It's quiet in here...

[theChuck]

I don't want to stir the pot too much, but it's been pretty quiet around the forums as of late. Things used to be much more lively, so I'm not sure what's going on. I saw this thread in the MDRF forum, and it seems like people are migrating towards Facebook. Is everyone else experiencing this? Is Facebook the new place to hang out?

A sort of related question: I feel like Renaissance fairs are having a hard time attracting many new young people, and that kind of bothers me when thinking about fairs continuing for years. Is this a real problem, and if so, is there any way to solve it?

[scarletnyx]

Here are my two cents on your points

1. Yeah, it's been kinda quiet around here. This is my first time logging on in weeks - my reason is due to our faire season in Texas winding down ( I think Scarby runs for maybe two more weekends ). While I love faire, after going for Opening and Halloween at TRF and almost every single weekend at Sherwood.... I need a little break, lol! I'm sure that's why it's been quiet around here - just people resting from their seasons

2. I've noticed the " no young adult" thing as well. My husband and I are some of the youngest people we've met at faire with the exclusion of two other young adults in our clan, and I have yet another theory about that. Renfaires take time, money, and patience to get active in, and a lot of young adults nowdays are scant on all of those. I know several people working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, and they do not have excessive bills. My generation is kinda strained right now due to many factors and many of them just don't have time, resources, or money to do something that, from the outside, seems like it takes up a large chunk of all three.

I hope that more young adults get active in Faires.. But right now, we are indeed rare.

[LibraryPrincess]

Here are my two cents on your points

1. Yeah, it's been kinda quiet around here. This is my first time logging on in weeks - my reason is due to our faire season in Texas winding down ( I think Scarby runs for maybe two more weekends ). While I love faire, after going for Opening and Halloween at TRF and almost every single weekend at Sherwood.... I need a little break, lol! I'm sure that's why it's been quiet around here - just people resting from their seasons

2. I've noticed the " no young adult" thing as well. My husband and I are some of the youngest people we've met at faire with the exclusion of two other young adults in our clan, and I have yet another theory about that. Renfaires take time, money, and patience to get active in, and a lot of young adults nowdays are scant on all of those. I know several people working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, and they do not have excessive bills. My generation is kinda strained right now due to many factors and many of them just don't have time, resources, or money to do something that, from the outside, seems like it takes up a large chunk of all three.

I hope that more young adults get active in Faires.. But right now, we are indeed rare.

I'll second both of those. I just turned 24 (cinco de mayo birthday!), and it'll be another two years or so before I finally get my bachelor's degree, because I work full-time and only take as many classes as I can afford (too many people have warned me of the evils of student loans). So I'm not around too much because of the end of semester crunch with projects and finals, etc. And yes, as much as I adore faire, sometimes I need a break. Also, I still feel like a newbie to the whole scene, so I read and watch more than I post and add to conversations.

But I still love faire, Sherwood is my happy place, I read up on stuff here fairly often, and I attempt to get more people hooked on my addiction as well.

[arbcoind]

I think most conversation has moved to facebook.  I've noticed it with other forums as well. 

Not sure about the young people and faire.


Gina

[jackrocks]

I don't want to stir the pot too much, but it's been pretty quiet around the forums as of late. Things used to be much more lively, so I'm not sure what's going on. I saw this thread in the MDRF forum, and it seems like people are migrating towards Facebook. Is everyone else experiencing this? Is Facebook the new place to hang out?

A sort of related question: I feel like Renaissance fairs are having a hard time attracting many new young people, and that kind of bothers me when thinking about fairs continuing for years. Is this a real problem, and if so, is there any way to solve it?

I wonder if there is a R/F type group on FB? It is more simple to share pics on FB groups, and perhaps this is where people have gone.

I think money is the biggest issue with younger adults. I wanted to attend faire for years before I was actually able to afford it. And although many faires now offer coupons, or discounts of some kind, I think lots of folks don't even know about it.....they just assume they can't afford it.

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

there are quite a few ren groups.  One nice thing about the forum here is that it is all in one place.  For those of us that travel to several faires a year, it is easy to find info.  With all the groups on facebook, it is a little more difficult.

[theChuck]

2. I've noticed the " no young adult" thing as well. My husband and I are some of the youngest people we've met at faire with the exclusion of two other young adults in our clan, and I have yet another theory about that. Renfaires take time, money, and patience to get active in, and a lot of young adults nowdays are scant on all of those. I know several people working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, and they do not have excessive bills. My generation is kinda strained right now due to many factors and many of them just don't have time, resources, or money to do something that, from the outside, seems like it takes up a large chunk of all three.

I hope that more young adults get active in Faires.. But right now, we are indeed rare.

I'm also under 30, and yeah, it's probably true that our generation is hurting. I'm just not sure if that's the reason they're not going to the fair, versus it just being a more niche thing.

I think most conversation has moved to facebook.  I've noticed it with other forums as well. 

I wonder if there is a R/F type group on FB? It is more simple to share pics on FB groups, and perhaps this is where people have gone.

Any recommended links to where the party is happening? These forums are great, but I'd like to be on the up and up..

[DonaCatalina]

During Faire I am not on here much, nor on Facebook. Most of my week is spent preparing for the next weekend.

[Clan McCann]

Hi,

Another under 30 Faire-goer checking in. I'm actually excited for young people and the Faire. I feel that right now, possibly more than ever, young people are able to express their individualities in different ways without being judged harshly by their peers.

I talk about Faire with a lot of my coworkers, and actually get responses that I wouldn't expect from some people. Now, maybe that is my expectations being misguided but I find that people are more accepting of unusual hobbies than before. What started with myself and one other friend going to Faire a few times a year, has turned into a regular group of 8-10 people that go to at least three Faires annually. I've found more and more people that I wouldn't have expected to be interested that love going to Faire.

I also find that there are more people that enjoy going to Faire that just don't feel comfortable dressing in garb by themselves or as a couple, but when you bring them into a group they are *really* able to open up.

I think if we continue to be open and inviting about our love-afFaire, then we can bring in new people. Also, I'm excited to see some of the little-ones at Faire turn into young adults that continue to enjoy the magic of our favorite places.

[arbcoind]

@theChuck, I'm not sure where the party is.  I know many of the faires have their own facebook page, and I've gotten some info that way.  But what I really meant was that facebook is the place for communication between people instead of on forums like this one.   For example, PRF opening day tailgate was organized by one person sending out an event notification on facebook.  We could accept or decline the invitation and indicate what we were bringing.   Nothing was mentioned in the PRF forum here.   

I don't use facebook too much.  But it is useful for communicating en mass to friends.

Gina

[The Bruce of Springstein]

Our clan The Horn has a private facebook page that we all communicate on. Its just a couple of us that post here because we are total renaddicts.

Weve got about 20 members that are around 30 years old and younger. Were definately one of the younger clans around.

[Meagan]

There are several boards that I used to frequent that have all but died due to facebook. I had an account for a while, but deleted it. It was too much of a time suck and I was tired of all the bickering and passive aggressiveness.

As for the ages at faire, I notice there are quite a few teens and people in their young 20's, then just a smattering of the rest until the 40's or so. For me personally, I stopped attending as regularly when I was 23 and had my first child. Before that, I would gladly eat nothing but eggs, rice and ramen for weeks to be able to attend faire. Now, I would rather see my kidlets well fed. I am also trying to start my career after finishing college, so the once almighty faire has sunk quite low on my priority list. I still enjoy it, but I am just fine hitting one or two days a season, whereas I once attended as many days as possible at as many faires as possibly. For me, it was simply a priority shift as life changed.

[Hoowil]

I must be one of the odd few. I'm facing unemployment in a few weeks, and I'm looking towards more faires. Between the extra time off for faires, it also means more time off for making garb and doing some other faire related projects that I just wasn't able to do before. That said, it was a kind of weird incentive, but it was also one of the deciding factors in joining a guild. Over the past few years I've received a number of invitations from a couple different guilds to join, but thought at the time that it might be too much of a time commitment. So, with time available I get to actually do more faires for less money. Between getting on gate lists, and being able to camp, as well as having easier access to non-vendor food, I expect to cut my faire expenses to at most a third of what it has been for the last few years.
The down side being that it'll be harder for my wife to get time off, so it'll be just me and the kids.

But yeah, I've noticed the forums getting a bit quiet. Its not the first time I've seen it though, so I hope it is temporary.

[Chelsy]

Another under 30 Faire-goer checking in. I'm actually excited for young people and the Faire. I feel that right now, possibly more than ever, young people are able to express their individualities in different ways without being judged harshly by their peers.

I talk about Faire with a lot of my coworkers, and actually get responses that I wouldn't expect from some people. Now, maybe that is my expectations being misguided but I find that people are more accepting of unusual hobbies than before.

I agree. I just turned 22 (and have been doing faires for 10 years this year) and find that a lot fewer people nowadays automatically think I'm too 'weird' when I mention I attend faires. They don't necessarily jump out and go to the next faire they hear about, but they don't turn a blind eye and think it's just something that niche people do.

That said, I don't attend near as much as I'd like. Location is one problem (South Carolina needs a faire!), but the main one is money. I can't afford to go more than one or two weekends a year, total. I just got my BS in history so have many long, foodless days ahead, and faire just isn't always something I can do.

[LadyFae]

The Forums here are my go-to place for all things Ren.  That being said, however, I lurk more than contribute (other than in the Mundane Topics games...) just because I rarely have anything worthwhile to say!
I'm almost 34 and I love going to Fest.  I take my three young daughters almost every time because if I don't I can't attend.  They love it, and I love being there with them- usually.  We have fun dressing up in different garb for each visit and I let them help choose "who we will be."  We don't spend much money out at Fest.  We get there early so that we can park rather close and at meal time we go to the car and have a picnic.  We usually buy two cups of lemonade- that is just right for the four of us.  My girls get pony rides and butterfly rides (man-powered swings shaped like butterflies.)  I may buy a cd once in a while.  We don't buy many other things, just can't afford to, though we love to browse!  When I go with the kids we do mostly what they want to do because if they aren't having fun I certainly won't be!  I want them to always love Fest and it not be something that I have to drag them to.