Unenthusiastic friends?

[tigrlily64]

It's not that these friends were people I was trying to convert- they've been before, and they liked it.  We've been talking about it for months.  They just ended up not being as enthusiastic as I am.  Going by myself sounds a little scasry, but I bet it could turn out fun.  And yes, Bristol is my home faire.

[Carl Heinz]

Bristol is run by the same outfit that runs my home faire (RPFS).  I'm pretty sure they have a similar guild/participant arrangement.  If you're interested, might check the renfair web site for participant information.  It's probably too late for this year, but if you go back, stop by likely environmental areas and ask about membership.  We have a lot a single members.  Also, I suspect they also have a Friends of Faire (FOF) area.  Might check there, too.

[Lord Finger]

I remember my parents taking me to Sterling when I was a kid, but it was only a couple of visits. I cought the bug all on my own, converted a couple of friends, and have struck out multiple times since then. My friends started working for vendors several years ago so I was forced to go alone. It was weird at first, but I'm so used to it now that I'll only drive other people to faire if it's understood that we're going to split up. I never have an itinerary, I never look at the schedule and I never check the time. I still recruit newbies to visit on their own and I'll give them any advice on how to enjoy (based on their interests) but I am not a tour guide anymore.

[Dayna]

Bristol does Indeed have a Friends of Faire, and we welcome guests to come see what it's about.  For a measly $5, you get access to the garden for the entire weekend, all the cold water and gatorade you want, shelves in back to store your stuff, and if you visit this upcoming weekend, for an additional $5 you can join us for our first Feast using our new grill.  All varieties of scrummy dead flesh and veggies come off that grill, we have several real actual gourmet chefs the take our raw offerings and make magic.  Also there are tons of different baked goods, cold dishes, salads, etc.

You may come in alone, but you won't be for long, friendships and even marriages have happened because of FoF.

Dayna Thomas
Bristol Faire Hench

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Go with some RF'ers.  Fins out when and where the meet and greet is.  Lady Renee can proably tell you the time.

We went to faire for 11 years before we met anybody else.  And all because of this board.  Bristol is our home faire, too, and believe me, there are lots of forum members there just about every weekend.  So that means lots of people to walk around and hang out with.

The Meet & Greet is held at 3 p.m. on both days of the weekend at the Pig & Whistle Tavern.  I only get there on Sundays, and not every Sunday, but when I'm there, I keep my eyes open for forum members and try to get everyone to introduce themselves, arrange the pictures, etc.  We'll be there on July 26th, August 9th, 16, not sure of 23rd or 30th.  Then again Sunday & Monday of Labor Day weekend.  Look for us!

And I agree with Unilady.  Join the Friends of Faire.  There you will find literally hundreds of faire-loving people to hang out with.

We had the same thing happen with friends of ours.  We even lent them garb.  They were supposed to carpool with other friends but ended up driving their own car.  Good thing.  They left after an hour and a half.  Nothing you can do about it.  Just find other people with the same love of faire that you do.  That's what we did!   

[serenamoonsilver]

It's not that these friends were people I was trying to convert- they've been before, and they liked it.  We've been talking about it for months.  They just ended up not being as enthusiastic as I am.  Going by myself sounds a little scasry, but I bet it could turn out fun.  And yes, Bristol is my home faire.

I've found that faire can be different things to different people.  My friends and family love the faire--they go in garb and everything.  And most of them are satisfied with the yearly jaunt there.  But we actually do two-three different trips to our faire and depending on who we go with depends on what we do that trip:

Friends--catch the funnier shows, shop, and just sort of hang out at the faire.
Family--very kid oriented.  Go to kid friendly shows, spend a lot of time in the kid area, spend a lot of money on rides and activities.
Just the two fo us--mu husband and I go one weekend by ourselves (we usually try to time it for the romance theme wekeend if we can).  We shop a little, go see one or two of our favorite acts,but mostly go slow and enjoy the atmosphere and each others company.

Anyways, my point is your friends might have a different idea of what fun at faire is than you.  If they've gone before, they may have it boiled down to just a few favorite "must do's"

[Ditzy Gypsy]

Yeah, wow,  I can relate to that!

My boyfriend likes to go with me to BARF, but isn't into the whole scene like I am. He kinda approaches it like an ordinary "date" or something, and goes because I enjoy it. He's really frugal too, so he doesn't like to go shopping at the vendors, doesn't want to pay for the food there, and I always feel kinda guilty for some reason when I buy things with him. But if I'm doing the belly dance competition next year he'll want to come support my troop.

So I plan on going at least three times this coming year, and much like Serenamoonsilver posted, it's because the different people that I go with like the fair for different reasons. Though hopefully, I'll go this year from open until close with a friend I met through my dance school. I hope she's as much into Ren Faire as I am! I've run into friends who get enthusiastic about it, dress up, and then want to leave early, or they don't want to get up early enough for the opening. She once played a Gaelic pirate some years back in Scarborough and currently performs gypsy acts with me. So hopefully I've found my Ren friend, lol! I'm also hoping she'll get pulled into these forums too, it's a wonderful networking tool!
If not, I'll wander in by myself one day, and break myself of my shyness! :-)

Nice to find people to commiserate with about this! I worry about the people I go with every year, lol. 

[Carl Heinz]

Anyways, my point is your friends might have a different idea of what fun at faire is than you.  If they've gone before, they may have it boiled down to just a few favorite "must do's"

But unless they've already been there during that run, they might miss something new.  They aren't usually static from year to year.

[Dinobabe]

We had the same thing happen with friends of ours.  We even lent them garb.  They were supposed to carpool with other friends but ended up driving their own car.  Good thing.  They left after an hour and a half.  Nothing you can do about it.  Just find other people with the same love of faire that you do.  That's what we did!   

Even if you are not "into" faire I couldn't imagine leaving after an hour and a half!  What a waste of time and money!  Could they not find one thing to enjoy?  They didn't even give it a chance at an hour and a half.  Wow!

I am lucky that the most recent people I have taken want to go again.  And the guy that REFUSED to wear garb now says he wants a kilt!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

We had the same thing happen with friends of ours.  We even lent them garb.  They were supposed to carpool with other friends but ended up driving their own car.  Good thing.  They left after an hour and a half.  Nothing you can do about it.  Just find other people with the same love of faire that you do.  That's what we did!   

Even if you are not "into" faire I couldn't imagine leaving after an hour and a half!  What a waste of time and money!  Could they not find one thing to enjoy?  They didn't even give it a chance at an hour and a half.  Wow!

I am lucky that the most recent people I have taken want to go again.  And the guy that REFUSED to wear garb now says he wants a kilt!

It was really awful.  When we went into the shops, they stayed in the lanes.  When we sat down for Albannach, they stood all the way back behind everyone.  Albannach!  Can you imagine not liking them???  The 7 of us all took pictures and as soon as they were done, they left.  I found out from another friend that they really enjoy going to Civil War reenactments.  Go figure.  Well, their loss.

[Katie Bookwench]

Sometimes the don't come around for 20 years.... or so.

When I was 14, my best friend's mother had a booth, and I was invited to spend the weekend at faire with them, as a boothie kid. The faire bug bit HARD. I convinced my parents to take me as a patron the next year. To say they were unimpressed is an understatement.

I got a job there a few years later, and until I moved out of my house, every single season I got the rolling eyes and constant jabs and gripes about my being at 'that dumb place'.

Fast forward 20 odd years.

My mother went with her girlfriends a couple of years ago. Her knees were bad, so she was in a wheelchair at the time. She had a blast. She's since got replacement knees, and she's on her feet again. This year, she wants me to take her back - and she wants me to make her garb!

...now I just need to work on that curmudgeon of a father....

[serenamoonsilver]

Anyways, my point is your friends might have a different idea of what fun at faire is than you.  If they've gone before, they may have it boiled down to just a few favorite "must do's"

But unless they've already been there during that run, they might miss something new.  They aren't usually static from year to year.

True, but they don't change that much from year to year either.  My parents are very much like that--they go for a few favorite shows, visit a few favorite shops, and call it a day.  They go in garb, interact, and have fun.  But they seldom stay a whole day anymore.  And to be fair, if there is anything new going on they check it out before hand to see if its something they might be interested itn.

[Dinobabe]

I found out from another friend that they really enjoy going to Civil War reenactments.  Go figure.  Well, their loss.

I do both and enjoy them immensely!  Too bad.

[NinaTheGoodWench]

This past Sunday, I joined my friends for a fun day at Bristol.  I definitely had tons of fun, don't get me wrong, but they definitely weren't as enthusiastic as I am.  For example, I spent months sewing my own bodice, (as the ladies and gentlemen on the sewing board can attest to-I had LOTS of questions! ;-) ) but my friend simply pulled out an old, polyester, stained, medieval-ish gown and wore that.  Another thing is that I love to see EVERYTHING at faire that I possibly can-but my friends walked right past some itneresting shops, acts, and people, just to get to certain shows on time.  It was all very regimented.  Get there, eat, see three shows, the joust, and then leave.  When I did drag them into shops, they glanced around, then stood there waiting for me.  Am I just way too into faire?  Or have you guys had this kind of problem?  I don't mean to complain, I was just a little disappointed.

I always feel this way too. My husband refuses to go to Faire with me, and a lot of my friends have dubbed Faire as being "nerdy" (insert eyeroll here), so I always have to go it alone. Which for the most part is okay with me, because I can then be a looky-loo to my hearts content!

[Carl Heinz]

Sometimes "Never try to teach a pig to sing.  It wastes your time and annoys the pig." describes it.  If folks don't want to at least give it a shot, then you've done your part.  They don't want to learn what they're missing.

You'd be surprised about how just casual encounters can introduce people to faire.  I frequently ask store checkers and folks in line if they've been to faire.  During the weeks while workshops are on, we visit our favorite shops and ask if they'll put a poster in their window and put some rack cards near their checkout areas.  A lot of them do.  So don't restrict encouraging people to attend to just your friends.  The better the gate, the more likely it is that our playpen will be around next year.