curious what your thoughts are of the faire this year?
for me, the grounds are the best they have been.
the Great Hall George and Brian built is fabulous.
i hear Robin's Feast is the best its been.
i felt the wine tasting was very enjoyable...entertainment and win all good.
the new tent merchants and artisans fill the space much better.
the addition of the black castle clan and their demonstrations are an addition.
the acting company is very cohesive.
my two cents. want your thoughts, please.
Went to first Robin's Feast this year - a fun time and good food and drink (still in the tent - looking forward to being in the Hall next year).
Grounds are more navigable with the smaller mulch.
While there is a still an open feel, it seems there is more activity throughout (addition of the maypole, camels, etc.) Adds to the festive feeling but does not detract from being in an open forest area.
Always changing, but always familiar.
I will be attending the Robins Feast this Saturday in the Hall!! Very excited!
I do like the smaller mulch. I know a lot more people this year than last so my experience is grander just becuase of that. Last Saturday I sat at 3 stags and lost track of time mingling and chatting with everyone. I've been making a point to get out to see more shows this year than I had in years past and so far I have not been disappointed with any of them. I still have lots more to see.
LOVE this faire! The food is the best and the atmosphere is very laid back.
My constant critique is...more mead selection please. Austin has several fine meaderies close by (Rohan and Oberhof). Why limit to just Thorins?
I would say it's 5 times better than the first year!!!!!!!!
Quote from: Hercules on February 20, 2014, 04:27:26 PM
LOVE this faire! The food is the best and the atmosphere is very laid back.
My constant critique is...more mead selection please. Austin has several fine meaderies close by (Rohan and Oberhof). Why limit to just Thorins?
Do they offer a dry mead? Sweet mead is good and all but so is the alternative of a fine dry mead. It can be as good as any white wine!
Everything has been amazing this year. Husband and I have been out at least in part every weekend, and have loved every minute of it. We love the new artisans, finding the "little" improvements like the maypole, and the acts ( of course! ). Robin's Feast in the hall is amazing - the husband, who hates naps, was induced into a 4 hour food/mead coma, the ultimate seal of approval.
This being my first full season of working at Sherwood, I'm not too sure what to think really. The jousting crew is awesome and always great with the kids. I've seen many of the crew taking their time and answering all the questions of the kids. I've learned something new from the bird show and Mark Haller the glass blower every time I pass by.
I want to start by saying am a huge fan of Sherwood and I am always recommending it to everyone I talk to. I have a blast every time I go, and the kids love it.
That being said, I have gotten quite a few comments back from friends I've sent that way that it is WAY TOO EASY TO MISS ON THE HIGHWAY. During the first year, that was expected. Heck, even the second. But this being the FIFTH year, the fact that proper signage is still missing reflects really poorly on the faire. It automatically detracts from your whole memory of faire if your FIRST memory of it is passing it on 290 and having to do a crazy barely-legal u-turn in the middle of the highway. Also, if the people that are actually TRYING to get to the faire are missing it, then how can we possibly expect the people just driving by about their normal business to realize it exists. Seasonal events need all the easy advertising they can muster.
I understand that a billboard may be out of reach, but a decently sized sign with basic name & dates info is pretty much a necessity, from a business standpoint.
I have to agree with Gwen on signage, especially at the campgrounds. When coming in at night I almost always miss it no doubt leave drivers behind me screaming and cursing when the brakes are slammed.
We were only able to attend Opening weekend, but we still noticed so many great things.
The smaller mulch is wonderful! It's so much easier to navigate our little cub's stroller on the smaller mulch than the mulch last year.
There are a bit more things to see, but like Polly said, it still has an open feel--which is lovely.
To quote Polly again; always changing, but always familiar. :)
Quote from: Gwen aka Punstergal on March 06, 2014, 04:27:13 PM
I want to start by saying am a huge fan of Sherwood and I am always recommending it to everyone I talk to. I have a blast every time I go, and the kids love it.
That being said, I have gotten quite a few comments back from friends I've sent that way that it is WAY TOO EASY TO MISS ON THE HIGHWAY. During the first year, that was expected. Heck, even the second. But this being the FIFTH year, the fact that proper signage is still missing reflects really poorly on the faire. It automatically detracts from your whole memory of faire if your FIRST memory of it is passing it on 290 and having to do a crazy barely-legal u-turn in the middle of the highway. Also, if the people that are actually TRYING to get to the faire are missing it, then how can we possibly expect the people just driving by about their normal business to realize it exists. Seasonal events need all the easy advertising they can muster.
I understand that a billboard may be out of reach, but a decently sized sign with basic name & dates info is pretty much a necessity, from a business standpoint.
We live in Elgin and I work in Giddings. Whenever I mention a renfaire to friends and coworkers, their first assumption is "that thing outside Houston every fall?", resulting in me explaining that there's a faire that's just as awesome going on right now 15 minutes away.
Since this season started, I've talked to 3 co-workers from Paige who are only just now realizing they have a Renfaire in their home town.
Heck, the wife and I drove by the place its opening year. We knew it existed, but we weren't particularly sure when/where it was until we actually started looking online for it.
A more visible billboard/sign would work wonders.
So, we finally made it to Sherwood this weekend for our first time and we love it. Plan to be back next year. Definitely more cosy than TRF. The only complaints we had were about the campground. Luckily, I knew it would be difficult to spot and we were prepared. Finding a camping spot on the friday of spring break for a large tent was difficult and navigating the campground was a bit confusing. We accidentally ended up in the family camping and after tromping around the woods found what turned out to be a perfect spot. After a walk about that evening we were thankful for our spot and not being around all the RVs in the main camping. Our chief complaint (and Mike I spoke with you about it on Saturday evening) was that the port o john in the back of family camping was not cleaned all weekend. We checked it after the fire show and it was still disgusting. All the others we passed on the trek back to camp smelled clean and fresh. One or two more in the area would be highly recommended (if kept clean), especially since the area is geared towards families with children. Can't wait for next year!!!
Trillium,
So happy you were able to get to Sherwood. Sorry I didn't get to meet you.
This faire is definitely more intimate and cozy feeling that some others, especially compared to the much longer established faires. Yet, each year Sherwood adds or changes up the venue.
We made it out this past weekend and camped in the RV section. We had a great time also. We liked the smaller feel of the fair. I would say the the pota potties could use a cleaning 2 times a day on busy weekends.
Polly, I'm sorry we missed you too! We had a wonderful time and made a new friend/rennie also. We had a lady and her daughter set up camp behind us, they never been to a ren faire before and decided to spend their spring break weekend at Sherwood. We welcomed them to our fire and our kids played together all weekend. They had a great time and plan to come back next year in garb!
Quote from: Trillium on March 16, 2014, 04:01:58 PM
So, we finally made it to Sherwood this weekend for our first time and we love it. Plan to be back next year. ...
Wish we had known you were coming, we could have squeezed ya in to Clan P's site in Clan Camping.
However, it sounds like your spot may have been a blessing to the new comers.
Thank you KP! We truly didn't know for sure we would make it until Thursday night. My niece cancelled on us Thursday so we cancelled the hotel, debated if we could afford to go even if we camped, then decided to go for it. The family area can definitely use some more clearing but we enjoyed the quiet. At TRF, we enjoy the general camping area but Sherwood's general camping was so packed with RV's we would have been miserable.
Our take on it first time out ... Mike did a tremendous job keeping the campground in order especially with how busy it got this weekend. Could have used one more toilet in family camping, could have used more family space. We may have enjoyed a central bonfire type area but at the same time, not having it made us go on walkabout and meet some folks like KiltedPrivateer and Lady Hawke over at Free Spirit which was nice and might not have happened with a central fire/party.
As for the faire itself, definitely more intimate. It seemed that more performers here were willing to take the time to chat about their skill and we had some nice talks with Jason from Drones n Drums and with Mordred. There seemed to be a higher ratio of handcrafted vendors here and fewer who buy wholesale stuff and sell it at faire. I liked that quite a bit. It would be nice to see a bit more small group improv throughout the grounds. The food was definitely of better quality than at other faires we have been to. Keep that up!! :-)
Overall we had a great time and look forward to doing it again.
P.S. I heard a rumor that Scarborough might come into the Sherwood family. If that was the case, and the idea was to make Scarby more like Sherwood, including camping, then I am 100% on board if that rumor is true.
we did have a very nice run in with one of the hand crafted vendors. Sorry but the shop name escapes me they setup by the kids jousting ride. The husband and wife craft hand made chainmail jewlery and clothes. they crafted my wife a custom necklace and ear rings to match the colors of one her outfits. she lost one of the ear rings some how within the first hour of having them. we went to lost and found and reported it but no luck with its return. We returned to the booth and they maded her a replacement and changed out the clasp type on both ear rings to avoid it happening again. We offered to pay for the replacement several times but they refused payment.
Huzzah to them
I want to say this is my second year going to sherwood and I loved it more than last year. The faire has such a relaxed atmosphere and authentic feel. Had an interesting expriance camping due to us waking up to some random man walking down the roads screaming he was going to kill everyone and hoped the rest of us died on the way home. But security showed up super quick and took care of the mater. It scared my sister but I was glad at the responce time.
The only thing I would add to the faire is more signage for the camping area. Lots of us get there friday night in the dark and we had to do a u-turn in the dark on the highway for the second year in a row.
Just realized I never responded for this year's thread. I suppose I was too busy just enjoying myself! 8) As before, Sherwood is head and shoulders above all other faires in my mind. The limited areas I can think of that could use specific improvements:
- Showers near the general camping area.
- More signage within the general camping area (i.e. "This way to the faire ->"), and prominent signs at major intersections pointing out the way to the faire entrance. I was never lost, but met plenty of people who were (and in some cases had walked in circles already).
- Signage from the highway was covered above, though that seems difficult with all the construction changes afoot on 290.
- More overall involvement in the parade, preferably including some of the clans. Sherwood's parade always seems like a bit of an afterthought (and matching that, it lasts about one minute).
- Move the closing pub sing out of Trip To Jerusalem. It's just not a good area for it anymore. There's no room for dancers, and the acoustics are awful. I've stood at the top of the hill thinking pub sing hadn't started yet, but come to find out I just couldn't hear a thing from it. Three Stags comes to mind as a potentially better location, if we could arrange an area for musicians near all the outdoor tables.
- Make sure there's a good sized fire going at the Seven Sisters on cool days. There were a couple of days where I bugged out early because the cold had seeped into my bones, and I left in favor of starting my own fire after discovering there wasn't one at the Sisters.
- Reopen the upstairs of Como Ristorante Italiano. There's a big sign on the way up warning about the bell up there, yet it was shut down entirely because somebody complained the bell was loud apparently. Really?
With that said, the faire overall is better than ever. The Great Hall is awesome!
I second the upstairs eating at Comos. Who in the world thought it was a good idea to punish everyone else because of a jackass? Even the FoF'ers couldn't get access.
With the feast and wine tasting moving to the keep, I hope that the tent outside Comos will remain for some covered outdoor seating area.
We had an opportunity to visit with the Gypsy camp palm readers (The ones by the maze). We had a lot of fun with them. Hope they will stick around.
The jousters need to stick to jousting. Their crappy sword play acting is - well - crappy. If any of them have actual sword knowledge, the certainly don't display it.
The funniest thing I saw this year, and I wish I had taken a picture, was not an act. It was a young boy about 4 or 5 years old, with his small wooden dagger, attacking the king from behind. The king never saw it coming. Poor King George - Taken out by the son of a pauper. (o: I think the boy may have even been a viking. Too funny.
Want more Rambling Sailors. Love the Washing Well Wenches. Love the additions to the candy store.
What happened at Comos? It was closed upstairs LAST year, too, wasn't it? I never heard why...was just disappointed because I thought it was a really nice place to dine...
Last year we ate upstairs several times. If they closed it last year I am unaware of it. There are times that the door is closed but the seating was still open.
KP,
Were they actually serving upstairs or did you buy at the window and go up?
Upstairs was seating only.
Agreed about the jousting. Have felt that way since the departure of Knights of Mayhem. With the new group's shows this year and last year, it seems like there's only about five minutes in there that's actually worthwhile to see (i.e. the jousting).
Regarding the upstairs of Comos, I believe it was shut down the last two weekends of faire this year. Their staff told me the reason was because of someone complaining about the loudness of the bell.
The time that we ate upstairs, it was full service, with a wait staff. I believe that was SWFF Year 2. I don't recall it even being open in the years following. We always came opening weekend.
We ate upstairs at Comos on the last weekend Saturday of 2nd year. The upstairs service restaurant was not open after that as far as I know. We had inquired a couple times after that and it was not open.
Maybe it was available for certain weekends, as a sit down service place, but I don't think so, after year 2.
It seemed quite upscale to me...
One think I would love to see is a Drench the Wench area. Those are always fun and entertaining