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

[Ser Niall]

My faire is the MIRF.  While great as it is, I'd throw some money into these ideas:

Expand the "Guinness Pub" area.  Its basically a large open bar area where you can sit and enjoy your pint.  However, it can get difficult to find a spot to sit down.

Create a separate permanent pub area where Michigan microbrews can be served.  Perhaps rotate the breweries every year to keep things fresh.  Set it up as another outdoor pub with seats/benches/etc.

Have "after hours" weekends where you have to be 21 or older to attend after the official faire closes.  Keep the pubs open, and have the music stages going with different celtic or other faire-friendly music, more shows, etc.

Spend some money to attract more craft booths specializing in male garb!  It seems like for every shop selling male garb, there are 10 dress and corset shops

[Rogue Hidesmith]

PaRF is my home faire (albeit 4 hours away).

If I won the lottery I'd:

• Lower food prices, admission, or both
• Develop the shops & grounds more out toward the mud pit. The shops toward the mud pit don't seem to get a whole lot of traffic unfortunately
• Increase the variety of foods. Some middle eastern/Mediterranean fare certainly would be nice
• An "adult" area that's restricted for more bawdy entertainment
• Start  (or develop parenfaire.net's base into) an official PaRF FoF

[Tipsy Gypsy]

I'd hire back all the cast members at TRF who got form letters instead of contracts, and expand the cast, not shrink it.

[The Lady Mercedes]

If I won the lotto, I would have a faire here in OC...to attend a faire we have to travel a long distance (especially if you have to take public transit which SUCKS...it takes me half a day to get to faire & the rest of it to get back w/a few hrs. to actually enjoy the faire in between) to Irwendale & Corona or perhaps Escondido, when we have plenty of room here. I mean, we have Silverado, Trabuco, Modjeska, & Dove Canyons, there's Shady Canyon in Irvine, the area just east of Villa Park & Tustin, there's an open area around Ladera Ranch & San Juan Capistrano...could someone pleeeease utalize one of these areas?!

[Hoowil]

Not really sure what to call/claim as a home faire. NorCal Pleasure Faire or Valhalla would be the bigger ones in the quasi-easy travel range.

I think mainly, I would want a local faire, be it any of the myriad of ones in N California, to have a permanent land title, where permanent buildings could go up, sink some money into trying to build at least a partial village, or major structures at least. And most definitely not someplace where the main season temperatures get into the 110 plus. Someplace (or change the time) where a nice clear warm day would be in the 70s sounds good... And lots of trees. A brook or creek would be nice too.

Personally, I would love to build an actual inn, with kitchen and bar, with period fare ( I even have medieval and renaissance cookbooks). Nice woodfire ovens with fresh breads and meat pies, etc. Maybe set up a small brew operation for ale and mead in the back. Rooms could be built, but I'm not sure about letting anyone, except maybe the actual inn staff, sleep there.

[Kiss-me-Kate]

I'd hire back all the cast members at TRF who got form letters instead of contracts, and expand the cast, not shrink it.

Sounds like what they are starting to do at MNRF.   We are amping up the Disney-esque experience.   

[Marietta Graziella]

Well....  let's assume it was a big lottery...
I wouldn't improve my home faire, I'd build a new one. A place that could be used by many groups the entire year, not just a few weekends.  Historical society events, education, LARP, corporate events, theatre productions. 
Parking area of grass, but groomed to be smooth, graded so as not to be muddy.
A "WOW" entrance so people really feel the transition of entering a village.
Match money invested by crafters/vendors when building their booths (this would be ongoing to maintain the integrity of the site).
Site laid out with "themed"(without being Disneyfied) areas where vendors, shows, even foods would be concentrated on that "theme" as well as a centralized "neutral" area for things that don't quite go elsewhere.   
Fully wooded with well groomed paths of wood chip and/or gravel.
All pubs would be available with covered seating AND shaded outdoor seating.
Stages would be covered, seating would be shaded.
A proper castle built on the grounds to hold feasts (with a clean and state of the art kitchen in the back but a medieval kitchen out front) as well as provide accommodations to cast to get away for a bit.
A separate area for bawdy shows with attached, well run child care complete with climate controlled indoor area.
Food court areas as well as sit down meal areas.  Quality foods from around the world. Covered and outdoor seating available.
Quality loaner garb available for temporary employees.
Eco friendly but permanent "flushies" through out the site.
Attached accommodations for traveling vendors ranging from camping, dorm style, single rooms, suites.  Including showers and kitchen area and indoor/outdoor common areas.
Profit sharing for cast and permanent vendors.  In order for a business really to succeed, the "employees" need to be vested in it's operation.  It takes a village to run a village, let them see some return on their investments!
ZERO tolerance for thieves and trouble makers.
Yup, that's a good start.

[Muffin]

Well....  let's assume it was a big lottery...
I wouldn't improve my home faire, I'd build a new one. A place that could be used by many groups the entire year, not just a few weekends.  Historical society events, education, LARP, corporate events, theatre productions. 
Parking area of grass, but groomed to be smooth, graded so as not to be muddy.
A "WOW" entrance so people really feel the transition of entering a village.
Match money invested by crafters/vendors when building their booths (this would be ongoing to maintain the integrity of the site).
Site laid out with "themed"(without being Disneyfied) areas where vendors, shows, even foods would be concentrated on that "theme" as well as a centralized "neutral" area for things that don't quite go elsewhere.   
Fully wooded with well groomed paths of wood chip and/or gravel.
All pubs would be available with covered seating AND shaded outdoor seating.
Stages would be covered, seating would be shaded.
A proper castle built on the grounds to hold feasts (with a clean and state of the art kitchen in the back but a medieval kitchen out front) as well as provide accommodations to cast to get away for a bit.
A separate area for bawdy shows with attached, well run child care complete with climate controlled indoor area.
Food court areas as well as sit down meal areas.  Quality foods from around the world. Covered and outdoor seating available.
Quality loaner garb available for temporary employees.
Eco friendly but permanent "flushies" through out the site.
Attached accommodations for traveling vendors ranging from camping, dorm style, single rooms, suites.  Including showers and kitchen area and indoor/outdoor common areas.
Profit sharing for cast and permanent vendors.  In order for a business really to succeed, the "employees" need to be vested in it's operation.  It takes a village to run a village, let them see some return on their investments!
ZERO tolerance for thieves and trouble makers.
Yup, that's a good start.

I wanna go to MG's faire!! 

[Lady Rebecca]

I wanna go to MG's faire!! 

Me too! It sounds perfect!

[Merlin the Elder]

MG has the right idea. I'll invest in her concept. We need to build it where there are no faires. Arkansas comes to mind.

[maeven]

MG's faire sounds so cool!

[Kiss-me-Kate]

Flushies.  A little piece of Heaven at Fest... 

I agree, I think having it set up for year round events, even in our nasty winter climate, would be awesome.   

MG -you have put some thought into this. 

[dbaldock]

Well....  let's assume it was a big lottery...
I wouldn't improve my home faire, I'd build a new one. A place that could be used by many groups the entire year, not just a few weekends.  Historical society events, education, LARP, corporate events, theatre productions.

This is a great idea - using the facility during the whole year.  But the logistics of this can get complicated - When you start including educational and corporate events, then your structures may have to be built and kept to current Fire Codes with things like sprinkler heads, fire walls & doors, visible fire extinguishers, and roadways / paths that can support Fire Engines.

Parking area of grass, but groomed to be smooth, graded so as not to be muddy.
A "WOW" entrance so people really feel the transition of entering a village.
Match money invested by crafters/vendors when building their booths (this would be ongoing to maintain the integrity of the site).
Site laid out with "themed"(without being Disneyfied) areas where vendors, shows, even foods would be concentrated on that "theme" as well as a centralized "neutral" area for things that don't quite go elsewhere.

The Texas Renaissance Festival is more-or-less laid out like this - by country themed areas.

Fully wooded with well groomed paths of wood chip and/or gravel.
All pubs would be available with covered seating AND shaded outdoor seating.
Stages would be covered, seating would be shaded.
A proper castle built on the grounds to hold feasts (with a clean and state of the art kitchen in the back but a medieval kitchen out front) as well as provide accommodations to cast to get away for a bit.
A separate area for bawdy shows with attached, well run child care complete with climate controlled indoor area.

This one is tricky.  How would you know ahead of time how many State Licensed Child Care workers you would need to have on-hand for any particular day or event?  Would you expect all of your customers / patron to pre-register?

Food court areas as well as sit down meal areas.  Quality foods from around the world. Covered and outdoor seating available.
Quality loaner garb available for temporary employees.
Eco friendly but permanent "flushies" through out the site.
Attached accommodations for traveling vendors ranging from camping, dorm style, single rooms, suites.  Including showers and kitchen area and indoor/outdoor common areas.

Are special permits and licenses required if you're operating an Inn (dorm rooms, single rooms, suites)?  I wonder what happens to insurance rates when you provide kitchen facilities for the guests to use?

Profit sharing for cast and permanent vendors.  In order for a business really to succeed, the "employees" need to be vested in it's operation.  It takes a village to run a village, let them see some return on their investments!
ZERO tolerance for thieves and trouble makers.
Yup, that's a good start.

[Capt Gabriela Fullpepper]

I'd buy then tear down Sylvan Dale Guest/Dude Ranch, then rebuild a village along the river, a nice lake to have ducks, swans, geese, fish and gondolas to rent and ride in. I'd then bring in real artisans like Blacksmiths who make good high quality items as well as shoe horses and give daily displays. I'd have a good glass blower, stained glass maker, wood workers, carpenters,  ab brewer, and wine maker and mead maker, potters, etc.

I'd have 1 big huge stage that I could bring in major acts like Blackmores Night, Loreena McKinnet that would do after hours at the faire and try to do a different act each Saturday or maybe Friday before.

Since I live in what was French held territory, I'd make my faire modeled on the French Court and try to have a large cast of nobles down to street cast and peasants. On occasion I'd bring in Henry VIII or another famous king as a visitor

I'd give history lessons about the Renaissance and the time frame

I'd have real jousting and not an act that was the same every weekend.

I'd have a different show everyday with the nobles at opening gate and at joust

Only items made in the US would be allowed. I have seen faires where items where made over seas

I'd try to make the village as authentic as possible

I'd Have New Belgium Brewery, O'Dells Brewery and Grim Brothers Brewery as standard beer sales and then bring in others on a rotating bases.

[Merlin the Elder]

Some of the things on your wish list, Lady de Laney, are happening in at least a couple of the faires in Texas.

Sherwood is doing real jousting, and I believe Scarborough went back to real jousts as well.

The pre-cannon play at Scarborough is improv: they give two "fortune cookies" to the cast with the opening line and the closing line of the play, then the cast improvises everything in between. I wouldn't say it's completely different, but it can be lots of fun...

The juried aspect of the vendors seems to come and go at the faires. Items sold at faire should be the product of the artisans selling them.

Scarborough has a Manners & Customs lesson each day. Very informative!

Water features would be a must at a faire I built. I'd like to at least make it look like things were being powered by the flow of a stream through the property.