opinions

[jackrocks]

Im new and hope Im putting this in the right spot. Im wondering, first of all, if it is generally expected that at any ren fair, patrons are supposed to dress up? That might sound stupid, but I really dont know for sure, and if I get my family to dress up and we get there, and no one else is, woe is me:) lol The website doesnt specifically say much of anything.
Secondly, has anyone been to the Mid Michigan Ren Fair that is near Frankenmuth, or the Pirate Festival in Grand Haven, MI? Im trying to figure if we might make it to the pirate fest in Grand Haven, it looks like fun and from what I gather its free, but again, the website isnt really specific and Im not sure if that is a dressing up kind of occasion.

thanks.

[Merlin the Elder]

Welcome, Jackrocks.  Information about each of the faires can be found in sections—by geographical area—here on the forum. You will, most likely, find someone who attends the faire in question. There is a section on the Mid-Michigan. Since there are folks here from your neck of the woods, you will most likely find the answers you seek.

If it makes you feel any better, if I'm going to faire, I'm going in garb.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

i don't know much about michagan festivals but i do know that most festivals encourage paytrons to dress up i do when i attend Garf and there are always people dressed up so many that the cast has pins to tell them from everyone else

[jackrocks]

thanks for the advice, I found the michigan spot and reposted there:)


its neat to navigate this site and find so many people with this common interest.....Ive always felt like Im a little bit odd, getting so excited about fabrics and movie costumes and the like. Its hard to have that sort of passion and no one to share it with.

thanks for the help.

[Captain Teague]

As to dressing up....no, it's not EXPECTED. I think a better word would be encouraged as the Lady Christina has said. 
But from someone who attended their first fair decades ago in mundane clothing ONCE, then started making plans for garb and has never looked back, welcome to being excited about fabrics and all sorts of things. Nearly every store I visit now is loaded with looking at an item and saying to myself "Now, if I twist this and sew that on right THERE..." 
And those feelings of "odd?" Well around here...

[Scotty Hunter]

But from someone who attended their first fair decades ago in mundane clothing ONCE, then started making plans for garb and has never looked back, welcome to being excited about fabrics and all sorts of things.

I can second that... I have yet to even visit a Faire, but I already have one near-completed costume and two others in the works.
No mundane clothing for me I'm going whole hog and getting right into it.

No worries about the costume and fabrics passion. Im the same. Had a bit of a movie prop/costume fetish some time ago, expanded into renaissance dress and eventually faires... yet I have not a lick of skill when it comes to sewing!

Welcome to the forum! I look forward to stalking some of your posts.

[Captain Cornelius Howard Duckman]

Yup, I've been to both of those, and I highly recomend each! And any faire you go to will be more than happy to see patrons show up in garb. Also, yes, the Grand Haven Pirate Festival is free, as they plunk down in the town sqaureish area.

[jackrocks]

thanks, thats so good to hear:)

Sam I Am, ha, yes I love movie costumes. I came out of the new Pirates 4 movie going, "Barbossa's coat! that was so awesome!" and others are going "but the plot, the storyline, the blah blah" and in my brain Im thinking, "HOW could you not notice that coat? It was so awesome!" lol And I loved the Alice in Wonderland last year, we did two Mad Hatters here for Halloween and the hat was the most fun thing I think Ive ever built. Im still very proud of those hats.
I am not an expert seamstress myself, either, but I am capable of sewing in a mostly straight line and following directions, or making up my own from a picture, and nothing Ive ever made has fallen apart, so I just keep going and learning more as I do. I was reading your posts about the gypsy wagon and that looks like a lot of fun!

[groomporter]

I've heard it claimed that one of the first Renfairs expected people to attend in costume, but I've never seen evidence for it being required in the way they claimed. I think they may be confusing Renfairs with other events held by the Society for Creative Anachronism or other historical reenactment type events.

Some Renfairs encourage it more than others and some even have costume contests. The Bristol fair costume contest used to be focused on Elizabethan costuming so it encouraged historically accurate clothing, but they changed it a bit. It now:
"welcomes all expressions of creative couture. Saturday is fantasy day (anything goes, from wizards to bananas!). Sunday's theme will be history. Participants are encouraged to costume themselves in authentic dress from Ancient Rome to World War II."
http://www.renfair.com/bristol/specialevents/cosutumecontest.asp

Here are some of the more unique costumes that have appeared at MNRF
http://mrffriends.tripod.com/pages_groups/unusual_patrons.html

A few Renfair management types are actually uncomfortable with patrons attending in costume because they are afraid that costumed patrons will get mistaken for part of the cast and do something offensive.

[jackrocks]

thanks for the advice. I think I probably used the wrong word here. I guess I didnt mean "expected" as much as I meant "assumed". As in....can you generally "assume" that if its a ren faire, its ok to dress up?
There is no way on the planet myself and my family would ever, ever, be wrongly accused of looking or acting like cast:) lol so I dont think thats a worry.

[renfairephotog]

thanks for the advice, I found the michigan spot and reposted there:)


its neat to navigate this site and find so many people with this common interest.....Ive always felt like Im a little bit odd, getting so excited about fabrics and movie costumes and the like. Its hard to have that sort of passion and no one to share it with.

thanks for the help.

One of us...... one of us........

Welcome to the forum.