Is this the best faire on the east coast?

[Scotsman]

I really don't see how people can think im flaming a faire etc

Fear not friend, I understand the situation fine. This is the way things go sometimes. Bottom line, people are UBER passionate about their faires and tend to equally passionate about comparisons.

Your question and inquiry is fine indeed, but these things tend to get like a weed and spread into something unintended all together. I was merely stating I always cringe when I see the question posed ...

No worries friend.

[Amras Elfwine]

Hi there, kilt boy...are we there yet??

[Scotsman]

Hi there, kilt boy...are we there yet??

HeHeHe ... going to "the store" tomorrow to stock up on Smithwick's for (you know what) (you know when).
I have been stocking up on top notch smoke just for you brother ....

36 hours!!!!!

[Peddlin]

Damien -

I have been to quite a few faires, east of the Mississippi, and I can assure you that this one is well worth the trip.

[Damien Ryan]

Thank you all, looks like ill be swinging a trip in october =)

[will paisley]

I appreciate anything said about any faire, as long as it's somewhat objective and concrete. Usually these threads are full of posts like "I like X faire the best because it's the first faire I ever went to and all my friends are there" (or "There's just something about X faire that makes it feel like home", which is just another way of saying the same thing).  True as this is, it could just as well be describing one's local mall. Knowing and defining what one is looking for in a faire is the only way to compare faires by anything other than gut emotion. That said, one can also like different faires for different reasons.  I feel the best way I can answer queries such as "How good is faire X" is by describing what's different about it and comparing it to other faires, letting the poser of the question use his or her criteria to determine what's "good". For example, for someone who can't stand hot food, the most authentic Mexican food available would probably be horrible, and they might long for the "good" stuff served at Taco Hell.  Similarly, I recall talking to a performer who experienced our Pub Sing and felt it just wasn't the "same" as Sterling's, since we didn't get all weepy and sentimental every week the way they do. Trying to tell somebody whether a faire is "good" is about like trying to tell them whether they'll like a particular book or TV show.  I can tell them whether something is well done - "good" often comes down to personal taste.

Still, there are some absolutes.  For example, I love Virginia Faire.  I work Virginia Faire.  However, it's not my favorite faire, and I'd be foolish (and somewhat irresponsible) to tell people it's the greatest faire they'll ever visit.  The faire is small, almost entirely under tent, and has a grand total of three main stages, with virtually none of the big, "circuit" acts one expects to see at faires (Don Juan and Miguel, London Broil, Hey Nunnie Nunnie, etc).  I've witnessed patrons who had made the two hour drive from the DC area to come to Virginia Faire, expecting to see something the size of MDRF, and upon first setting eyes on the sloping pasture that is Virginia Faire, became absolutely livid.  When asked to describe Virginia Faire to a friend who's considering coming down to visit, I'm rather thorough in my description (some would call it a warning).  People going there expecting to see something the size of a Maryland (or even Pennsylvania) Faire are sure to be dissappointed. However, if you value interaction with the cast and performers, you'd be hard pressed to find a faire that provides more interaction possibilities than Virginia.                                                

MDRF definitely has some faire absolutes.  For one, you'll probably see more music on stage than at any other faire on the east coast (or any other coast, for that matter).  The Rogues, the Pyrates Royale, the O'Danny Girls, the Interpreters, Jonathan Strum, the Hooligans, and Gregory of Carrolton sing and/or play at MDRF every weekend; in addition, there are also guest musical groups such as Cercamon, Wolgemut, Albannach, Barleyjuice, the Crimson Pirates and Gypsophilia (this is not even counting lane musicians such as Thomas Tallis, Larksong, Neidfyre or Maggie Sansone). Maryland also doesn't depend on the "circuit" performers quite as much as other faires do, so there's a greater probability of seeing acts at MDRF that you won't see anywhere else (Hack and Slash, Michael Rossman, Fight School I and II, Shakespeare's Skum).  For those few whom it matters to, the level of (Lundegaard) Guild activity is far above the norm at MDRF, from what I have witnessed on the East coast (excluding NYRF/Tux, as I have yet to visit that faire).  Finally, the one show Maryland is renown for is Pub Sing.  Although many faires have Pub Sings and each has its pluses and minuses, I think I can safely say that the Maryland Pub Sing has the most audience participation and interaction (which may either make you love it, be indifferent to it, or want to avoid it like the plague).  The best way to describe it is as a cross between Rocky Horror and Whose Line via shanty singing (and if that phrase doens't make you interested in seeing MDRF for yourself, nothing will ).

[Dirtfarmer]

I'll put in my comparison once I go to NYRF this weekend... PARF and MDRF are so different of animals that I would think you could come to a determination if it were more like one than the other.

Trying to figure out which one is the best... you will never come up with that answer.  I could rank all of the faires I have been too... but it would be so unfair and would just fall into personal taste.  I only have 1 that left me with a bad taste in my mouth and at some point I really should give that one another chance.

[DacianFalx]

My tuppence:

Having been a faire worker/performer for many years, and having worked a slew of east coast/mid-west faires... well, I'll say that I think MDRF is a greatly entertaining, varied, and amusing show...one of the best and most entertaining on the east coast. However, by my troth, the Sterling Renaissance Festival (http://www.sterlingfestival.com/) is the best show there is. I am a tad biased, of course, it's my home show... I'm a member of the cast. However, at Sterling we do our very best to be authentic to period (within reason... we love our flush toilets, and prefer not to have pigs running in the streets) and present the very best showing of Warwickshire, England in 1585 that we can.
That all aside, I love MDRF, and look forward to making it to the show most of the rest of the season. I have great friends there, love many of the performers, the shopping is great, and the site is welcoming. You'd be missing out if you missed it...just do yourself a favour and visit us up in Sterling sometime, too...;-)

[Steev]

I speak from a huge sampling of 2 (two) faires, MD and VA (new).  MDRF is a beautiful setting with fabulous structures and lanes, there is a wide range of food and shows, there are lots of pockets, pubs and theaters to park in w. completely different atmospheres, the actors and storyline are really great and the people-watching is excellent.  There is a bit of an amusement park feel sometimes, some days I get aggravated by local mundanes who show up to snark and harsh everyone's buzz, some of the performances change very little from day to day, year to year- but mostly I wish I could never leave.

Having said that, I visited VARF for the first time this year and fell in love with it too.  Much smaller, much more homegrown, and that's the appeal.  Everyone there was completely into the faire, the line between staff and visitors was blurred, everyone was friendly, we could let our kids wander and not worry about them getting lost, way more interactivity and more things to do not requiring 2 dollars, and the percentage of people in garb was way higher than MDRF (but that's 'cuz anyone who made it there made it because they're complete rennies...)
Just my tuppence, and apologies in advance if I've ruffled any feathers

[Dirtfarmer]

After a full weekend of NYRF, and the Creative Director allowing us to attend the court on stage during joust and chess matches over the weekend (best seats in the house!), we got a pretty good look at what this fair is all about.  After all of this, it is almost impossible to compare this faire to either PARF or MDRF... it, as most, has a different vibe than any of the others that I have been to.  If I were forced to say which one was it closer to, I would say MDRF.  It was, pretty much, the polar opposite of PARF having a "natural/rustic" feeling site like MDRF and many home grown acts.  It has some things that MDRF has lost in the last 20 odd years of faire, heavy sword play in their shows with an exciting brawl in almost every one.  Even a jaded participant like me got excited.  Conversely, you need to find a leprechaun's pot of gold to afford to eat and drink there, while of course a pauper could afford to eat, drink, and be merry at MDRF.  NYRF and MDRF are similar in that they are more stage show oriented and not so much oriented to street performance.  Of course, MDRF can never be surpassed in the "Rennie Community" with every weekend being a cocktail party for you and 500 of your closest oddly dressed friends around the pubs.  All in all, if you feet at home at NYRF, you will more than likely feel at home at MDRF.  If PARF is your thing, well..... it may be a flip of the coin for you.

[robert of armstrong]

I travel to every Faire I go to, as I don't have a "Home Faire" anymore.  4 hours to Sterling at least once every year, about the same distance to Great Lakes and Michigan.  8 Hours to Ohio and Pennsylvania, and I make the trip with little complaint.

To give you an idea, I have made the trip to Maryland every year for the last 5 years, and look forward to the 10 hour drive down, knowing the reward that awaits, then and another 10 hours back, knowing it is all worth it.