Freaking the mundanes

[anne of oaktower]

This is fun.

We have a new faire just getting started near us http://www.wildroserenfaire.net/index.html  shameless plug.
This year it ran weekends in October.  It is located in Columbus, Pa which is a rural town suburb of Corry which is just a small town.   Myself, my husband our 3 kids and a friend of ours know the people who run it and decide to help advertise by going to breakfast in garb at the local Perkins.

We walk in and the lady it the hostess station is probably in her 50's.  She says isn't a little early for a Halloween party.  So we explain where we are going and she still looks shell shocked.  They seat us in the back in the Garden room mostly out of sight.  Of course as we walk through everone is staring at the family of weirdos.  Me and the 3 kids are dressed as pirates, my husband and his friend more of the cavalier style.  My 10 year old daughter has on a full length hooded cloak.  (Hey it can be cold in north western PA in October) Well evidently they did not warn the poor waitress.  She is about 20 she comes around the corner to our table the look on her face was priceless.  It took her a full minute to recover and get our drink orders.  When she came back she was better and asked where we were going.  We explained about the faire and how it was just getting started and we wanted to advertise a little.  When we left we left her a decent tip as well as a free pass to the faire.  We went there at least one day every weekend while it was going on and had a pretty good reaction each time.  But it accomplished the goal.  It made people ask questions.  I think a few of them even stopped over.

LOL!  I lived in that area for many years...I'm quite familiar with that Perkins restaurant.  Their reactions don't really surprise me, but I would have loved to have been there to see the looks on their faces.  Didn't get up to WildRose this year, but hoping to make it next season.

[Dev]

A stop at Sheetz is mandatory before going to the faire.  The best reaction, a collective stare from the entire store, happened when I walked in with chainmail and tabard, tunic, tail...and fake Versace sunglasses...and kept dicking around with the ATM machine.

[Rahne]

Wild Rose was fun this year, grew a little bit and hopefully it will grow a little more.  I really enjoyed those trips to Perkins in the morning though

[DonaCatalina]

Thanksgiving weekend at TRF was interesting in more ways than one. We stayed at the Best Western in Tomball. Friday night when we got back to the hotel, someone had reported a heavy smell of smoke in the second floor hallway. The maintenance people were in the middle of checking rooms when the four of us walked in fully garbed.
We got to stand around and be gawked at for about 40 minutes until they determined that two people
had been smoking in a non-smoking room.

[Jack Daw at Work]

The title of this thread is "Freaking the Mundanes."  Well, mine doesn't have to do with a Ren Fest, but a Highland games; so, I hope it still qualifies.  The Salado Clan Gathering & Highland Games is held EVERY YEAR in the small Texas town of Salado, Texas.  I stopped in a convenience store in my kilt and sporran, and hose, etc. to get some ice for my cooler.  The convenience store clerk asked why I was in a skirt.  I said, "It's a kilt and I'm participating in the Highland games....right next door to you....with all the signs, saying 'Highland Games'."  He didn't have a clue...I guess he was new to town.

[Dinobabe]

After faire at Bristol we would often head out for a bite to eat.  Never received stares because everyone was so used to seeing rennies!

At faire I was wearing my middle class outfit.  A man asks if I am the queen.

In high school I did a project on the renaissance.  I dressed in garb, lots of looks.
For an art project I made a suit of armor out of cardboard, managed to get my boyfriend at the time to wear it at school!
For history class we were studying the guillotine and French history.  I made a full sized guillotine, dressed the entire class in French outfits, and proceeded to "cut off" someone's head! 

I was at a Civil War reenactment and in my artillery uniform, a women stops and asks if I am Canadian! 

Last year for Halloween I decided to wear my Civil War uniform.  A little boy came up dressed as Indiana Jones.  His mom points at me and says "Look, another Indiana Jones."   

[Seryn]

I live in Austin, so you'd have to look really, really, reallllly weird to get a reaction here.  We had a couple at our apartment complex ask if we were going to faire once.   We jokingly said "Faire?  What faire?!"  before comfirming that we were indeed headed to faire.  And I suppose all the little stops between Austin and TRF are used rennies making a pit stop as they never seem to notice much, either.

[NicoleBridget]

My experience is the opposite...sort of an unexpected non-experience.  I went into a Wendy's after SRF in Fulton, NY in full on nobility garb and the cashiers looked up to take my order, as they would anyone else, proceeded to fetch my frosty and fries, and then sent us on our way.  Must be used to our type out there...

[Sir Morgan]

Ohh my best was when a young black woman looked at me and said(see he does not look gay in that.) Then I stood up and looked them both in the eye hand on my sword and said "this helps alot I bet"

Then they got scared. heeh

[Queen Bonnie]

 Tis sad when I stop to pump gas in full garb- no one bats and eye! I do get a few smiles and when I head for the rest room- I get-"is the faire going on now?" Alas! from here to TRF they are used to Rennies!
Lord A and I stopped at the Quiznos  near Scarby in black wizard garb and a poor lady crossed herself seeing us. What a nasty look. I guess she thought we were devil worshipers- not just wizards!
We used to go out for Breakfast in garb at the I-hop near Scarby! That was fun. The kids eating there loved it too! We met several families later on at faire!

[Seryn]

We had our first experience with someone openly staring, and with some people who clearly didn't like what they saw I guess.  We stopped on our way back from CTRF at a Whataburger for some dinner.  While there, a man and his teenage daughter, plus another small family, were all staring at us the entire time we they were in there.  Then when we left, a truck load of guys were laughing and pointing.  So we decided to do a little dance - you know, give them a show, since they were clearly so entertained already.

[Hoowil]

A little background: I went to a very small private school for highschool. The faculty knew me, and knew that I had interest in faire and history, to the point that after the first time I showed up in garb, and asked if I could carry my sword, if I had it tied, they batted an eye, but didn't say anything. After a few times, I stopped asking, and just showed up in garb and armed.
Our mascot was the Cavaliers, so I would sometimes show up to pep rallies and games in garb (got me in free at away games).
I did get in trouble, when armed with a real blade, I challenged the opposing schools mascot to a duel during halftime of their homecomming game.
At another time, when doing a 'spirit week' we were all supposed to dress as twins. One of my friends and I decided to show up in garb instead, as we didn't have anyone to 'twin up' with. It was a very foggy day, and we did not know that it was also the scheduled tour day for prospective new studenbts for the next year. There was one group of girls who screamed as I came out of the fog, in a full ankle length charcoal grey cloak, in garb, armed. Of course, not knowing who it was I was coming up on, and being obnoxious, I was making obnoxious comments in a really bad scottish accent.
We didn't get any new students the next year.

[Carl Heinz]

As a bit of a reversal, I've got a tale of freaking an at least nominal rennie.

A number of years ago there was a small weekend faire near Fallbrook, CA.  Wife, daughters, sister, and I decided to go.  They opted for costume, but I didn't feel like it and went in my normal jumpsuit (it doesn't slide down if you've no hips).

A number of the participants seemed to be SCA.  They had structure of two towers with an overhead walkway a bit inside the entrance and one young stalwart decided that he would collect a toll from the passing customers before allowing them the pass under it.

When asked for a toll, I asked what it might be in BFA.  He, looking at the daughters, suggested a kiss.  So, I kissed him on the lips.  Not sure if he soiled himself or not, but I didn't see him there when I passed that way again.  I did observe a couple of his seniors at the time of the event break out laughing.

I did tell him that he might expect the unusual if someone talked to him using BFA whether or not they were in costume.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

I freaked my dad last night.

my new dagger came in and as i opened it he was like what is that. I told him a dagger. he was like what do you need a dagger for? I told him for my costume for renfest and he was like they let you walk around with weapons on you? I told him it's ok we peace tie them so no one can easily draw them. He relaxed and now he's thinking of going(him dressing in garb i don't see it him going and liking it. possible my mother thats a whole other subject)

[Taffy Saltwater]

Last year on the way to TRF I had to stop at the bank.  As I was walking in, two women and a little girl were leaving.  The girl's eyes were like saucers as she whispered, "Look, mom - a PRINCESS!"