First Timer!

[IndeanaSunday]

Hi, Folks!
I just moved the the west coast and have plans to come to PFSC for my birthday in May. This will be my first visit to your faire; anything I should know? Any must-see acts or must-eat Faire foods? I'm so excited!

[Becky10]

Ahahaha fresh blood! I mean...welcome!

Okay for me, Moonie and Broon are my personal favorite act, as well as the Washing Well Wenches and Hey Nunnie Nunnie.

Food: Sin on a stick, and the little greek place whose name I can never remember are great. I love the fish n chips but beware the malt vinegar pourers tend to shoot out everywhere (clearly I have experienced this more than once).

It can get hot! So make sure you're well hydrated.

By any chance have you heard of Koroneburg Faire?  It's a smaller faire that's just starting up but is a pretty neat place.

Where were you previously located?

Okay. This post ended up a little all over the place and I am sure someone else will come along to fill in, we are a small little heard on here but hey we have fun! Welcome the west coast!

[IndeanaSunday]

Sin on a stick!? Tell me more please! 

The Hubs and I used to live in Upstate NY near Syracuse. So Sterling is my home Faire but I doubt I'll be making it back for this season. 

Does PFSC do themed weekends? I'll be there on May 14th.

[Becky10]

Sin on a stick mmmm.
You take a slice of cheesecake and impale it on a popsicle stick then you dip it in chocolate and freeze it. It sells out almost every day. Its sold at the Toad in the Hole which will be your last food stand, closest to the stage.

There are usually themed weekends, but I am not seeing them any where on the page so I am not sure if they're doing them this year. There are some cast members on here that will hopefully be able to help some but I'll answer what I can so this thread can stay to the top till someone rolls by.

Uh, from memory there has been May Day with celebration, gay day, a whole lot of pirate days...I want to say a fantasy day but i am not positive.
......Sir Michael Geare or Carl Heinz would probably know.

Some randomness for ya.
The site has a bit of a problem updating its information but their Facebook page is wonderful!
We dont have spring so it will probably be hot, i have no idea what New Yorks faire weather is like so i figure i should warn.
Parking is in the dirt and there are some rocks and weeds and parking can fill up fast.
The closing parade is great!
If there is a lull in the food court area you should probably go then cause it can get busy.
Commedia Volante is great!
Hmm, I shall have to think.

[Lady Rebecca]

Thanks for starting this thread! I'll also be there for the first time this year, the weekend of Apr 16-17. I'm excited!

[The Lady Mercedes]

Yea! New folks! I think Becky's pretty much covered the bases so far...I've only been twice myself & have yet to see the shows, but I'm sure they're great. hopefully I'll be able to do so this year...hopefully I'll get to see you all there!

[Blushing]

I second Moonie and Broon. Owain Phyfe is an amazing musician.

If you enjoy bawdy entertainment, the Merry Wives of Windsor and the Poxy Boggards are not to be missed.

As for treats, the chocolate from Lady Rowley is fantastic.

I will be there visiting in May too!

[Kruzar]

Just a few additional tidbits.. they do have themed weekends, and you can normally find them on their site (at work, so can't access right now or I would post a link).  One of our favorite weekends to go is the Bacchus weekend, which means drinking wine and all that...

One of the neat things that they do at this faire is they actually have classes that you can sign up for and learn how to do different medieval crafts.  Different levels of courses and good for kids and adults.  Last year, I actually took 2 courses in chain mail weaving, and it was very cool to actually leave with a piece of garb I made.

There are some great shows at this faire, and one thing I like is California is on a different circuit so different entertainment.  This is coming from a Arizona and Scarborough veteran where some of the acts overlap. 

I think the only other thing I can add is that this faire is fairly large, for a non-permanent site faire it is big.  It was shocking to us the first time we went, and it is something to be aware of.  There is just a lot of stuff to see and do... and you will want to come back for more. 

We live in San Diego, and actually come up to this faire 3 or 4 times during the season if not more. 

[The Lady Mercedes]

Problem solved, here's the link!: http://www.renfair.com/socal/   And Kruzar, have you been to the Escondido faire? Sounds cool & way closer to you... http://www.goldcoastfestivals.com/Escondido.html

[Becky10]

Owen is amazing! I would definitely stop by the Italians and see their show they're one of the most...talkative? Of the groups. Their stage show is quite funny. The faire is pretty big but it's impossible to get lost as it's pretty much single lane. I did have something important to add but as of this moment it's escaped me. The condor brothers are a juggling duo of a boy about twelve and his older brother they're pretty amazing for their age. Van kleaver brothers! They are another one o my favorites.  The shows in rouges reef can be REALLY raunchy so unless youre absolutely okay with that sort of humor I would avoid it ir some shows do a cleaner shows outside of rouges reef. 

[LadyStitch]

I think that this is the faire that the PP and I went to 2 years ago.  We found that the faire's culture and feel is much different from many of the midwestern and east coast faires.  We still had fun, but it was different for us.  Have alot of fun, we did.

[IndeanaSunday]

Wow! Classes sound great! Where do I find information on those? I'd LOVE to do something with ceramics if that's available (I'm either having a bad internet day or they're missing some handy info!)

I saw that some shows are NC-17... they're really that bad?! Are we talking like, "Louis C.K. standup" bad or "American Pie" bad? I'm fine either way, just surprised!

Based on what the website's showing me, it seems like this faire is pretty adamant about authenticity. True? I LOVE authenticity and I'll be honest, the "Pleasure Fair" part of the name made me worry it would be all Jedi Knights and Supermen! =/ lol

[Becky10]

Theyre site is slow to update cause they pretty much fill in the info as its set in stone so it can take a while. I am not sure about ceramics, there are some wonderful merchants there but I think most of the classes are things that can be done quickly like making leather bookmarks, making pomanders out of orange and cloves, sewing simple things but I am not sure as I haven't been to them in a while.
Some of the shows arent too bad and are more suggestive and others...well sing about the difficulties that you can come across when making love to your dog except in more detail. Most of the shows are bawdy so if it's in Rouges Reef you can guess its going to be pretty interesting. The man who plays Shakespeare is really sweet and funny and will give you some tips if you catch him when he's not doing a show.
The cast works pretty hard to stay HA but patrons come as they please. Its pretty tame, there are the fur bikinis and Sweeney Todd was there last year but I havent seen any Trekkies or Superman. Its pretty much people in garb and mundanes split 50/50.
The guild area by the joust is extremely HA and will teach you different things. Another thing is it can be a little tricky telling where you can go and where you cant the first time esp. with the guilds cause it looks like a camp ground, but as long as it's not roped off generally its free to visitors. The Queen's area is usually pretty empty cause I think a lot of people aren't sure if they can go there. I am fairly confident you can and they do skits and dances and things. Oh and I have heard rumors that faire is going to be smoke free this year so id you do smoke you might want to contact them and check with that.

Okay. I think that's all. Sorry for typing errors I've been working off an ipod the last week so using a keyboard is a bit weird right now.

[Kruzar]

Lady Mercedes... thank you for the linkages, and yes... I go to Escondido every year.    Only bad thing is the spring time conflicts with the Pleasure Faire.    I still make one of the weekends during the spring, since it is so close to home.

By comparison, the Escondido faire is a very small faire, but it is still fun to attend. 

[Baron Dacre]

The Queen's area is usually pretty empty cause I think a lot of people aren't sure if they can go there. I am fairly confident you can and they do skits and dances and things. Oh and I have heard rumors that faire is going to be smoke free this year so id you do smoke you might want to contact them and check with that.

Hiya!

I'm a member of Queen's Court. Usually the Glade area is empty because the court is small and we are usually out with her Majesty. (The primary function of a court is to be her Maj's supporting cast).

We are looking into how the glade can be more inviting. Our cast for the most part is pretty friendly. (PS not everyone in velvet is part of our cast  )

As far as smoke free, the *park* is smoke free, however we are leasing the land during the run and are allowed smoking areas, these will be marked on the map and with a marker (I think a flag or some such.)

I'm excited this year, my GF and I are playing married this year. New part for me! Yay!

Gregory Fiennes
10th Baron Dacre of the South
(Baron Dacre)
(Formerly Master John Davies)