I've been on this board for quit some time now, reading posts and gaining a wealth of information, IMO; this is by far a must have resource for faire goers and could even be priceless for newbies like myself. I know there are many things to gain or experience from going to Ren Faires, I was just curious as to what it is that draws many of you back every year (i.e.; the people, the atmosphere, the garb, the friends,..the food ;) n ale). For myself and my family, it is a new experience, and its like exploring for us. It is something completely different than what we were exposed to as kids. I had never been to a ren faire until after the age 30! I am sure as time goes by we will start to favor many other aspects of the faire we haven't even experienced yet (together we've only been to four faires). My hope is to meet people, like myself, as I am sure if anything, meeting old friends and acquaintances is always an excellent reason for returning every year! My wife and I have always been fascinated w/ the history of the renaissance and medieval ages, I'm sure that that interest in it alone draws us in! And just a curious thought, maybe some of you would like to to share!
James~
I have always liked browsing the unique vendors the most. Also, getting to run around in garb and not look like a crazy person is nice. You get to do cool things that not even the local carnival has such as wax hands and hair braiding. I guess I'm trying to say that EVERYTHING keeps me coming back to faire for more!
Definitely history, acting/pretending, the atmosphere, really all of it!
But I think the biggest draw for me is that I grew up at faire. Every summer was spent at Grandma's shop. So it is really nostalgic for me and allows me to visit a bit of my childhood and all of the wonderful memories. :)
I am a history/theater girl so that helps alot
But honestly...the people. I have the BEST fairemily and it's wonderful to see them!!!!
I couldnt say any one particular thing draws me back, ALL of it appeals. :)
More than anything else, it's the people. I've made fantastic friends at faire and I wouldn't trade my fairemly for anything. I love how caring and welcoming the ren-fest community is. The entertainment, too...where else can you see nobles, pirates, wenches, fairies and fops in one place? ;-) I also adore the whole atmosphere of play. It really is another world when you walk through those gates...I love it all so much! But, like I said, my fairemly is what keeps me coming back...without the people, faires would just be buildings and tents.
I love being able to let my inner child out to play, and having the chance to become whoever I envision myself to be in the moment... It's very exciting to watch my daughter realize that almost all the grown-ups around her are actually playing in one way or another, and to realize that play doesn't have to stop just because you get older! The sense of wonder is what draws me back... time after time.
The people are pretty amazing, also! ;)
Being able to move out of the intense daily life and into a relaxed play life where there are no arguments about politics and religion, and phones are less of an irritant.
To be able to strip away my mundane self and step into Fraser's kilt. To greet people that I've know for ages or just met the day before, with a "Hail and Well Met", in the lanes and watch mundane's heads turn. The smile on a pretty lass's face when i throw her a wink. The feeling of freedom from the toils of the day to day. Stepping back in time for a taste of what my family experienced in that period. The swirl of colors, sights, sounds and smells. The feeling of belonging and the sense of coming home...
Last but not the least, the friends i have made.
Getting out of my Muggle costume and getting to be myself! Friends! The music, smells and the whole faire experience. I am hooked!
Much like JJames, I discovered faires when I was in my 30s and took my kids for the first time. I expected a few vendors, come people in "costume" and a few shows. But the entire family fell in love with the place immediately.
What did it for me (us) was the street cast. Our local faire had an amazing cast of professional actors who brought the place to life. Each year when we returned it was like going back to a small town and catching up with old friends. We'd wonder if the sheriff would still be grumpy? Would the lovely young lady still be singing in the street for drinking money? Could one of us beat the king in a game of chess (he used to play four people at a time!)?
So it was a total immersion into the false reality they were presenting. Since then I have visited other faires and found mixed experiences with the cast. Some casts hardly interact, and in larger faires the cast is unable to handle the volume of people. But there are many faires with well-trained casts of characters that invite us into their world and make it a real experience. That's what keeps me coming back.
I'll have to aggress with everyone that with friends, food, getting away from the mundane world, the sights, sounds and smells of faire, dressing up in garb is just the beginning of why we love faire. And getting out of my Muggle costume is pretty nice too. ;D
My 2009 Dodge Journey...
I love having the chance to run around in a "costume." I'll take any excuse I can get to wear fun, out of the ordinary clothes. I also really enjoy the shows, and (browsing) the vendors, and the atmosphere in general (at a good faire, anyway. I've been to a few that didn't have that, and it was really disapointing).
I started really going to faire as a gamer/performer. As I go more as just a patron, I'm starting to realize that I also really LOVE the opportunity to interact with people in that capacity. It is something I miss, now, to the point that my husband and I are now (semi-)seriously considering putting together a show so we can go back to performing at faire. I hope we actually do it, because that's one of the things I really like, and keeps me coming back.
For me its the food, the vendors who remember me and my girlfriend year after year even thou we only see them once or twice a year. the shows that get better every time we go. and the people who are always friendly and willing to help because every year we just about need it because even if we have a dry spell i manage to get our car stuck in the mudd and need help to get it out.
Wow--my wife and I both went for the 1st time -as adults. it was KCRF.
A few years later--we found out that Bristol was only a cpl of hours north of us--and after talking about how fun it was--we went there.
This is our 3rd year to Bristol--and our kids enjoy it as much as we do.
For my kids--it is the rides--my daughter loves to get her hair done up.
The wife enjoys the shows and the atmosphere.
I can't wait for the food ;D
Like many of you, my family gets excited about returning! This is our first time we are making a weekend out of it, and our first trip to the faire w/ just us. We've previously gone w/ other couples and family, which is totally fine, but, we are kind of wanting to venture on our own this time, we jus click like that. My daughter is very excited, she has a dress we bought from KCRF and it still fits this year, so she is determined to wear it! My wife and I are planning to sort out some garb for our 2nd day there and possibly go in garb for our first time. I think the thing I like is this is our "own thing". Families have their traditional trips and vacaction every year, and Im sure that tradition gets passed down, we dont really have anything like that, so this is certainly a unique start! Thank you all for sharing!
I love theatre and i love to people watch so basically the entire atmosphere draws me in. I always say " I am going to be a part of it next year" and never do but just being there and seeing people who are genuinely happy to be there is so rare in daily life you cant help but be happy too.
I like the escape from the rat race. Hammered dulcimers & working trebuchets are the things I seek out in Renfaires.
What brings me back to Faire? The Entertainment Director owes me 10 bucks! ::)
What Dona said. ;D
Pay Chest after the death march ;)
Real the comradely to the QOH, the Scottish Court, the SRG, and other cast members and playtrons at Scarby. For the other faires its the chance to see types of entertainment you will see no were else but at faire.
The music, the shows, the laughter, the camaraderie, the ambiance, the smiles on everyone's faces, the chance to relax and enjoy, and the beer.
The escape from the everyday world, the chance to be whoever I want to be, hanging out with friends we've made over the years, and bringing newbies and seeing everything fresh through their eyes are among the reasons I keep going back. :)
The sense of belonging I get when I walk through the gates opening weekend. For me it's like Christmas. Definitely what I look forward to all year long.
Definitely forgetting the world outside the gates, dressing up and really being a kid again through a giant game of dress up and make believe!
I totally agree with Sealion too, with bringing newbies and seeing them get more and more excited and into it throughout the entire day. Then by the end of the day making plans to come back with you for every remaining weekend and designing their own garb.
I can totally forget about the everyday world with all its problems for just a few hours. I get to dress up and visit a different time.
Quote from: Scribe_Wear on July 10, 2010, 05:55:48 PM
For me its the food, the vendors who remember me and my girlfriend year after year even thou we only see them once or twice a year.
I will second the vendors that remember us. To this day we have vendors at TRF that look for us to come in. We have one that will always greet us with a hug like old friends.
Last Year my friend Tyrod bought a pair of faire Paire tights. He acccidently left his old cotton pants in the shop. 3 weekends later he was back for a visit and the vendor tackled him in the lane, and gave him his trousers back. Funny enough when Tyrod walked into the shop this year he was greeted by name by them. The fact that the vendors know you , is one reason.
Then I have to say it is the people that bring me back. I mean where else could I dress like I do, and not be laughed at. Where else could I play like I do. Where else could I put out a call and friends I just met would come running.
And I have to say, where else could the pink pirate walk about and no one bat an eye, well.... at least not think he is COMPLETLY nuts. :)
Yeah, the vendors remembering you is pretty nice, and even some of the cast and staff greeting you like old friends, and that was before I was a member on this forum. That makes it pretty amazing to me because up until the past couple of years, we were only able to make one weekend of faire per year. With as many faces as they see, I'm surprised they would remember mine. Now we save more money and time off so we can get away more than once.
I tend to stress a lot over my job—guess I'm lucky to even have one—and the only time that I can completely keep it from creeping into my consciousness is while I am at faire.
I've been reading this thread and the only thing that comes to mind is....... FAMILY!!!!
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on November 17, 2010, 12:47:49 PM
I tend to stress a lot over my job—guess I'm lucky to even have one—and the only time that I can completely keep it from creeping into my consciousness is while I am at faire.
Same here, Merlin. Faire lets me forget my troubles and worries--and what's waiting for me back at the office--and simply enjoy the day. I really can't relax like that anywhere else. It's my vacation.
Quote from: Pat McGroin on November 17, 2010, 08:46:25 PM
I've been reading this thread and the only thing that comes to mind is....... FAMILY!!!!
I have to agree with Pat on this point. I think my good Lady Ariyana said it best when she said that we have the family you were born with and the family you make. Faire helps you find that family. For that matter, we are probably closer with the family that we have made than we are with the family we were born with. At least the family that we made understand us and why we enjoy faire.
my pickup, and no sand or iraqi's
For me it is ESCAPISM from the stress of my job. It lends itself to allowing me to gather historically accurate kit for my 16th C Highlander.
Its a chance to speak to people who have more than a twenty word vocabulary.
But seriously, it is the people, cast and the playtrons who make the Faire something to come back to again and again.
What brings me back is the friends I think of as family. I met some of my best friends at faire. It is a place where I can truly be me. Showing the real me inside that is held back with the current times. I enjoy history and the time period. It is wonderful seeing the smiles on the childrens faces during school events when they interact with a live historical figure as opposed to reading about it.
No matter how tired I am after a faire weekend, I still return for more because it is fun and I enjoy it. Problems and stress just disappear, if even for a little while. One of the best therapies of all...a place to occupy your mind and people who are there to listen.
For my husband and I, faire is our Christmas. It gives us a chance to go and get away from, dare I say it, the outside world. The smiles on everyone's faces and just the overall, for lack of a better word, merriment makes it even more wonderful. The shows are great, the food is great, it's all great. Like it was mentioned before by Mademoiselle, you get to play dress up and you get to play make-believe! How many of our coworkers can say that?!?! Bottom line, the thing that brings us back to faire is our love for faire. We all have it.
I'm considering giving Middlefaire another try just so that I have a chance to wear my garb.
Difficult to say. Certainly it is to be with friends and to take pictures.
But I would say that the two biggest things, after that, is to do things that are outside or different of the structured life I had to lead for my first 30 years. The second is to play a fantasy that I like, that has been building as years go on, as I play it. It is relaxing.