Suggestions for Terre: Ideas and Suggestions for Future TRF Development

[Zardoz]

7 th !

[Selkie]

8th!

[Bonny Pearl]

I had the impression that the Barbarian Inn was Viking-ish in concept but maybe not so much as it has been displayed/set up.  Maybe they can add some decor that would bring more of a Viking feel to it this next season and develop an act somewhere between Sholo's that is fun for the upstairs area since it is adult friendly up there as it is.

[Mouse]

9th, and the corresponding amount of mead filled mugs to go with it, if you please.

[Molden]

Truly and Please, I beg of you...Keep The Chainmaille Show! I am decidedly heart-broken at it's possible scuttling.

This is a State that threatens Secession at the fart of a politician - yet petitions The President to oust the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Please in the name of all that's "holy" in this salty, independent part of the world - Grow a Pair!

[xed]

Another aspect that I would like to see is something with a Viking theme. My personal opinion is that the Brazilian restaurant should have been turned into a Viking mead hall instead. Viking history and England go hand in hand and I think it would be a perfect match for TRF. It would also add an aspect that isn't represented anywhere else. It would give TRF something no one else has.

TENTH!!! 

Mead is SORELY represented at the faire.  My meads got better reviews on the campground than the samples being handed out by the gate, and I'm an amateur home-brewer.  A mead hall with a variety of meads from different breweries would be GREAT.  I know for a fact that a few members of one of the brewing forums that I frequent own actually own meaderies, and I'm pretty sure I remember talk of one or two of them supplying a festival or two up north. 

I know that if you made an account on the GotMead.com forums and put out a general call, you'd get a bunch of people jumping at the chance.


While we're on the subject, someone should give Brigadoon Brewery a pat on the back; their brews are always excellent.  I was disappointed to miss out on the Reindeer Fuel this year, though!

[tiberiusflynn]

I don't want to offend anyone, so I apologize before hand if I do so.

Performers - I have had little to no interaction in the past 5 years from any performers. From what I could gather they would go to their "skits" and scheduled performances and that was it. And I saw none of these even going on like I have in the past. I am very approachable and in character. I saw many sitting down, and one looked to be napping at one point. No interaction at all this year. Not once.



I do agree about the smoking, to an extent. I enjoy smoking my pipe or cigar. I would NEVER smoke them in a show, or near someone eating food. I think maybe a no-smoking policy in shows, etc might help. Though who would enforce this?

Mead - The TRF Mead is lacking. Either allow certain meads that have been forced out to sell their wares again or improve the TRF Mead. It's like drinking perfume. I drank no mead this year because Chaucers is too sweet and TRF made me cringe.

Music - Why was Circa Paleo not there and why are they always in Sherwood (the a** end of Faire).  They are just as good if not better than "Wine and Alchemy". Even voted "Best CD release of the Year" in Ren Faire magazine. Yet they aren't at the largest Ren faire in the US?

Live Jousting. I NEVER go to the Arena. Last year, on the last weekend I heard of Knights of Meyhem were at the Arena. I ran to watch. It was JUST as exciting if not more so than watching football. It was like "A Knights tale" and was amazing!!!! The crowd was going insane.

A Hookah bar might be nice.

I love all the shows at Faire....but many of them are very very redundant with little to anything changing in the past 12 years.......

I know lots of people complain and say it's too commercialized. I understand that one has to make money though. But in the years I've been going it feels more and more about the dollar and less about people, Faire and true entertainment.

It's at the point now where I don't eat at faire, barely drink at faire, and go to none of the shows. I'm not even sure why I go to faire anymore at all actually.
The last time I truly enjoyed a Faire was Sherwood Forest Faire.

I apologize and after all this is just my opinion.

[Zardoz]

Music - Why was Circa Paleo not there and why are they always in Sherwood (the a** end of Faire).  They are just as good if not better than "Wine and Alchemy". Even voted "Best CD release of the Year" in Ren Faire magazine. Yet they aren't at the largest Ren faire in the US?

Thanks for that!

[Sir Martin]

I also respectfully ask that the chainmaille show be continued.  It is very entertaining, showcases beautiful artwork, and the participants (and crowd) includes men, women and children.

Circa Paleo is indeed an extraordinary group.  I watched Vana Mazi this year, and they performed well, but did not draw the crowds (nor dance participation) that Circa Paleo has in recent years.

There seemed to be fewer TRF Performance Company members among the crowd at the fireworks show.  They did a great job on the dais, but I think it is better for the audience to see a few cast members holding lanterns and singing the final song among the bleachers, as well as across the jousting arena.  The crowds were large at the fireworks show, so maybe there were more performance company members along the top row of seats, but I didn't notice as many as in previous years.  It's nice to have other people to sing along with (and 99% of the audience do not know the words).  The cast, by the way, did another fantastic job this year!

[JackGonzo, MD]

The problem with turning the Barbarian Inn into the adult area is that it's right next to the Falconer stage. I'd rather see the Agora area turned into a 21+ as it is already set with a bar and has an entrance that could be modded to accommodate this.

SIGNS-Some kind of signs pointing in what direction things are. I don't need it but plenty of people ask which direction to various stages.

MUSIC-Something Maryland does that I'd like to see is specialty acts. There are fantastic acts out there and I think you could find acts that fit into each weekend. It would be nice to have something new to see each weekend, not that our current acts aren't great, but variety is the spice of life.

One issue I had was consistency of drinks. Someone earlier mentioned it but one weekend a drink was a certain size cup the VERY NEXT WEEKEND it was the smaller cup for the same price. The girl working the Agora bar claimed she was only doing what her boss told her to do.

[Sir Martin]

Terre has announced that the Falconer's Stage will undergo major rennovations for next season.  There is already somewhat of a tree/brush border between the Falconer's Stage and the Barbarian Inn.  Perhaps that can be bolstered a bit to provide some acoustic dampening between the two venues so the noise levels from each do not interfere with the other.

I totally agree with the specialty acts at Maryland Ren Fest being fantastic.  They have hosted the Mediaeval Baebes several times (they have even appeared at the Florida and Arizona Ren Fests which have nowhere near the attendance of TRF).  If smaller faires can attract world class entertainment like this, TRF can do it also (Maryland Ren Fest is the third most attended in the U.S. - Arizona and Florida are further down the list).

Don't let their name fool you ... they are much more than eye candy.  The Mediaeval Baebes have recorded and perform in over a dozen different languages and dialects, several of them play instruments, and once have you ever hear these ladies, you will never forget them.  I would LOVE to see them perform at TRF, even if for a limited engagement.

http://youtu.be/YVqee3Pkrm8

http://youtu.be/PTDE3MzNXB4  (probably the least renaissance-y song they do, but still a beautiful concept video).

http://www.mediaevalbaebes.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medi%C3%A6val_B%C3%A6bes

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

Terre has announced that the Falconer's Stage will undergo major rennovations for next season.  There is already somewhat of a tree/brush border between the Falconer's Stage and the Barbarian Inn.  Perhaps that can be bolstered a bit to provide some acoustic dampening between the two venues so the noise levels from each do not interfere with the other.

I totally agree with the specialty acts at Maryland Ren Fest being fantastic.  They have hosted the Mediaeval Baebes several times (they have even appeared at Florida Ren Fest which has nowhere near the attendance of TRF).  If you ever hear these ladies, you will never forget them.  I would LOVE to see them perform at TRF.

http://www.mediaevalbaebes.com/

WOW, Martin!  AWESOME!  They would make a perfect fit...  Give these women a main stage and let them loose.  I've always been a fan of Celtic harmonies...

*And they are freaking hot!*

[Chris B]

Terre,

I would add one more suggestion and shock of all shocks, it is not really overly negative; just an observation.  I know you are putting a lot of money into rennovations and improvements of your infrastructure so you should also be paying attention to maintenance to make sure your investment lasts for years to come.  Case in point:  I went back to our old stage, and it is already showing signs of age very quickly.  The walls running down the edges of the stage are showing mineral deposits from the sprinklers hitting the walls and the beautiful flower beds from last year are not quite so beautiful.  A very small amount of money and attention to these issues should be made on each of your improvements in the off season to keep them looking at their peak for season.  Just an observation for a small, simple improvement.

[scarletnyx]

A Hookah bar might be nice.

This! The husband and I have grown quite fond of our hookahs in camp, and we just dropped a good bit of money on a tiny one that came with a really neat and sturdy carrying cage so that he can carry it around and kinda smoke it under his cloak or abaya. We don't need to do this at Sherwood, because they already have an amazing hookah bar, but TRF does lack this. The shop that sells the "pipes" way back in Sherwood ( Or right before you get into Sherwood ) said they sold out of hookahs every Saturday. So, it's obvious the desire is there!

[Tudor-Diva]

What many of you may not realize is that all of the shops at TRF are individually owned and operated businesses.  The Hacienda San Jorge (Brazilian Restaurant)  is owned by Mrs. Giles who is also the owner of all of the food booths in the Spanish area where the Dove Meadow stage is located.  So it's not just that simple, turning it into a Viking themed eatery.  If a restaurant owner comes to the Festival and proposes such an eatery, then that would most likely be the way it would happen.  You want a Viking themed eatery?  Buy one of the shops that are for sale and start one up!  That's the way to go.  

Next.  Bringing in specialty acts is not as simple as you might believe.  There is money involved and only so much in the budget to cover the existing entertainment.  A group like Mediaeval Baebes would be quite expensive were I to hazard an educated guess, and that money needs to pay for the existing entertainment, stage acts and actors.  They are from overseas so I am willing to bet that their contract would require a housing stipend.  There are also several members in the group and their fee would require enough compensation for them all.  Their schedule might not be compatible with ours either.  That is a factor to consider.

For tiberiusflynn.  I am sorry that you were shorted on performance company interaction this season.  We are smaller in number than we have ever been and we are stretched VERY thin.  We are also one of the strongest performance companies that TRF has ever had.  Actors are assigned to one area for the day according to their nationality groups (this is directly from the owner) and with the extreme number of patrons we had in the park this year, performers are stretched pretty thin.  I am sure that anyone you saw sitting was probably just trying to catch their breath and give their poor feet a break for a few minutes.  We are dressed and ready to go by 8:00 a.m. and our day is not complete (re:  we are not off the clock) until after the fireworks at 8:00 p.m.  12 hour days of performing for and interacting with thousands and thousands of people, with very limited breaks, is utterly exhausting both physically and mentally.  Trying to navigate those crowds getting to and from required scheduled events should be an Olympic sport in and of itself.  We also have to take into consideration the vendors around us and not impede on their ability to conduct business.  A loud path show right in front of a shop or vendor's tent will most likely draw people out of their place of commerce and then we will have a very angry shop owner.  The same is true for specialty acts and stage acts.  Trust me when I say that we do our DAMNEDEST to make sure we entertain as many as possible, but with a limited number of people, we can only entertain so many.  We have the 8 themed weekend groups with about 6 to 7 people each, England, Spain, France, Robin Hood and the Puppeteers, again, with 6 to 7 members each.   That's less than 100 people in the performance company proper.

Regarding mead...  I posted several weeks ago about the daily Mead Tasting in the Taverna di Vino.  We showcased 8 meads from around the US and Poland, and the show proved to be quite successful. We even sold out of some of the meads we were using in the show and had to scramble to make substitutions the last three weekends.  The goal is to make this show on par with our wine tasting and we are looking to have an even wider variety of meads available next year.  I believe we had 10 meads available in the shop this year and shop owners must have clearance to sell the items they do.  The Dragonslayer is not the only shop selling mead at TRF.

Now, regarding your favorites that might not be performing at TRF... it is not always the decision of the entertainment director to not have an act return.  Many acts depart to move on to other venues to increase their audience base and national exposure.  Some acts want a lighter schedule.  Some acts don't want to perform at the time of year that TRF runs.  Some acts break up and move on to other endeavors.  Please keep this in mind when you notice that a favorite is no longer performing at TRF.

I'm sorry if the tone of this is direct, but I need to be as matter-of-fact as possible.