Indoor RenFairs

[Sir Dougie Zerts]

Hi!  I had an idea today:
Seeing how it's now winter , what if places held mini-RenFairs inside buildings?
What I'm thinking of is renting a hall, or a public building, and holding a Renaissance Festival inside it.  To add a bit of authenticy, it could be held in a historic building of some kind.
Of course, it wouldn't be as large as the outdoor festivals, but it would be a nice activity to hold us over until next season.

[Dinobabe]

I think Bristol does something like that.  It would be great to see more of them!

[DonaCatalina]

Having organized many SCA events, I can tell you that it would be very expensive.
In Dallas, most places are asking for several thousands of dollars in rent for a 10 hour period. Plus you have to have special 'event' insurance and pay an additional large fee for their staff to set up, be there while the building is open and then clean up afterwards.

[Sir Dougie Zerts]

Yes, I can see that being a problem!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Bristol does not sponsor an indoor faire.  There is a shop in Madison, called Ravenswood, that does an indoor faire the first weekend in December.  There are a lot of Bristol cast there, but they do it voluntarily.  According to the website for this faire, they can't pay performers, but they give them a couple of free tickets for family/friends, plus they can pass the hat and sell their CDs, if they have any.

The first 2 years, it was held on both weekend days.  This year, it was changed to just Saturday.  The producer said it was too expensive for the both days.  It is held inside a mall, in an unused store.  The first 2 years, it was across the street in a different mall.  This year, it was in the same mall as the shop is in.

I've been all 3 years.  It is very small, really almost no musical acts, but the camaraderie is wonderful.  If you've ever been to Bristol & seen the Court & the guilds, they are for the most part, unapproachable, & they don't interact with garbed patrons that much.  At this small indoor faire, the atmosphere is much more laid back & they certainly interact with all the patrons.

And we love the idea of wearing garb in the middle of the winter!

[KeeperoftheBar]

At last, a use for the Astrodome....

[Dinobabe]

If you've ever been to Bristol & seen the Court & the guilds, they are for the most part, unapproachable, & they don't interact with garbed patrons that much.  At this small indoor faire, the atmosphere is much more laid back & they certainly interact with all the patrons.

No offense but I would have to disagree.  I have always felt able to approach the Bristol court persons.  They have always been very glad to speak to me (and at length).  I know they tend to "act" a bit of airs (as is their station) but if you really look like you want to interact or just go up to them then they are happy to follow along.  One year the French Ambassador (costume adviser) spent a great deal of time with me because I asked about the accuracy of my outfit.  That same year I was asked to dance with the court, something usually reserved for mundanes.  It was the highlight of my weekend!
PLEASE don't feel put out by them!  And I certainly hope you haven't had a bad experience.

[Sir Dougie Zerts]

At last, a use for the Astrodome....

Jousts on the astroturf!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

If you've ever been to Bristol & seen the Court & the guilds, they are for the most part, unapproachable, & they don't interact with garbed patrons that much.  At this small indoor faire, the atmosphere is much more laid back & they certainly interact with all the patrons.

No offense but I would have to disagree.  I have always felt able to approach the Bristol court persons.  They have always been very glad to speak to me (and at length).  I know they tend to "act" a bit of airs (as is their station) but if you really look like you want to interact or just go up to them then they are happy to follow along.  One year the French Ambassador (costume adviser) spent a great deal of time with me because I asked about the accuracy of my outfit.  That same year I was asked to dance with the court, something usually reserved for mundanes.  It was the highlight of my weekend!
PLEASE don't feel put out by them!  And I certainly hope you haven't had a bad experience.

We've attended Bristol for 15 years and have never had a good interaction with the Court, though we have tried.  I'm not knocking them, I'm sure others have, but we haven't.  My whole point in making the statement was that while they act more in their station at Bristol, they are a lot freer to interact at the small indoor faire,.

[BubbleWright]

Don't forget Jeff Mach's Wicked RenFaire held in New Jersey In February. I went to the 1st one (the year it snowed 24 inches!!!) and had a blast.

http://www.wickedfaire.com/

[irish]

I'd love to go to an indoor faire. An one day event would be very nice, just enough to get the faire blood flowing! LOL! Doesn't have to be elaborate, just enough to have a meal, shows and fun!!!!!!

No interaction with cast members? You all need to come to Sterling then! They will pull you into a skit so fast on the pathways or in a show.....you wont know what hit you! Everyone is super friendly and they make sure you know, you are so welcome at the shire.

[renfairephotog]

http://www.renconvention.com/ Mythic Faire in Baltimore March11-13.

[Captain Cornelius Howard Duckman]

I think the best way to do it would be the way wicked faire does, make it part ren faire, part convention. Put it in a hotel, so things can be happening all night long. True, the environment wouldn't be perfect, but it would still be lots of fun.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I'd love to go to an indoor faire. An one day event would be very nice, just enough to get the faire blood flowing! LOL! Doesn't have to be elaborate, just enough to have a meal, shows and fun!!!!!!

No interaction with cast members? You all need to come to Sterling then! They will pull you into a skit so fast on the pathways or in a show.....you wont know what hit you! Everyone is super friendly and they make sure you know, you are so welcome at the shire.

Bristol's street cast is magnificent.  Complete interaction with everybody.  The Court is patterned on how the real court would act, so they associate with each other, just don't mix that much with garbed patrons, because after all, they are above them.  Having said that, they are wonderful with people dressed in mundanes, and especially children.  I'm not saying they are snobby or don't care about the patrons, indeed, that is not true, I'm just saying they act the way a real court would in Elizabeth's time.  And then at the smaller indoor faire, they can "let their hair down" more, since it is put on by someone different & is so small that they are a big part of the entertainment.

[Dinobabe]

Bristol's street cast is magnificent.  Complete interaction with everybody.  The Court is patterned on how the real court would act, so they associate with each other, just don't mix that much with garbed patrons, because after all, they are above them.  Having said that, they are wonderful with people dressed in mundanes, and especially children.  I'm not saying they are snobby or don't care about the patrons, indeed, that is not true, I'm just saying they act the way a real court would in Elizabeth's time.  And then at the smaller indoor faire, they can "let their hair down" more, since it is put on by someone different & is so small that they are a big part of the entertainment.

I'm sorry our experiences are so different because I really enjoyed interacting with the court.

[groomporter]

There was an indoor fair in Fargo, ND. It was held in the Fargo Dome for 3, or 4 years.

[Zardoz]

I think the best way to do it would be the way wicked faire does, make it part ren faire, part convention. Put it in a hotel, so things can be happening all night long. True, the environment wouldn't be perfect, but it would still be lots of fun.

Sort of like a faire themed sci-fi con, I'd go to something like that.

[groomporter]

I think the best way to do it would be the way wicked faire does, make it part ren faire, part convention. Put it in a hotel, so things can be happening all night long. True, the environment wouldn't be perfect, but it would still be lots of fun.

Sort of like a faire themed sci-fi con, I'd go to something like that.

That's an interesting idea.

Teslacon, the Steampunk convention we recently attended was more than just a scifi "con" it also included an interactive mystery with 8 scripted scenes that went on during the course of the weekend. Might be easier to do a scripted story in a setting like this than at a outdoor fair

There were also 3 or 4 cabana suites near the pool with sitting rooms with big windows facing the hallway. These were taken over by merchants* who used the front rooms of the suites as their booth space, but I could see them turned into themed rooms with maybe a pub theme, or maybe used for musical acts or other intimate performing spaces. The bedrooms of the suites could function as a "green room" for the acts to get ready, or store instruments.

*There was also a conference room divided into 10x10 booth spaces for other merchants.

[Zardoz]

I think the best way to do it would be the way wicked faire does, make it part ren faire, part convention. Put it in a hotel, so things can be happening all night long. True, the environment wouldn't be perfect, but it would still be lots of fun.

Sort of like a faire themed sci-fi con, I'd go to something like that.

That's an interesting idea.

Teslacon, the Steampunk convention we recently attended was more than just a scifi "con" it also included an interactive mystery with 8 scripted scenes that went on during the course of the weekend. Might be easier to do a scripted story in a setting like this than at a outdoor fair

There were also 3 or 4 cabana suites near the pool with sitting rooms with big windows facing the hallway. These were taken over by merchants* who used the front rooms of the suites as their booth space, but I could see them turned into themed rooms with maybe a pub theme, or maybe used for musical acts or other intimate performing spaces. The bedrooms of the suites could function as a "green room" for the acts to get ready, or store instruments.

*There was also a conference room divided into 10x10 booth spaces for other merchants.

Nothing new there, most larger SF cons around here like AllCon in Dallas often feature 'interactive' RPG type tracks, musical acts, etc, and there is Babel con in Baton Rouge that has a Renfaire track in their programming all weekend.

Your basic hotel based SF con has a big vendor room for merchants, a large ballroom set up with a stage for musical acts, costume contests, awards etc. and a bunch of the smaller conference rooms for panel discussions or demos etc..

I can easily envision a "Ren-Con" or "Ren-vention" set up along these lines. If I was in charge, I'd do it at the Crowne Plaza in Addison Texas, they host 3 or 4 SF and anime cons a year and are really great dealing with our 'needs'. The biggest challenge would be finding a hole in the faire schedules that would work for the merchants and acts you'd want to have.

[groomporter]

Guess the big scifi/fantasy cons here in the Twin Cities are more literature and movie fandom-oriented and the gaming end of things may not be as big. -Certainly nothing interactive that could involve a large portion of the attendees, but then Teslacon was something over 400 people for their first year so a lot more intimate as opposed the to thousands that can appear a the big cons.

There is a Renfair con that was being held in California for a while, but I think they were doing it more just as a convention and not like an "indoor Renfair". I agree I think a combination done right could be a big draw for real fans and playtrons.