RenaissanceFestival.com Forums

R/F.com Updates => Submit your faire directory updates here => Topic started by: theChuck on August 28, 2012, 07:31:49 PM

Title: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on August 28, 2012, 07:31:49 PM
I wanted to announce to everyone a new faire directory that I built. It's called The Renlist - http://www.therenlist.com/ (http://www.therenlist.com/). It uses automation to stay as up to date as possible, so hopefully it'll be useful to people. Overall it should make finding faires near you much easier. People can also submit their own additions and changes to faires if they want.

I'd be interested in any comments or questions or people have, so I guess respond here or PM me if you want.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: The Lady Mercedes on August 28, 2012, 09:42:22 PM
Wow, that's pretty cool! Thanks for the heads up! :)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Lady Gregory on August 28, 2012, 10:32:16 PM
Very cool.  Thanks for sharing.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Merlin the Elder on August 29, 2012, 08:08:52 AM
Cool idea.  Rabbi, you need to get your faire listed. I'm not sure of it's exact coordinates.

theChuck, the Pittsburgh Ren Fest is listed a bit far to the west. It should be in Pennsylvania rather than Tulsa...just thought I'd let you know.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Sir Stout on August 29, 2012, 03:25:47 PM
Wow, this in fantastic! Thanks so much, theChuck - I'm sure your site will see a lot if use!

Josh
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: dbaldock on August 29, 2012, 04:14:25 PM
A few years back, I created a Google Earth KMZ file that shows the location of more than 500 Ren Faires & Celtic Festivals worldwide.  The logistics of trying to maintain both the "By Month" and "By Location" sections of the file, using just the editing capabilities of the Google Earth interface, is what caused me to give up on the project.

What I wanted to do is extract the Data into a proper Database, and then create a web-based interface (similar to what you've done), that would allow easy queries for users without requiring a login, and also allow Admins to login and maintain the Database.  But, while I'm pretty good at writing AWK scripts, and some PERL, I don't know enough to write a secure web interface for a Database.


My several years out of date KMZ file is available here (although the big events probably haven't changed dates too much) -

http://sites.google.com/site/dbaldock9/kmlfiles (http://sites.google.com/site/dbaldock9/kmlfiles)

- if you'd like to import any location data into your system.


Take Care,
David Baldock
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on August 29, 2012, 07:20:56 PM
Thanks for the kind words, all. Here's hoping people use it more than once..

Quote from: Merlin the Elder on August 29, 2012, 08:08:52 AM
theChuck, the Pittsburgh Ren Fest is listed a bit far to the west. It should be in Pennsylvania rather than Tulsa...just thought I'd let you know.

Ha, that is... very correct. Google Maps seems to have a really hard time understanding the Pittsburgh address, but I've corrected it. Thanks for the heads up.

Quote from: dbaldock
Insert Quote
A few years back, I created a Google Earth KMZ file that shows the location of more than 500 Ren Faires & Celtic Festivals worldwide.  The logistics of trying to maintain both the "By Month" and "By Location" sections of the file, using just the editing capabilities of the Google Earth interface, is what caused me to give up on the project.

Yeah, gEarth can be a bit wonky. The site really only has fairs with websites - some quantifiable way that I can tell when a fair is going to happen. Anyway, I've just pulled down your list, and I'll write some sort of script to pull useful data out of the XML file. Thanks for pointing me to your data!

If anyone else has questions or suggestions, please let me know!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Thorr on August 30, 2012, 03:22:49 AM
TN ren is missing   :'(
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Merlin the Elder on August 30, 2012, 07:39:00 AM
Are you encouraging "civilians" to provide data, or would you prefer faire management?
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on August 30, 2012, 07:00:04 PM
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on August 30, 2012, 07:39:00 AM
Are you encouraging "civilians" to provide data, or would you prefer faire management?

Anyone who wants to contribute can do so. I was really just looking to get something out the door for people to use, and then see if/how faires want to add to it. I'm really open to anything.

Quote from: Thorr on August 30, 2012, 03:22:49 AM
TN ren is missing   :'(

It's not missing - it's just that it didn't have any upcoming dates (I haven't run the script in awhile). I just updated the dates, so it should show up now.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: raevyncait on August 30, 2012, 08:21:45 PM
Pirate Days of Texas has been cancelled for this year
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: The Lady Mercedes on August 30, 2012, 10:01:03 PM
Also the Palm Springs Ren Faire is no more. :(
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on August 30, 2012, 10:09:57 PM
Lady Mercedes, raevyncait: thanks for the update. I've updated the posts to reflect that.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: dbaldock on August 30, 2012, 11:25:19 PM
Quote from: raevyncait on August 30, 2012, 08:21:45 PM
Pirate Days of Texas has been cancelled for this year


That's too bad, since it's written up in the latest edition of the Southwest Celtic Music Association _Céilí_ magazine (Vol. 31, No. 5, September/October 2012).
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Lady Kett on August 31, 2012, 06:42:00 AM
Quote from: dbaldock on August 30, 2012, 11:25:19 PM
Quote from: raevyncait on August 30, 2012, 08:21:45 PM
Pirate Days of Texas has been cancelled for this year


That's too bad, since it's written up in the latest edition of the Southwest Celtic Music Association _Céilí_ magazine (Vol. 31, No. 5, September/October 2012).

This makes me sad :(
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Lady Kett on August 31, 2012, 06:42:52 AM
And I like the site, theChuck!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Rowan MacD on August 31, 2012, 09:56:40 AM
  I put the Nebraska Faires in; but the 2013 dates are first and second weekends in May.
   Firm dates are based on the condition of the grounds after the winter.
   Bellevue berry Ranch builds and maintains the buildings and grooms the paths and grounds, and sometimes  will move the event a week to accommodate reconstruction of roads and paths.  It is a nicely maintained facility, and the owners/operators are carpenters and stay on top of things.   They have been adding new buildings each year, and have a petting zoo on the property.

Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on September 02, 2012, 07:21:17 AM
Lady Kett: thanks for the kind words!

I've updated the front page a little to show current fairs and whatnot. And I'll be making other incremental changes along the way.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Ginette on September 06, 2012, 02:26:46 PM
What a great site and idea!!   :)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: RenFestHQ on September 10, 2012, 09:18:54 PM
Love the site
I was thinking of trying something similar with my website, but the job of all that coding just seems so overwhelming
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: dbaldock on September 10, 2012, 10:14:32 PM
Don't mean to be a spoil-sport, but the Forum Guidelines do say this -

...

17. Signature Lines
At this point, we don't want the forum to look like a Nascar Rally.  No image banners or links, please, until we state otherwise.  Any offenders will have their profile modified without notification.  Text is fine.

...
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: robert of armstrong on September 15, 2012, 08:37:45 AM
Your site is a great tool for us North of the border who travel south to visit permanent Faires.  Thanks so much for heping know what is going on near us!  We don't have any multi-weekend permanent Faires anywhere near Toronto anymore  :'(   :-[   :-\   >:(    but I will try to get info on the smaller *mobile* faires and fests and let you know.

There are two missing that we have visited:

Sterling RenFest
15385 Farden Road, Sterling, NY, United States
sterlingfestival.com

Great Lakes Medieval Faire & Marketplace
3033 Ohio Hwy 534, OH, United States
medievalfaire.com
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on September 15, 2012, 09:56:29 AM
Robert: both of those faires are in there right now - we just don't have any upcoming dates for them. If you change the dropdown from Upcoming to All, you'll see them.

Your comment has made me think about a few things, though, and I think I've got some small interface changes I need to make. Thanks!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on September 16, 2012, 10:19:55 AM
Apologies for double posting, but I wanted to point out some changes I've made:

- Added a whole bunch of Canadian fairs. You can also search by Canadian province!
- I've updated the frontpage to make searching a little clearer.

If you have a chance, take a look and let me know what you think!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: The Lady Mercedes on September 17, 2012, 11:25:18 PM
Renaissance Pleasure Faire dates are up! April 6 thru May 19, 2013
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: GryffinSong on October 17, 2012, 12:39:25 PM
Love it!

One suggestion/question - is there a way to show ALL faires in the country? I have an RV, so a road trip isn't out of the question, and it would be nice to be able to easily see everything at once. This would make planning much easier.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on October 20, 2012, 05:55:25 PM
You could just go to the List page - that has all of them on there.

Quote from: GryffinSong on October 17, 2012, 12:39:25 PM
Love it!

One suggestion/question - is there a way to show ALL faires in the country? I have an RV, so a road trip isn't out of the question, and it would be nice to be able to easily see everything at once. This would make planning much easier.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: GryffinSong on October 21, 2012, 05:14:24 PM
Ok, thanks! :)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on January 09, 2013, 09:16:11 PM
I'm pleased to announce that I've put up a new version of the site! Same basic idea, only with a new design! Cleaner interface, easier to find fairs, and more!

Also, I've been constantly updating the dates and times on the site. And I've been tweeting at @therenlist with all sorts of fair updates, if you want to follow me.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: The Lady Mercedes on February 09, 2013, 10:23:38 AM
Trying to update a faire, but it keeps saying server error...hope you can fix the bug!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on February 09, 2013, 12:22:37 PM
Thanks for the heads-up! I've fixed it, so give it another shot.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: The Lady Mercedes on February 14, 2013, 02:22:52 AM
Awesome! Much thanks!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: ~pixie~ on October 24, 2013, 10:04:39 AM
Quote from: theChuck on January 09, 2013, 09:16:11 PM
I'm pleased to announce that I've put up a new version of the site! Same basic idea, only with a new design! Cleaner interface, easier to find fairs, and more!

Also, I've been constantly updating the dates and times on the site. And I've been tweeting at @therenlist with all sorts of fair updates, if you want to follow me.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the new faire list, Chuck!  Unless I missed it on the list, can you have the VA ren faire added?   www.varf.org (http://www.varf.org)
It runs May11 - June 9, 2014 and sits on the Lake Anna Winery in Spotsylvania, VA.

Thanks!


Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on October 24, 2013, 07:03:34 PM
pixie - VARF is already listed under http://www.therenlist.com/fairs/virginia-renaissance-faire. (http://www.therenlist.com/fairs/virginia-renaissance-faire.) Since I don't have any 2014 dates in there, it doesn't list when you search for upcoming fairs.

Are you sure May 11 - Jun 9, 2014 is right? The faire this year was May 11 to June 9, 2013. In 2014, May 11 is a Sunday and June 9 is a Monday, and most fairs usually start on Saturdays and end on Sundays.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: deafdrummer on August 11, 2014, 09:44:56 AM
I must add that I'm not happy with this particular version of a faire directory, as I cannot look at the whole listing of faires in alphabetic order nor a state-by-state directory like the old faire directory did.  Plus, the information about their relative sizes is missing as well as whether it is a permanent or fixed dwelling site or not.  It's just not that useful to me if I am to travel as a rennie and want to get onto a new circuit in the future.  It also does not let me see how the rennie world is growing, expanding.  That is very important to me as a part of a plan, a movement to recover this world from the iron-fisted grip of the modern world.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Toua Taru on August 11, 2014, 11:02:31 AM
Is this what you meant by the whole listing of fairs?
http://www.therenlist.com/fairs (http://www.therenlist.com/fairs)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: deafdrummer on August 11, 2014, 09:29:52 PM
Yes.  I'm not happy with that one.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Toua Taru on August 12, 2014, 12:02:14 PM
Chuck - went to check out the website for Lady of Lakes faire and it's no longer valid:

"medievalfest.com expired on 08/10/2013 and is pending renewal or deletion"

I can't check while at work but they must only operate through Facebook or they have a new site listed there.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: deafdrummer on August 12, 2014, 05:29:40 PM
https://www.facebook.com/LadyoftheLakesRenFaire (https://www.facebook.com/LadyoftheLakesRenFaire)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on August 17, 2014, 06:43:14 AM
Thanks, I've updated the listing for Lady of the Lakes. Their Facebook page lists their real URL, but it does indeed error out.
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on December 09, 2014, 10:45:04 PM
Friends, an update! I just put up a new version of the site. Cleaner, more responsive, and hopefully easier to use!

Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, comments, feedback, or bugs. Thanks!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Toua Taru on December 11, 2014, 07:40:02 AM
 ;)

New layout looks great Chuck!
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: Leonardo on December 19, 2014, 01:01:57 AM
I just added my venue/event and sent an email with more details.

I am very excited to become an active member of the Renn Faire community :)
Title: Re: The Renlist - a new faire directory!
Post by: theChuck on April 04, 2015, 02:52:35 PM
Hi all,

Two things:

One - we're on Facebook now! Come like us and follow along: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Renlist/788778487864864 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Renlist/788778487864864)

Second - we're looking for feedback on a new idea we've got. There's a six question survey, so if you've got a sec, please fill it out! https://therenlist.typeform.com/to/tSoZjG (https://therenlist.typeform.com/to/tSoZjG)