Affirmation that lots of other nice people are insane in the same manner as myself.
Lots of long time friends. Second is being able to play.
A place where my skills are appreciated, and a place where I don't have to pretend to be something I am not. ;D
Home and a fairemily (tm)
My friends, and everything else comes a distant second. These people are beyond "online" or "faire friends" and are very much like a second family. I wish some of us lived closer to each other!
So do I, Athena!
I've made a circle of friends that are very dear to me. And then there are a few...well...
<insert pukey face here>
But I got my opportunity to write for a magazine at a faire. Now on my eleventh issue. Thanks to the partner in the past and the partner in the present--I love you both!
I work in a somewhat restritive enviroment so it is about Freedom to me. I can let loose and be myself.
e) All of the Above!
Seriously, it's just a helluva lot of fun in soooo many ways!
Heat exhaustion ;D
I get Calm,
From Merriam-Webster Online:
1 a : a period of freedom from storms, high winds, or rough activity.
2 : a state of tranquillity.
Quote from: meauho on April 19, 2010, 11:52:00 PM
Heat exhaustion ;D
Water. Drink it or wear it! (Another Cuthbert slogan.)
Confidence.
1. Freedom to express who i am, with others expressing themselves.
2. HANGOVER.
FAIRE BOOGERS!! :D :D :D
A new mug from the Feast Of Fantasy. That one thing I get every year and treasure, brings back all the memories of all the enjoyment MNRF has brought to me. For over 25 years. Great times.
Ferret
Well, I exaggerate a bit... it's really TENS to HUNDREDS of Thousands of photos. And a few are worth keeping ;D
http://www.stalkwell.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=43 (http://www.stalkwell.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=43)
Stalk Well...
I echo what others have said but I have to add that for me Faire is a great creative outlet. I love to express myself through my clothing & Faire is a great outlet for said creativity. I love deciding whether to be a bellydancer or a pirate fairy or to go completely 'off-scrip' & go steampunk or like I'm going to a tea party with Alice in Wonderland. Its so fun to dress up & faire is a fun way to get out that desire to play with my clothes.
Fond memories that will last a lifetime, and the friends who make them so memorable...
Most of the smaller faires I go to, I've become friends/acquaintances with many and the only time I see them is at the faires.
This Sat. May 8 I'm going up to the original Renaissance Pleasure Faire (the one that started it all) at the Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale, CA. I went when they first moved there after San Bernadino, and thought it wasn't very good.
I have tickets now and going with good friends to see if or how it's changed for the better or worse. It's been a few years and I've heard many conflicting things and wish now to see for myself.
I know there are people still there that I know well and if I run into them, I'm sure a lot of hugs and smiles will still be about.
Anon.
Hangovers, blisters and sore calves. It's all good because I get them with fairemily.
1)Dressing up and playing like a child again. :D
2)Making people laugh and like themselves with outrageous compliments. ;D
3)Meeting old friends and making new ones every year! :-*
~Rowen Mac D
The wonderful friends I've made at faire or through the forum. When I finally meet people, I feel like I've always known them. And the fact that whenever we go to visit a different faire, there will most likely be someone there we "know," and so we feel like long lost relatives who've come back rather than complete strangers.
Also, the music that we love is all in one place, with so many different talented artists. It's much better than going to a concert, because you can see several acts all in the same place, while wearing clothes you love and seeing them with people you love, too.
Honestly, the friends. I have made so many friends because of faire that it is unbelievable.
friends and a chance to be most like myself. Also to be able to express myself as when I was with a theater group doing faires and things!
I get to play dress up and get paid lol ;D
Everyone has forgotten the EPIC HUGS! No one I know out of faire gives the hugs I get at faire!
Getting away from the real world, if only for a while. It recharges my mental batteries.
(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/LittleCasino/Animated%20gifs/hand.gif) Ditto, and not to mention being reacquainted with good friends.
Freedom, family, laughter, relaxation, joy, the ability to be myself....
I simply think I would be less of a person without a ren faire.
#1, new friends! going to faire, you automatically have someone to hug, to talk to, to joke with, share an ale with, etc.
Also, the people, all around, they're just people I like. If I walk into a mundane tavern (for example) and give people a hug, kiss on the cheek all with my cleavage showing, I'd be considered a slag. And it's happened, 17 million rumors the next day. The difference in people and perspective is overwhelming.
Time away from my husband!!!!! =D And an outlet for my theatrical side that isn't often allowed out to play.
Home.
Friends, old and new, and escape from technological encumbrances.
Refreshment.
When I walk back into the office after a weekend at faire, I feel more refreshed than I do after a week or two of vacation or even traveling abroad. (Often, that's actually very draining.)
Not to minimize the value I place on the people. I think it's the people (and the music and the acts and the shopping) that I find so refreshing.
I totally agree with Iain, Sir Martin, and Rapier, but will take exception with ALadyandFae. My spouse Nimue would never get away with leaving me at home so that she could go to faire! :o
Hey! No fair changing the title of this thread from "things" to "benefits"! :D Now I have to repost...
Yes, I have a couple of friends I've made at faire that are dear....really only a few, :) but then I've never been one for the tons of friends that others seem to aquire.
Faire, I guess, has given me the chance to integrate my fantasy self with my everyday self. To find out and shine out who I am, for better or for worse.
Quote from: Anna Iram on May 11, 2010, 03:07:36 PM
Hey! No fair changing the title of this thread from "things" to "benefits"! :D Now I have to repost...
I do that occasionally to see if anyone notices.
(http://www.transasianaxis.com/vb/images/smilies/gold_cup.gif)
Benefits?!? Renaissance faires come with benefits now? I'll need to inform my broker...
Friends with benefits.
Wait...
What?
Quote from: Anna Iram on May 11, 2010, 03:07:36 PM
Hey! No fair changing the title of this thread from "things" to "benefits"! :D Now I have to repost...
Yes, I have a couple of friends I've made at faire that are dear....really only a few, :) but then I've never been one for the tons of friends that others seem to aquire.
Faire, I guess, has given me the chance to integrate my fantasy self with my everyday self. To find out and shine out who I am, for better or for worse.
A few real friends are worth all the "friendly acquaintances" in the world... ;)
Friends for sure,
Friends with benefits? not yet anyway.
FUN, FOOD, ALE, AND INTERACTION WITH PATRONS
I've gotten all kinds of friends with benefits! Somebody is ALWAYS handing me something to drink!
Honestly? ME to begin with! "Molden" had long lingered under the surface...but right after my divorce, being "thrown into the deep end" of faire, and learning first-hand the community that is Fairemily, and the MANY adventures, discoveries, friendships, betrayals... to quote Zorba the Greek "the whole catastrophy!".
I would not trade one dot of my experience as it has built upon me in ways I would have never imagined! 8)
The first thing that pops to my min is a sense of belonging. I'm a "quiet awkward" girl, I only really feel complete/confidant with Alex at my side or in bookstores. Until faire, that is. The first time going in Danes was eyeopening, the first time going in Garb was even more so. I don't have to hide the fact that I have tattoos, or that I am more earth centered than most people. I don't have to hide the fact that I am of dual sides, and for every moment I have a peaceful moment, I also have a pretty thrill seeking, brazen streak.
Faire has helped me to find these things in myself, and is still helping me flush myself out after a very confusing past 7 years.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on September 26, 2012, 06:01:35 PM
I've gotten all kinds of friends with benefits! Somebody is ALWAYS handing me something to drink!
Especially when it is their turn to buy lol! ;D :D
For me, it's about being able to just breathe and be myself around people who are doing the same and don't judge. It is also very rejuvenating.
I'm just there for the Loki... :P
I also sell real estate on the moon, if anyone is interested. ;D heheh
LOL
For me it's like being able to be a kid again. You get to dress up and have fun and leave your mundane responsibilities at the gate (with the exception of the littles, if you bring them. Too many people seem to forget that). I don't view my time at faire as an escape from life, but more of being with likeminded people who enjoy the same things as I. Being with such people and in the atmosphere, I tend to be immersed in the moment, as if time stands still, and not think of everyday things, so it is definitely energizing and refreshes me for when I do step back into reality. Plus I love the shops, music, shows and plain old inreracting with people of all kinds. Something about faire brings out the best in most people. Oh, and the loki ain't bad either.
For me? Oh, probably just the most defining moments in my short life to date :) : my first kiss, getting to travel with a Ren band, getting to volunteer/work with several different vendors/entertainers, getting to spend my prom night with people I actually liked at a cast party, getting exposed to an entirely different way of life, lifelong friends, getting a crash course in business management, getting to assist in producing multiple CDs, camping on Padre Island, getting to battle (and survive!) myriad different combinations of weather phenomena...to sum it up: many good experiences, both past, present, and future. <3 I often look back on my FL faire memories fondly.
Family, Community, No judgment. FREEDOM!!!
I get to express a side of myself no one gets to see most of the time ;)
The immersion into the culture, as it were. Absolutely love the costumes and language. If I could time-travel, I'd have lived in the Renaissance Period.
A relaxing break from reality.
Its a lot of things for me, but mostly its a feeling of community, belonging and friendship.
Do you find that at non-renaissance festivals you zero in on anyone in grab?
I was amazed at the number of people I saw in garb at NTIF who I don't ever remember seeing at Scarborough Faire.
For me, I'd say read any of the above comments.... So many reasons to love it.