Pictures From Closing Weekend at KCRF October 2008

[kcdcchef]

First off, I am not a photographer, so don't be too harsh on me. Actually, I am a die hard Kansas City Renaissance Festival fan, and actually travel thousands of miles to attend it each season. Generally I pick out a fall weekend to attend, as the Kansas City heat really annoys me to no end!!

So, with that, this was my 25th festival I have went to in Kansas City. All I can say is I cannot wait to go back in 2009. Enjoy.


The Pub Sing at The Three Lions Stage near the end of the day at the festival. This year, unlike previous seasons, they added the element of fire to the pub sing. Real nice touch.


The Royals at The Pub Sing at Three Lions. Maestro, if you are reading this, I really did not care for this years royalty. They did not interact with patrons, did not act like royalty. I understand scenario changes, but really, the guy that plays Leonardo Da Vinci used to play a mean King. And the Queen from previous seasons ( 06-07 ) was great.


The signage for Mermaid Commons. One of my favorite areas at The Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Best food in that area, bread bowls, fresh kettle corn, fish and chips, chicken and chips, near human chess, near Three Lions Stage, and near the Yorkshire Harbour. Gotta love the commons.



They got a new marquis this season. I thought that was great. But I actually liked the cranberry of the old one better. Oh well, life goes on.



This one tells a story. This picture is taken at 5:30pm on closing Monday afternoon, Columbus Day. See how empty the walkways are? There were literally 150 or so patrons left for The Pub Sing. It was packed when we got there at 11am, but the weather turned damn bad at days end, freezing rain, it sucked.



You cannot go to RenFaire and not get a turkey leg. Hello??!?!?!??!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I love a good turkey leg at Faire. Something about the ones in Kansas City that are just better. Yummy.


Lastly, this guy, Kane, at the pub sing, along with Chewie, ( forgive spelling on both ) are so damned funny, WOW.

[TKM]

you spelled Kane right, don't worry, but I beleive Chuey is the spelling you were going for on the other name. Great people, pub sing is a great act, and it was indeed a fun year like the rest. I have to admit, with risk of sounding like some sort of old-timey stubborn elderly man, I like certain things the way they used to be. Management around KCRF has gotten a lot more beaurocratic, and a certain sense of community is being lost, in my opinion. I don't feel as much like a citizen of that village anymore.

[kcdcchef]

 

you spelled Kane right, don't worry, but I beleive Chuey is the spelling you were going for on the other name. Great people, pub sing is a great act, and it was indeed a fun year like the rest. I have to admit, with risk of sounding like some sort of old-timey stubborn elderly man, I like certain things the way they used to be. Management around KCRF has gotten a lot more beaurocratic, and a certain sense of community is being lost, in my opinion. I don't feel as much like a citizen of that village anymore.

my wife and i have been regulars there at the kcrf for a while now. my wife is in her 4th season, i have been attending 26 seasons now. actually made my wife into a psuedo rennie.

as a businessman myself, i can understand the plight of the longtime people there ( you and myself included ) and the management of the festival. we in kansas city had the luxury of our little shire being little more than a not for profit scenario ( a benefit for the kansas city art institute ) for a good many years prior to becoming a business many moons ago. and when that changed, a lot of changes were coming, but they also came slowly. heck, a lot of the people that manage the festival are long time people themselves. and the white flight and sprawl going farther and deeper into kansas, making the west wyco land so much more valuable, a new haven of shopping for the suburbanites, well, it changed how the festival had to be ran. and more moneys being needed for higher taxes, higher rent, and other things that were once an afterthought ( the legal fees to fight with wyco over a lease, 3 times now ) just made things worse. the traditional renfest academy as i knew it in the 1980's is long gone nowadays. and the amount of money dedicated towards bringing in new acts, keeping the fan faves ( remember axle the sot??? ) gets harder each season. they are lucky they have so many long time loyalists to the shire, or it would have been long gone. the best thing for the kcrf would have been to have purchased the land when they had the chance in the late 1990's, but they missed that boat.

but i understand your plight. it is mine too. it was different 20 years ago, but almost not really. it is nothing more now than basically what it always has been. i can walk through those castle gates each october, and feel like i am walking the same shady lanes i walked in 1988, and really, can you not say the same?

my name is jon by the way, probably dont know me from chuey, but thought i would say hey. will be in canterbury next october. here is a shot of the mrs. and i from closing day this year. cheers!

[TKM]

I do look forward to seeing you next october. I don't have a clue where any pictures of myself from this past season have wound up, but I'm always around. Myself, usually being accostumed to reaping the privilages of having friends in high standing at the faire, am feeling the effects of the enw procedures pretty hard. As recently as the 2007 season, I had friends who were at liberty to let me back into the villagers only areas, though i never worked there, as long as I was in garb. This past season, I did in fact do some part time work and obtained a vendor's pass, but certain backstage areas I was familiar with now forced me out, often rudely and violently. Jim Gasser, the head barbarian, is a close personal friend of mine. His area always seemed a sort of a safe haven seperate from the normal bustle of the rest of the faire. This past season, Jim was never present at his area and left other, less respectable individuals in charge. People who took these new messages from the management (the ones that said Jim was violating some rules and giving too much privilage to unauthorized friends) and ran rampant with them.

[kcdcchef]

I do look forward to seeing you next october. I don't have a clue where any pictures of myself from this past season have wound up, but I'm always around. Myself, usually being accostumed to reaping the privilages of having friends in high standing at the faire, am feeling the effects of the enw procedures pretty hard. As recently as the 2007 season, I had friends who were at liberty to let me back into the villagers only areas, though i never worked there, as long as I was in garb. This past season, I did in fact do some part time work and obtained a vendor's pass, but certain backstage areas I was familiar with now forced me out, often rudely and violently. Jim Gasser, the head barbarian, is a close personal friend of mine. His area always seemed a sort of a safe haven seperate from the normal bustle of the rest of the faire. This past season, Jim was never present at his area and left other, less respectable individuals in charge. People who took these new messages from the management (the ones that said Jim was violating some rules and giving too much privilage to unauthorized friends) and ran rampant with them.

yeah, believe me, i understand all of that and more. and the more i hear things like this, and remember things i used to be able to do there back in the day as well, all i can think of they are trying to run it more and more like a business out there. and the festival is damn lucky to have people like carrie and jim hanging out after all this time, if it were not for them the feeling of family would be gone quicker and quicker. they have done their damndest do ensure it was all a gradual change from quirky little get together in the sticks of western wyco to a business venture hanging out with the big dogs. the kc renfest has managed to stay in the top 5-7 festivals nation wide in the last 10 years. they did not used to be that way, and that is major considering some of the festivals they draw more than ( pennsylvania comes to mind ) are actually open 2-6 weekends LONGER.

there are power trips out there, and some of the ones we love, the fop court, madame red, the list is endless, are getting lost in the shuffle. and it hurts. the last 2 years, i only see madame red for an hour of the day. the street characters used to walk about and mingle the whole damn day unless they were doing the parade or chess or something. and it is weird to see these changes.

but hang in there buddy!! the festival is still as grand and as a beautiful a lady as it always was. we just need to roll with the punches. i can gurantee you, from corespondence with those in charge, that the changes they always have to go through arent easy for them either. but they all have reason. for one, making more people pay to get in, and not be snuck in. their attendance figures in kc have been steadily up for the last 10 years, all since they started rules and regs that made them more of a business.

i will email you next fall so i can say hey. if you find an image, post it. i am sure i have seen you.

[TKM]

ok, I have friends that took pictures on a number of weekends. I'll track them down.