So what brings you back to the faire?

[Pat McGroin]

I've been reading this thread and the only thing that comes to mind is....... FAMILY!!!!

[Bob of the Lake]

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.

[Jared Thorne]

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.

[JP yard troll]

my pickup, and no sand or iraqi's

[Jack Daw at Work]

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.

[DonaCatalina]

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.

[Sir Michael Geare]

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.

[maeven]

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.

[DonaCatalina]

I'm considering giving Middlefaire another try just so that I have a chance to wear my garb.

[DT_Masters]

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.