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Information On How Rennies Do What They Do

Started by Craigmeister, April 18, 2020, 12:15:00 PM

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Craigmeister

Good day.  Who's up for getting in garb and creating a video or two telling how they got involved with Renfaires, what they do at them and why.  I would like to see the histories of all of you I see on these forum but don't know much about.

Here are the two I created:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6QyG14fj74

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TylgJaLCoXk
Providing faire information for over 10 years (updated monthly).  Visit www.meistersrealm.com to find all the Renaissance & Celtic-type Festivals in North America.  There's much more to see and do in 'The Realm' as well.

Lord Argyl of Lochdubh

great videos craigmeister. Thanks for taking the time to make the video. I hope others will make videos as well.
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are---
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

BubbleWright

#2
Back in the early 1990's my brother dragged me kicking and screaming to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I thought it was a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. After a few visits it kind of grew on me; eventually, I started coming in crude garb. And then...you know you are hooked when you try to integrate other aspects of your life into the Faire. One aspect of my life that I integrated into the Faire is bubble machines. Originally, I made bubbles in order to see what the wind was doing when I flew kites (another hobby).
       Have you ever wondered whether or not an item is appropriate or historically accurate in the context of a Renaissance Faire? What about soap bubbles? Research shows that Pieter Bruegel the Elder did a painting in 1560 entitled "Children's Games" that focused on the  various entertainments of the nipper kin. One of the lads is blowing bubbles. What if Leonardo daVinci were to design a bubble machine using mechanical elements in use at the time, like a bellows and a simple lever. I did a rough sketch and then assembled a contraption by guess, and by gosh: I had a Renaissance Bubble Machine (RBM). When completed, I bolted it into an Amish made wooden goat cart to make it easier to tote around the Faire.
       From 2005 on, it has been a hit with Faire-goers old and young alike. Thus I became the Bubble Wright, traveling not only the 70 miles from Delaware each weekend to Pennsylvania, but also far and wide to Ren Faires in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Of course, this is not a business, but a lifestyle. I get paid in smiles and giggles.
       I see bubble making as performance art, but as one step removed. It is not the making of the bubbles but the bubbles themselves that are the performance. By creating the apparatus that makes the bubbles, there is no artist per se: The machine and the vagaries of the wind create the art. I cannot explain the attraction that people have for soap bubbles. It is beyond science and is somewhere out there on an intuitive and mystical plane. I just know I like to make bubbles. I like to watch bubbles. And I like watching people watching bubbles. It is unspoken harmony with the universe.
       Due to age and health problems, I no longer go to Faire with the Renaissance Bubble Machines. I donated them to the PA RenFaire, the NJ RenFaire, and to another Rennie. I also wrote an article with plans for RENAISSANCE MAGAZINE. I know a number of rennies across the country have constructed their own versions and use them at their RenFaires. I do not have the capability to do a video but I do have video on my FLICKR page of the RBM in action. See-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28247229@N02/9292225824/in/album-72157626185772355/

When on the FLICKR page, if you click the right arrow, it goes to the RENAISSANCE MAGAZINE article...


"It is only with the heart that one sees rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
   Antoine de St. Exupery

Craigmeister

Bubble Wright, that is a great addition to a faire.  A couple of ladies used to make bubbles at Renfaires in northwest Arkansas in the last 8 years with a net.  They were a big hit!  Bubbles just add to the relaxing atmosphere there.  I'm glad you were able to add to the events in the Northeast.  Huzzah!

My wife and I had bubbles at our wedding when we left the chapel.  We have a bubble machine we set up my tent on the driveway some years at Halloween as well.  They help bring out the "kid" in people.
Providing faire information for over 10 years (updated monthly).  Visit www.meistersrealm.com to find all the Renaissance & Celtic-type Festivals in North America.  There's much more to see and do in 'The Realm' as well.

Craigmeister

Thank you, Lord Argyl.  I'm still hoping to see others' videos.
Providing faire information for over 10 years (updated monthly).  Visit www.meistersrealm.com to find all the Renaissance & Celtic-type Festivals in North America.  There's much more to see and do in 'The Realm' as well.

Valknut

Interesting topic Craigmeister!

I'll look online for any videos, but I do not have any to share.
I visited my first faire in 1989 at the Original So Cal Pleasure Faire in Devore, CA and have been part of the faires as a "participant" in CA ever since.  I started as a calligrapher for our local fencing booth making certificates for the students who had completed our lessons. I took to fencing almost immediately afterward (foil and epee) with the help of some of the boothies who actually knew how to fence competitively.

Fast forward 30 years now and I am still teaching beginner fencing lessons as a part of our gang (https://www.dogberrysfencing.com).

It is a lifelong family and I am happy to be part of it.

Cheers,
Eric
In the 19th century the problem was that God is dead. In the 20th century the problem is that man is dead. - Erich Fromm