Suggestions for Terre: Ideas and Suggestions for Future TRF Development

[ravic]

Something for those really hot days in October - misting stations like Scarborough has & Hawkwood used to have. Given the size of TRF, you might need 2 or 3 strategically placed.

[William the Braveheart]

* A LOT more benches and places to just sit and watch people come and go.
* More Bands. (Especially Bagpipe Bands)
* Smoking Banishment.
* More and varied Belly Dancer groups. (Star Dancers from Scarborough)
* Cheaper Turkey Legs. Five bucks is enough!
* Did I mention an Archery contest?

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

Hmmm... if i were you, i wouldn't walk too far down that "smoking banishment" road.  I can agree to areas, like when the burn ban was in effect but...

[amandowar]

A few years ago during one visit I got pulled into a dance lesson bit that was being held in the lanes... It turned out to be my favorite memory of faire in the last few years. It was a great way to get patrons caught up in the silliness of faire. Is that act still around? I think that act and maybe more like it would do well to answer the complaints of "not enough interaction" that some have been voicing. It only takes one or two people to host the whole thing, and they end up interacting with twenty people at once. (They also end up interacting with the passersby more, and at the very least provide some entertainment for the passersby who aren't interested in dancing).

[AngieT]

This was my first year at TRF, and I have to say that one of the things I was most impressed with was the amount of benches/seating.  This was one of my main worries, as I have bad feet, and if I am on them too long, it is extremely painful.  The combination of amazing pain medication and seating everywhere, made the experience amazing for me.  Everywhere I turned, it seemed that there was seating a plenty. 

[Terre Albert]

It's been a while since I've posted on this thread but I am still reading.  I like the ideas and some are very much worth doing or exploring.  Keep them coming! 

Some of the new improvements for 2013.

The Texas Renaissance Festival
Announces Updates for the 39th Festival Season

Festival plans Expansions and Additions for 2013
Todd Mission, Texas (February 25, 2013) The Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation's largest and most acclaimed festival of its kind, announces the completion of multiple festival improvements in preparation for the upcoming festival season, which will run every weekend from October 12 - December 1, 2013.
The lords and ladies at the Texas Renaissance Festival have been hard at work during the off-season to ensure that when the Festival gates open on October 12 for the 39th season, this year will be the best one yet. From simple updates to entirely new venues, enthusiasts will enjoy all of the improvements set to be made, making the experience fresh and exciting for even the most avid festival fans.
Noteworthy changes include a new stage for the 2013 festival. The Falconer Heath will create an opportunity for unseen performances and original entertainment. There will be a brand new Fairy Princess Venue, where the Festival's Fairy Princess will and make wishes come true with her magic wand. Moreover, a facelift is also being planned for the arena dais, the place where the Royal Court observes the jousting events, to enhance the look and feel of one of the favored locations in the King's realm.

The Texas Renaissance Festival will also celebrate the beginning of a new season with several additions and improvements to one of the fans' favorite location on the grounds, the Fields of New Market campsite. 2013 will host an array of additions to the camp grounds, including shower facilities, possible RV pads and expanded premium camping, which allows true Renaissance buffs to camp closer to the front gates, assuring that they have the best access to the festival during daylight hours.
Other improvements include a new water loop around the festival and road improvements. Among evening out the roads, the Texas Renaissance Festival plans to expand traffic lanes exiting the festival to cut back on traffic and congestion during high-attendance weekends. The festival also plans to add to additional premium parking, which will be reserved for guests who wish to park their "carriage" within the first several rows of parking, closest to the entrance gates. These improvements are sure to enhance the festival experience and make the visit more comfortable and enjoyable.
All improvements and additions are set to be completed before the opening of this year's festival, October 12, 2013. For more information about the Texas Renaissance Festival, please visit www.texrenfest.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Texas Renaissance Festival:
The Texas Renaissance Festival is the Nation's largest and most acclaimed Renaissance theme park where the sights, sounds, tastes and beauty of the 16th Century come alive for eight magically-themed weekends. The Texas Renaissance Festival welcomes nearly half a million guests annually and features nearly 500 costumed performers on 17 stages; 400 shoppes including international food purveyors, unique artisans, merchants and craft vendors; human-powered rides; an abundance of strolling performers and the Royal Finale at dusk. 

The Festival received the 2010 and 2011 Merchant Circle "Circle of Excellence" award and was recognized by H Texas Magazine as the "Best Alternative Wedding Location" in the 2012 Best of H Texas issue.

The Festival is held Saturdays, Sundays and Thanksgiving Friday. The Texas Renaissance Festival is located 50 miles northwest of Houston on more than 50 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds on FM 1774, between Magnolia and Plantersville, Texas. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.texrenfest.com or follow us on Facebook/Twitter.

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Premium Camping does not mean more money, just closer to the gates!  That statement always gets people talking. 

[KiltedPrivateer]

Lets avoid commenting on Terres post here as he has created a topic specifically for this.  That way we can keep the comments consolidated.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

Yeah... what he said... 

[Bonny Pearl]

Lets avoid commenting on Terres post here as he has created a topic specifically for this.  That way we can keep the comments consolidated.

But what if I don't wannnnnaaaaaa...... 

[Zardoz]

OK, here's a fun question; Why haven't the enameled pins TRF sells every year come with a year date on them for the last couple of years, I think 2010 was the last year with the year on them.

As far as suggestions, I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say I'd like to see Circa Paleo back at TRF 

[amandowar]

Has TRF considered doing an apprenticeship program for the actors/singers at all? The faire could increase their current cast with actors/singers-in-training. At worst the cost of the whole program would be the cost of the instructors' time. At best, the faire might be able to charge the students a small fee and get a tiny bit of supplementary income... The only problem I can foresee is making sure you accept the right people into the program.

[deafdrummer]

Something for those really hot days in October - misting stations like Scarborough has & Hawkwood used to have. Given the size of TRF, you might need 2 or 3 strategically placed.

If you're going to do this, please make sure that signs are posted CLEARLY so that we don't get our $2,000-4,000 hearing aids damaged.  A lot of us don't have insurance to cover them, because it doesn't exist.

The one thing that I had issue with this weekend is that the drink sizes appear to be getting smaller as the price gets higher.  I bought a mulled wine on saturday and was $6 (or more?) for a tiny styrofoam cup.  I was a bit shocked when they handed me the cup! The price seems a bit disproportionate to what I got!

The above is example one of modern civilization's problems creeping into this faire, which is, according to other people I have talked to, a place of escape from the modern world (to a point).  One thing is the reduced size of portions for a higher price.  It's all a reflection of at least two things I can think of: 1) increased overhead of TRF staff as a result of more people and/or higher salaries, which is a result of 2) the falling dollar.  Simply put, the value of the US dollar has fallen, meaning that $5 no longer has enough value to buy the same amount of mulled wine as it did in the past, never mind 50 or 100 years ago when said wine was sold in an entirely different place.  Please remember that as people are often called sheeple, they can still see their dollar's value is being devalued.  Consider whether to have the shoppe that makes medallions make "TRF bullion" of gold or silver, so that they can be used for trade in all the shoppes that choose to accept them as a way to protect everyone's store of wealth.

Here's my idea and it would tie in with some of the things already posted.  Have a living history "town" with stone masons, a blacksmith, farmer, ect. really showing how life really was back then...not just the festival portion.  Let it be one of the major attractions at the school days events so they can really learn about it.  I'm sure that you could probably find several people that would love to help you run it.

That and the statement by others that the number of crafters doing their crafts during faire had gone down is example two of modern civilization's problems, when it comes to America's recent history, is the reduction of the number of crafters who actually make something, giving way to "made in taiwan" wares reported to be found at TRF.  This has to stop.  Fact is, there will be a day when faires will be the actual towns, and modern cities will be places where families take their children to view examples of unsustainable living, where there are virtually no factories, or one or two if that, and most commercial buildings are built using materials and construction machinery well past the size of human-scale construction, and where there is NO place to grow food because nearly every square foot of ground is covered with asphalt, sidewalks, big box buildings, or lawns covering nutrient-poor soil.  If China were to say, "That's it.  THAT IS IT!  We have had it with the US devaluing the value of our foreign exchange reserves in US$.  America, we now demand gold, silver, or other natural resources/tangibles as trade for our exported merchandise to your country," that is the time when America stops functioning VERY SOON, especially the high-technology portions of it.  Or, how about when you have a big enough solar flare take out electronics?  You MUST have crafts in place to make a faire (which will one day be called a village again) as self-sufficient as possible.  You see, even if apocalypse, natural or MAN-made, never happens, you have to consider the people who want to go back to simpler living or even a hybrid historic/modern living that takes the best of both worlds to synthesize a third world that provides a better, although simple living for all.  You WILL see me there in such a village.  I've already started plans to get out of the 5th largest hive in the country (Houston).

In the end though, it's still George's sandbox, and his call.

Who is George?

I might suggest another thing like a summer camp for kids and another one for adults, where skills and trades are taught so that interested people can become apprentices.  Sherwood has summer camps now.  I think that this is important in growing our industry skills base so that more faires/villages can be started and built up as alternative living options for people like myself who are interested in getting out of the cities.

[PollyPoPo]

In the end though, it's still George's sandbox, and his call.

Who is George?

George Coulam, founder and owner of TRF.

[amandowar]

I might suggest another thing like a summer camp for kids and another one for adults, where skills and trades are taught so that interested people can become apprentices.  Sherwood has summer camps now.  I think that this is important in growing our industry skills base so that more faires/villages can be started and built up as alternative living options for people like myself who are interested in getting out of the cities.

Oh my gosh, can this please be a thing! I would take my two weeks of vacation and pour all of my personal savings into attending this. I'm not particularly interested in finding alternative living options or anything like that, but I really don't know where else to turn to learn the crafting skills particular to medieval/renaissance settings (besides the internet). Right now most of my advice comes from the guys at the Tandy Leather counter.  I don't know how the artisans would feel about lending out their tools to novices, though.