings, modern restrooms, cobbled lanes, stone crosses and fountains at every intersection.  Shady arbor seating and grottos, a well designed food court with plenty of inviting seating and stone and stucco stages with the latest in accousics and sound technology built in.  All the shoppes and vendors stalls would be permanent fixtures and available for lease. 
(I figure the site could also be used for a Dickens christmas event with vendors using the idle shop fronts to sell gifts)

[Lady Kett]

...hard top parking lots...

OOOoooOOOOooo! Love that idea!

[Merlin the Elder]

...hard top parking lots...

OOOoooOOOOooo! Love that idea!

Aw, Hun... you wouldn't like that idea in TEXAS! Some other alternative might be better suited to hell (I only mean that in the temperature sense).  90+ weather (remember opening weekend 2011??) = 150+ vehicles... you sit down in the car, and the extreme heat ignites any methane gas you may have generated over the course of a day eating brats, drinking stout... 137 cars are found in the next county....

[Lady Kett]

Fine then Merlin, how about better cared for dirt paths then, LOL? There's a few dips in Row 12 that about swallowed my Miata for the FOF Picnic! Or just cover the dang thing and make it a covered parking lot, hehe. 

[Merlin the Elder]

Definitely better paths would be good.  Seriously about the pavement, though. You'd be amazed at the difference in temperature between Little Rock and the community that I live in from nothing more than the difference in the percentage of pavement coverage. But I did run across some pretty big potholes myself that have developed in the parking lot... Berit, you hanging around here? You might want to check that out.

[Rowan MacD]

  In Ne and Ia, pavement temp is not so much an issue, 
While we're dreaming why not build a Tudor parking garage?  Cobbled entry/exit ramps, stucco and timber exterior, thatched toll booth?

[Merlin the Elder]

With all those cars, wouldn't you need more than a Tudor garage? I would think three or four would be minimum... (Don't you just hate a smart-mouthed wizard?)

[kcdcchef]

We're on a PaRF roll, aren't we?

I'd rebuild a couple of our older stages that have gotten a bit...shaky...and install AC/heated dressing rooms. With the rest, I'd by the 18th century mansion on site, restore it, kick the offices out and open it up as a B&B.

There is a lovely B&B we go to when we are up for Celtic fling, Mount Gretna. It isn't too far, about 15 minutes to Faire. But I totally agree, I think a B&B on festival grounds would be amazing, and booked most every weekend of the year, that's for sure!!!


Back to the how would you change your faire if you won the lottery, I had some other thoughts...........at my home faire, KCRF, I would buy the amphitheater next door, tear it down, and put in a nice renaissance themed restaurant and winery overlooking festival grounds.

[maeven]

I know it's been a while since this thread had a post, but after seeing this, I had to post! lol

Since my local faire is TRF and Sherwood is my second local faire, I am going to take a page from a previous post and use the money for being able to attend each faire during it's duration (you know, every weekend it's running). I live a little around an hour and a half from TRF and about 3-4 hours from Sherwood, so that would be really cool to go during each of their operating weekends.

[LadyStitch]

I always thought that woud love to buy acearage on the same road that scarby is on and build a place simular to a hostel or like a 'seminar' hotel. 

Option #1 )There are2 twin size bed room, full size bed room, and then cabins on the site which can be rented out to clans. There is an on site kitchen that will provide Breakfast and Dinner for all guests.  Those in cabins can opt out if they so wish.  No TV's are in the bedrooms, but there is a central gathering area around a large stone fire place where there is also a large TV available.  Rooms are clean and cared for each day.  Rooms would be $40-50 a night meals included.

Option #2)  A communal sleeping area made up of bunk beds. Each person is granted a storage chest to keep valuables in.  Or there are simple twin bed room, where you get a sink, a bed and a wardrobe.  If you want to use the shower or toilet, you go to a communial shower room, which would we set up with private washing areas for each person.  Then there would be matching full size bed rooms like the twin rooms.  Might even throw in a few with the in suite bathroom. Again a communal fire pit outside, a large fireplace inside, and a kitchen that can be shared by everyeone. Prices would range from $30 a night for the communal room to $150 a night for the suite.

Be sasic idea is so that performers don't have to go far, yet still have a good place to sleep.  The guests who want to 'camp' at faire but don't want to sleep outside, they can still have the comminity feeling but  have the hotel amenities to an extent.

During the off season use it for seminars, and weekend retreats. .

[maeven]

I always thought that woud love to buy acearage on the same road that scarby is on and build a place simular to a hostel or like a 'seminar' hotel. 

Option #1 )There are2 twin size bed room, full size bed room, and then cabins on the site which can be rented out to clans. There is an on site kitchen that will provide Breakfast and Dinner for all guests.  Those in cabins can opt out if they so wish.  No TV's are in the bedrooms, but there is a central gathering area around a large stone fire place where there is also a large TV available.  Rooms are clean and cared for each day.  Rooms would be $40-50 a night meals included.

Option #2)  A communal sleeping area made up of bunk beds. Each person is granted a storage chest to keep valuables in.  Or there are simple twin bed room, where you get a sink, a bed and a wardrobe.  If you want to use the shower or toilet, you go to a communial shower room, which would we set up with private washing areas for each person.  Then there would be matching full size bed rooms like the twin rooms.  Might even throw in a few with the in suite bathroom. Again a communal fire pit outside, a large fireplace inside, and a kitchen that can be shared by everyeone. Prices would range from $30 a night for the communal room to $150 a night for the suite.

Be sasic idea is so that performers don't have to go far, yet still have a good place to sleep.  The guests who want to 'camp' at faire but don't want to sleep outside, they can still have the comminity feeling but  have the hotel amenities to an extent.

During the off season use it for seminars, and weekend retreats. .

That's a really cool idea!

[Merlin the Elder]

I love the idea of a connected hotel/hostel/cabins/what-have-you.  Sherwood seems like it would be very conducive to such a venture, the they own or could acquire enough of the land surrounding the faire site.

Scarby could use more trees. If some of the surrounding area was wooded instead of farmland, it would drop the temperature a little bit.

[DonaCatalina]

Sherwood would be perfect for the cabin idea if they rented seperately.
Cloud Dance is one of my top ten favorite places to visit.
I would nvest in something like this for Sherwood Forest.