Who's going on 10/31?

[Joyce "Delfinia DuSwallow" Howard]

Who all is going to PARF on Halloween? I think Tish and I are going.

[Tixi]

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Blair and I are planning to be up at PARF for at least one day during Halloween/last weekend of the season.  We need to iron out details, though.

EDIT: Due to other commitments, we'll be there Sunday only

[laedyfaire]

hoping to make it back for the last day.especially since we went in this weekend and they closed on saturday!!!! LF

[will paisley]

hoping to make it back for the last day.especially since we went in this weekend and they closed on saturday!!!! LF

Any idea what was up with that?  MDRF was open last weekend, and was even open during tropical storm Hannah.  I don't mean to compare or brag; I'm just wondering why it was necessary to close.

[McGuinness]

Any idea what was up with that?  MDRF was open last weekend, and was even open during tropical storm Hannah.  I don't mean to compare or brag; I'm just wondering why it was necessary to close.

Safety, both for the staff and patrons.

I can't speak for other faires, obviously, but I know that it was a hard decision that they had to make on Saturday. Its been raining for almost a week straight in very cold temperatures. The grounds were flooded, the staff was freezing, and I can imagine it was economically feasible or practical to open. I feel sorry for anyone who tried to or even wanted to come on Saturday, but as most of the grounds are uncovered, many of the shows wouldn't have even been able to happen on Saturday. Even by Sunday, the joust list was still pretty flooded and the footing for the horses and jousters was pretty treacherous.

Not everyone is going to be happy with every decision, but the faire did what they thought was best.

[will paisley]

I wish you could see MDRF on a rain day, just to see how they adapt to the conditions (although MDRF doesn't have nearly as many steep hills as PARF, nor hard asphalt for patron to fall onto).  The joust ended up getting canceled on Saturday, the slide and climbing wall were closed, and I'm sure the swordfighting acts were modified significantly.  I've seen Hack and Slash turn their final swordfight into a rock/paper/scissors duel with identical movements.  The musicians can't get their instruments wet, so they end up moving under cover with the patrons, occasionally taking over some of their seating. I've seen the Aeriel Angels perform on the picnic tables in the White Hart Tavern when the stages got too wet to provide traction.  Still, I know the vendors take a bath on rain days, and since a large number of the attendees on such days are regulars with season passes, I'm sure the festival doesn't make much money, either.

[Scotsman]

Me and mine will be there 31 October. Ready to scare the bar keeps!

[Lady de la Warr]

We will be there both the 31st (Saturday) and the 1st (Sunday). Looking forward to seeing everyone!

[aerial angels]

Re closing for rain days -

Pennsylvania made a good call - to take care of everyone's safety by closing, but to still compensate the performers, who after all, have spent the travel money already and can't re-book the day. They rarely close, and they acted with integrity towards their acts.

Maryland made a good call - they opened, which rewards the dedicated core of patrons who value the specialness and closeness of the intimate, off-the-cuff, and often a little wacky, "rain day version" of the shows. They have trained the patrons "When we say rain or shine, we mean it."

King Richards...closed. With no-play-no-pay. For the third and a half time this season. They have trained the patrons not only to not come on rain days, but to also stay away on grey/marginal days, because maybe they'll close and maybe they won't.

[will paisley]

Maryland made a good call - they opened, which rewards the dedicated core of patrons who value the specialness and closeness of the intimate, off-the-cuff, and often a little wacky, "rain day version" of the shows. They have trained the patrons "When we say rain or shine, we mean it."

Boy is that ever the truth.  I watched half of Saturday's Pub Sing huddled behind an umbrella, actually not watching it as I had my head tucked underneath the edge of the thing as I tried to keep water from pouring all over my cameras.  The only way they managed to pull off the show is by having a customer hold her large umbrella up over the microphones for over an hour while performers ducked in behind her to sing.  The MC made sure to tell the audience to make sure her mug never got empty.

[kcdcchef]

well i dont want to continue the hijacking of this thread to discuss which faire is better for not closing on bad weather days, but i would have to agree with will paisley, i like seeing the faire adapting to the conditions. when i was in kansas city columbus day weekend, it was one of the coldest faire weekends i ever had. there were patrons in scarves, stocking hats, gloves, mittens, coveralls, the lines for hot cocoa and hot apple cider were 40 people deep. it was damn cold, like 35F as a high, with a windchill of 30. one of the coldest days of faire i have been to in my entire life. i went about 12 years ago when it was lightly snowing, and it wasnt this damn cold!!

but the funnest part of the day, with the muddy lanes with big puddles in them, and the bitter cold, was seeing the actors adapt, and seeing the patrons and street characters work it into the act. remember, renaissance faires are an adaptation of old quaint english villages from 500 years ago. do you think in the cold and or rain that they would shut down a village? hell no, they still worked and shopped. they adapted, and as i had mentioned, seeing the actors during the pub sing huddle around the fire from the fire juggler, was funny as hell. all the male centered jokes about the cold and the men in tights, and their "junk", were so friecken funny, i almost hit the ground. some actors had mud all over them, and they loved every minute of it.

for one, i think faires should adapt to weather. the rain in lancaster that day was not exactly horrid, at best it was a light rain most of the day. ( i have friends in lancaster, they told me ) so, for me, it may be heralded by some for integrity and safety, but it also inconvienced a lot of faire goers.

and i cannot wait to be there sunday. hope they dont close on my day~!!

[FaireGirl69]

Hey Scotsman!  I'll see you around the Shire on Saturday!

Everyone else - I'll be on the lookout for fellow R/F members as well.  I hope the weather will be like yesterday for both days this weekend.

[kcdcchef]

Hey Scotsman!  I'll see you around the Shire on Saturday!

Everyone else - I'll be on the lookout for fellow R/F members as well.  I hope the weather will be like yesterday for both days this weekend.

i will have to say hi to you on sunday!

[SrEstebanLegaspi]

My Lady and I will be there... Hopefully sans kids for that day... Although I am fairly certain that our three will make the trip back with us on Sunday...

[BubbleWright]

I will be there Saturday with the Bubble Machine... stop by to say hello.......................  Felix