spring is coming

[Femme Falchion]

Eric....I have it on 2nd hand intelligence that Blakduke will be there Saturday, not sure about Sunday. 

Any suggestions for getting around the construction traffic, we're coming from our in-laws in N. GA (Cumming)   

and Lady Christina, please describe the hat I'm looking for this year. 

[Lady Christina de Pond]

alright here is the new hat to look for FF

http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?topic=11033.0

as for the construction traffic my only suggestion is leaving early
it's a bit of a drive for us so i'm making us leave at 7 am we are stopping to get breakfast and gettting back on the road we aren't eating inside like we did last year that was my mistake we stopped and ate inside mcd's that cost us time and put us in the middle of the ugly traffic and missed the meet and greet so no eatting inside for us

[JonStrickland]

The construction isn't quite as awful as it was last season (thank the heavens). The Fairburn e (Exit 61 off of 85 South) still has traffic barrels around it, but not as intrusive as in years past. If you're coming from the north, you can follow these directions which may (or may not) shave some time off your trip (I got this from Google Maps by dragging the route up north one exit on 85):

Heading south on 85
Take exit 64, Union City/Jonesboro.
Right on Oakley/Jonesboro Rd.
Drive about 2 miles.
Turn left at NW Broad Street.
Drive 2 more miles.
Take the GA-74 exit on the right (it's a little cloverleaf loop)
Turn left on GA-74 North/Virlyn B. Smith Rd.
The festival is about 1.2 miles up the road on the right.

Here's the link to the directions (using generic Atlanta, GA as the origin point).
http://bit.ly/b6EZO0

Hope that helps!

[Lady Christina de Pond]

thanks for the tip Jon that might be a option

[BamaWoodsman]

If the traffic is bad I recommend a slight variation on this route which will bring you in from the north side of the faire.

Changes are in italics:

Heading south on 85
Take exit 64, Union City/Jonesboro.
Right on Oakley/Jonesboro Rd.
Drive about 2 miles.
Turn left at NW Broad St      1.0 mi
Turn right at W Campbellton St   0.2 mi
Slight left at Rivertown Rd   2.0 mi
Turn left at Virlyn B Smith Rd
Destination will be on the left   0.6 m

I used this route multiple times last year and it was surprisingly easy to get turned in to the parking area.  It also saved nearly an hour of sitting in traffic, which was a definite plus.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

next Saturday begins Garf wooooooooooo

[Just Jesse]

ummm im coming from birmingham???will i have a problem with traffic

[The Scotsquatch]

Just your normal weekend Birmingham traffic!  Take I-20 in and its a breeze, especially on the weekend. 

Exit traffic for the faire has been horrendous lately in the past years, but maybe they are almost finished with this milked out project.

If I were king, roadwork would be finished mile by mile BEFORE they messed with other roads.

Kev

[Just Jesse]

thanks alot, are you from bama?

[Eric the Ugly]

This is an oddly specific question, but mayhap someone has a more solid memory than I for this...

Last year was the first time I'd been on Opening Day itself for at least six years, and I was shocked at the traffic the last couple of miles. For those years previous, I'd been on the first Sun., but not Opening Day (Sat.).
'K. The reason I was shocked, even though I'd been on opening Sun., was that I swear I recalled opening Sun. traffic being very much the same as any other given day for the rest of the season.

Am I remembering that correctly? Am I mad?

It really seemed like the last number of years, the first Sun. traffic was the same as traffic on, say, a Sat. about three or four weeks in.

Am I looking back with rose-colored glasses...or...or what? Anyone recall/know?

[The Scotsquatch]

thanks alot, are you from bama?

Nope, but we drove through there at rush hour Friday, and because of the bypass it was quick and easy to get through.  Once you are on I-20 the traffic headed towards Atlanta was quick and painless, even at 5:30pm on a weekday.  I'm sure the traffic flow on the weekend will be even better! 

I have yet to see what the traffic at the exit will be.  We'll be arriving there today to check in and start setting up!

Kev

[Femme Falchion]

Gramercy Jon & BamaWoodsman for the travel tips.

I know the weather is certainly subject to change but the 10 day looks beautiful!

[BamaWoodsman]

If the weather next weekend is half as nice as was around here this weekend it will be a great day at Faire. 

[JonStrickland]

The weather could not have been better this past weekend, and the nobility in their finery are looking pretty snazzy if I may say so. Currently, the weather forecast for opening weekend has us at partly cloudy and a high of around 80 for both days. It'll be warm, but not stifling.

Sundays in general tend to have less traffic than Saturdays. Opening day is always busy, but last year was particularly packed. It wasn't unusual for visitors to have an hour-long (or longer) wait to exit off 85 and drive the 2 miles to the festival parking lot after 10:00 a.m. or so. The two factors that contributed to the wait were the road work on 85 and the bottleneck of getting into the parking lot.

If you plan to be there for the opening gate ceremony, try to arrive just before 10:15. That's when the musicians will come out to perform and some of us will also emerge to greet our guests (including yours truly). At 10:30 we open the gates. Not only will you get to be a part of the first moments of the festival, you'll also avoid most of the traffic. By 11 a.m., there's usually a wait to turn into the festival parking lot (sometimes a significant wait).

If you haven't already planned out your entire day, here are some things you may wish to see:

At 1:30 at King's Hall Stage we'll have the re-coronation ceremony for Henry the Eighth, by the Grace of God, king of England and France, Defender of the Faith and Lord of Ireland. He's quite excited about it.

We have Tartanic performing four times a day. This is the first time they have visited us and we are very happy to have them.

If you have a little one who is eager to become a Knight or Princess of the Realm, bring them to Fool's Knoll Stage at 3:30. Their majesties will oversee a ceremony that will officially recognize their noble status.

Other fun acts include Barely Balanced, Breaking Point, and Jayna Lee's Aerial Acrobatics. Plus we have the fan favorites of Ded Bob and the Tortuga Twins among others.

Oh, and two of the knights from the jousting field have a show called Max and Mauldron, a Knight at the Opera. I am very curious to see what this show is about. VERY curious. They have two shows at the Garden Cottage Stage.

And of course, we welcome all visiting nobles to come join us for courtly dancing at 4:15 by the Royal Pavilion. I'll be quite disappointed if I go an entire season without some lovely person stealing me away during Hole in the Wall.

I genuinely look forward to all of you coming to the festival. And please, please, please, if you see me say hello.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

alright i will be on the lookout for everyone if i miss ya sorry i think i passed beeboy last year and didn't know it until later i found faireimp and Dallen but those where the only ones i think i found as for my entourage it might not be much of an entourage B&D may be canceling on me.  but thats ok i'm going with or without them.