Trebuchets?

[Craigmeister]

In what faires can one find firing trebuchets?  The Oklahoma Ren Faire used to have them.  They don't fire them any more though.  I've heard that insurance costs make it prohibitive.  I've also heard that a new building at the end of the jousting arena would be endangered w/ their operation.

The last ones I saw fired were a couple of falls ago at the Bridgewater Ren Fest in Baxter Springs, KS.  It is mesmorizing to watch them being locked, loaded, aimed & fired.  I wish I had one of my own.  My neighbor's privacy fence would be in trouble though.

If you've never seen one of these siege engines, they can be found on YouTube, in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" & in "Timeline".  They're amazing!

[Toki Bloodaxe]

They have real firing Trebuchets at the Long's Peak Scootish Highlands Festival in Estes Park, Colorado. There is a huge one that fires every hour on the hour during the festival. And, there are smaller ones that fire at toy ships out on Lake Estes. It is actually quite amazing to see the big one fire the rocks and bowling balls and other things laying around...(stray cats mostly).

[DeadBishop]

The new Wisconsin Renaissance Faire has a full size trebuchet that they do regular demonstrations each day with.  They (attempt to) fire watermellons with it, hoping not to take out the local fisherman in the river nearby...

[jcbanner]

I've always wanted to build a few at the STL renfaire, and a few other siege weapons along with it, but as of yet, no one has let me. something about liability and not having a place to fire it.

[gypsylakat]

I don't know about which faires have them but my old work used to have one, a few weekends out of the year we had the award winning pumpkin chucking trebuchet we got good at picking out which pumpkins were between 6-8 pounds just by looking at them.

[Craigmeister]

Grammercy.  I wish I could visit some of those far away realms.  You would think that more faires could set up trebuchets where no patrons could walk and let loose on boats in a pond or lake or on plywood castles.  I would think that would eliminate the liability questions.  Godspeed on your next trip to a Ren faire.

[beeboy]

FLaRF (florida) has trebuchets.  and if your lucky enough to stay after hours on saturdays, the pirates get nice and drunk and shoot off flaming objects out of the trebuchet

[niemi]

My inlaws have a pumpkin festival each fall here in Minnesota.  They used to have a trebuchet that they shot pumpkins out into a field/lake.  They had to stop because the only place that would continue to insure them charged something like $3,000 per shot.  Neadless to say, that was the end of the trebuchet.  Not sure if those insurance issues were unique to MN, or if other states are having the same problems with insurance, but it sounds like others are having to put an end to it.

[Blushing]

We launch fyne English weather with a little trebuchet at the Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire ... which means we through water at people.  Everyone loves it - especially on those broiling hot days.

[DeadBishop]

I have a little miniature trebuchet that I use to launch marshmallows at unsuspecting patrons as they walk by my booth...

[Hoowil]

I have a little miniature trebuchet that I use to launch marshmallows at unsuspecting patrons as they walk by my booth...

ROFLMAO!

Not too mainy faires in this area have the space to fire one of those beasts.
There used to be a pumkinf launching contenst every year, but when the 6-8 pound pumpkins started flyinh 1/2 mile, they couldn't figure out when to do it any more. 

[beeboy]

FLaRF is able to use a trebuchet because the pirates/trebuchet crew are on a peninsula and they fire into the lake

[tigrlily64]

I have a little miniature trebuchet that I use to launch marshmallows at unsuspecting patrons as they walk by my booth...

My brother got one of those last year.  It was sooo much fun.  He still has a few marshmallows now, and he likes them better now because they're harder and more painful when you're hit.

[DeadBishop]

Yes, nothing like a nice, crunchy marshmallow to the noggin to wake you up in the morning...

[VIII]

Didn't "Timeline" call the Catapults Trebuchets and the Trebuchets Catapults?
I seem to remember my wife and I laughing our @sses off in the theater over that.