New to the Fair!

[Brother Robert of Essex]

  Wow, you know - I had no idea there was this entire Faire subculture out there     !

  I went to the Faire on opening day - Was utterly soaked I might add - and this was the first time I've actually made it to the NY Renaissance Faire. Only because I recently moved to Essex County in NJ so its a short drive now.

  I've always been intrigued with the period but have never found any like minded individuals.  My previous girlfriend was utterly against these fairs and my co workers think I'm insane.  So how great it is to find these forums and discover there are so many people out there who love the faire!

  I went in normal clothes, but now I'm thinking I must get a costume. and get more involved in this - I understand its really only 2 months long!

  So if you see me post some idiotic questions, I apologize in advance :p

[theChuck]

haha. welcome aboard!

yeah, opening day was pretty drenched. we skipped that day and went sunday - it only rained a little.

yeah, it's only two months long, but there are other faires in the area that you could certainly go to. pennsylvania, connecticut - there are a bunch in jersey, if memory serves.

[Brother Robert of Essex]

Really? I will have to keep looking around then. I have seen some very small fairs like this, but they were put on by historic societies or as fund raisers for church groups, nothing on the scale of the NYRF.

I ended up staying all day long and still didn't catch all the shows. I was utterly amazed at the acting in the Greek Play they had put on, even though I came in 15 minutes into it I had to stay for the whole show. I find it incredible they can act with all the distractions of people coming and going at those benches.  I'm looking forward to going back to watch that again.   

  In fact I'm planning on returning Saturday!

  I was also pretty intimidated by the speech and the knowledge people seemed to have - I mean I remember using accents in my old RPG game days but it's been over a decade and now its like a foreign language again lol.

  I also heard about this "Friends of Faire" through the NYRF website link takes you to a dead forum. I don't know if these people are still around, they either don't get the emails or don't respond I'm not sure which.    If anyone here is involved in that maybe you could point me in the right direction? 

   And of course any advice for a first-timer is welcome. It's a big step for me, I'm generally bad at public speaking and am shy but this is so interesting to me I'm intrigued enough to venture forth - or is it sally forth? 

[maddog00]

Normally, you don't get shot down for trying renspeak. Its all for fun. I know my accent is crap, but its more of the community than anything else.

If you want to do some research, just google search for renspeak. Its a good start.

Heh, once you start, there's no stopping the ren-train. My wife and I started with one outfit about 3 years ago. Now, we're dressing a bit "nicer" and have quite a few outfits!

[laedyfaire]

Glad you enjoyed yourself in the shire, Sir Robert of Essex. Friends of Faire has its own rest area way in the back ( go over the kissing bridge )with a table outside and a list to put your name on for more info.

NYRF is our home faire. We have been attending for 11 years now. In garb. Just relax and have fun. Enjoy! We will be there again on Sunday. LF

[Brother Robert of Essex]

Glad you enjoyed yourself in the shire, Sir Robert of Essex. Friends of Faire has its own rest area way in the back ( go over the kissing bridge )with a table outside and a list to put your name on for more info.

NYRF is our home faire. We have been attending for 11 years now. In garb. Just relax and have fun. Enjoy! We will be there again on Sunday. LF

11 years? Wow.. I've been intrigued with life in this period for that many years for sure, but sadly I didn't realize there was level of involvement with the R/F's until these last few days!

Just think, I could have been spending the last few years doing this myself!  What a loss! Oh well, I will have to make up for lost time I guess!

I'm going on Saturday again and will look up this friends of faire, I understand they have language workshops which is just what I need. I read what I could find online but pulling out Thou's Thee's and Ye's fluidly during a conversation is going to take some getting used to! I have to be around it more to get the idea. 

Perhaps I'll go as a Monk with a vow of silence until I get my feet wet!   

[renfairewench]

Friends of Faire is located at the back of the faire past the Scottish Brothel....err, I mean the petting zoo, where the horses, pigs and such are. It's along the same path as where the Mud Brothers show is. You will know you are there by the green and white fence. Sorry that no one answered your question about this earlier, I just joined the forum, but I hope that it helps you now.

Stop by Renboots on your next visit to NYRF and ask for Lady Double D (that's me!)! We are located off of Spend Penny Lane, right across from the Moresca booth.

Maddie