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Visiting Opening Weekend!

Started by Orphena, June 04, 2015, 12:16:25 PM

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Orphena

I am very excited that I was able to convince m'lord to visit Bristol ren faire, for I have heard much of the level of garments that I hope to see! We are visiting July 11 & 12, 2015.

I'm working on a new gown - m'lord and I most often travel as nobility, and I will be sure to wear my RF pin (As well as my Irish Penny), and a small maple leaf. M'lord and I are both tall, so we are difficult to miss - please come and say hello - we love meeting acquaintances and turning them into friends!

What time is a good time to arrive for decent parking? We always stay the entire day, and I like to catch the gate show if there is one!

Tickets - any discount deals around? We are coming in from Canada, and are unfamiliar with the area, so may need some extra detail!

Is there a "main" pub? Do they serve mead?

Hotel is booked! Can't wait!
Luxurious Lady ~ Statuesque Seamstress ~ Winsome Wayfarer
Enjoyer of Elegant Elizabethan Ensembles

StareNorthSteve

Anxiously awaiting the responses as we too are going to Bristol for the first time this year. :)
(Ohio Ren natives)

sns 
Ale-ing Archer
Loveland Castleteer
Head-Balancer of Ale

Merlin the Elder

We will be coming on closing weekend for the first time.
Living life in the slow lane
ROoL #116; the Jack of Daniels; AARP #7; SS# 000-00-0013
I've upped my standards. Now, up yours.
...and may all your babies be born naked...

Lady Renee Buchanan

Gates open at 10 a.m.  No tailgating allowed in the parking lot.  $5 for paid parking.  Usually regulars get there early.  We usually arrive around 9:30 to 9:45 after a 3 hour drive, and there is always a line to get in the lot.  Pre gate show starts around 9:40-ish.  Faire closes at 7 p.m.

IPB will use the Town Square Pub for the weekend for the gathering and toast at 3 p.m. Each day.  I could not begin to count all the Pubs there are, and yes, they serve mead.

You will see everything from beggars to pirates, to nobility, to Dr. Who, to steampunk to Barbarians, to fairies and elves, belly dancers,chain mail, almost anything that is not indecent, goes.

About the weather.  It can be cool in the 50s, perfect in the high 60s to mid 70s.  It can be 105 degrees with 95% humidity.  More of the time it is hot, hot, hot, and very dusty.  If you are not used to bone scorching weather, you might want to bring backup garb, something light.  First Aid is usually filled up every weekend with people who have passed out from the heat, including me, until I drastically changed my garb to looser bodices and light weight skirts, and this will be our 19th year there!

Through June 19, when you order on their website, there is a $5 discount per day.  If I missed anything, or if you have more questions, I'll be happy to answer if I know.

Looking forward to seeing/meeting all of our RF visitors.
A real Surf Diva
Landshark who loves water
Chieftesse Surf'n Penny of Clan O'Siodhachain,
Irish Penny Brigade
Giver of Big Hugs 
Member since the beginning of RF
All will be well. St. Julian of Norwich

Gauwyn of Bracknell

#4
Great faire ! Later in the season the heat/humidity can be quite stifling.

(but the tailgating thing I don't like.  They even gave us hassle for just having our tailgate open while we were finishing dressing - so you just have to be REAL discreet if you have a splash of mead in the lot :) .  And it is the only faire we go to that also charges for parking - and we go to quite a few)

Born 500 years late

Gauwyn of Bracknell

Orphena

New york charges for parking right across from the gate - worth it to me to be close!

Is all parking paid - or just the premium spots?

Thanks for the tip about discount tickets - good to know!

YAY for Mead!

Lady Renee - I hope I'll be able to meet you and the other RFers!

Tailgating - I'd heard that about Bristol, and won't attempt it. I'm actually quite new to the entire tailgating idea, since we tend not to do it here. I DO put some finishing touches (accessories) on in the parking lot, so I'll be sure to remove any food / beverages from sight. (I assume that having water for personal consumption is allowed?)
Luxurious Lady ~ Statuesque Seamstress ~ Winsome Wayfarer
Enjoyer of Elegant Elizabethan Ensembles

RefMom3

I paid for parking in Muskogee; Bristol also has a free lot, but it is farther away, so be aware of that. The online option is likely best for you in Canada, but many Walgreens in the area will also have discounted tickets. True about the tailgating, but I've never seen anyone get a hard time for finishing their dressing. The water bottles may just depend on how badly someone wants to follow policy. On those 100+ degree days, I think even the hard-nosed folks will allow it. We've seen people get their flasks examined, others get ignored.

Lady Renee Buchanan

You can get dressed in the parking lot.  We usually do, because there is no way I will sit for a 3 hour ride wearing a bodice.

If you park in the usual lot, that is paid parking.  Believe me, it is not premium.  Depending on what time you get there, you may be at the end of the lot.  However, it is much better than the free parking, which is about a mile away through the woods.

You may get stopped going in.  They have security who may ask people to put a wand in their bag/backpack/purse, and depending on how fanatical the security person is, you may get stopped for the water.  You can bring in your empty bottle, and by the main flushable privies, they have several water fountains with ice cold water, so you can fill your bottle up once you're in.  And on the way out, any liquid must be dumped.  I was leaving once with some water in my mug, and I had to empty it before I walked out to the lot.

Don't mean to make the Bristol staff sound like Nazis.  They are not, they are very nice people.  But they have rules and they follow them.  We've never, ever had a problem with them.  Even when they took away our son's mini-keg, they were nice, and they did give it back at the end of the day.
A real Surf Diva
Landshark who loves water
Chieftesse Surf'n Penny of Clan O'Siodhachain,
Irish Penny Brigade
Giver of Big Hugs 
Member since the beginning of RF
All will be well. St. Julian of Norwich

Merlin the Elder

Am I going to have an issue bringing my staff in??
Living life in the slow lane
ROoL #116; the Jack of Daniels; AARP #7; SS# 000-00-0013
I've upped my standards. Now, up yours.
...and may all your babies be born naked...

Lady Renee Buchanan

No, Merlin, tons of people carry staffs, including us, and no one has ever stopped us or anyone else.
A real Surf Diva
Landshark who loves water
Chieftesse Surf'n Penny of Clan O'Siodhachain,
Irish Penny Brigade
Giver of Big Hugs 
Member since the beginning of RF
All will be well. St. Julian of Norwich

Gauwyn of Bracknell

Yes, but his is hollowed out and filled with jack  :P
Born 500 years late

Gauwyn of Bracknell

Merlin the Elder

...and you thought that tap at the bottom was water...  8)
Living life in the slow lane
ROoL #116; the Jack of Daniels; AARP #7; SS# 000-00-0013
I've upped my standards. Now, up yours.
...and may all your babies be born naked...

RefMom3

No wonder the stone always has that sort of glow...

Gauwyn of Bracknell

Quote from: RefMom3 on June 10, 2015, 09:27:57 AM
No wonder the stone always has that sort of glow...

and his face  :o
Born 500 years late

Gauwyn of Bracknell

StareNorthSteve

So...if I just happened to have a small flask packed into one of my many pouches...should I expect to searched by security, and then asked to dump the contents of the aforementioned flask? Depending on its contents, that could be pricey!

sns
Ale-ing Archer
Loveland Castleteer
Head-Balancer of Ale