why is there no camping... there seems to be plenty of room for camping... is it a city ordinance? Does anyone know the answer?
Insurance and Security.
that is unfortunate... i did find 35 acres for sale just about 1 mile down the street from Scarby... but land is pricey! I just feel bad that all the people how travel so far to go to faire and spend so much money on travel, admission, food, etc. and still have to pay so much for a hotel room... luckily I moved back to Waxahachie in 06, i'm from here and worked the faire way back in 85.
Most people use the state parks in the area. Seems to work out well for them.
I would not say "it works well", but it's doable to camp at the parks. They are all a good 30-40 minutes awa from Scarby though and we've never been able to run into any other rennies at the camping places!!
well if we could get 212 rennies to come up with $1000 each or 424 rennies with $500 each there is 35 acres about 1 mile from Scarby... imagine owning your own camp ground... I know it's a crazy idea... but those kinda things just pop into my head... i live about 5 minutes from Scarby and I'd camp there
here's what the ad says:
Waxahachie - 3.3 miles West of I-35E on FM 66
35 Acres with Exceptional Views
AWESOME HOME SITE!!
Rolling Hills, Seasonal Creek, Scattered Hardwoods
40'x60' Barn with Approx. 1,200 SF Apartment Fenced and Cross Fenced
w/ Working Pens and Shutes. FM66 Frontage - Approx 2,500' deep x 950' width
Contact Don Davis 214-536-5900
$212,000
here's the link: http://www.hiviewrealestate.com/pages/listing_system.php5?city=9
check out property # 229
i know it's crazy... but aren't most dreams... haha
Quote from: Doublet on November 11, 2008, 07:37:26 PM
well if we could get 212 rennies to come up with $1000 each or 424 rennies with $500 each there is 35 acres about 1 mile from Scarby... imagine owning your own camp ground... I know it's a crazy idea... but those kinda things just pop into my head... i live about 5 minutes from Scarby and I'd camp there
...
Buying the land is one thing --- but paying the yearly Taxes, Insurance, and Utilities is a whole 'nother kettle of fish ... :o
Take Care,
David Baldock
hmmm... my dream didn't think of that :(
I LOVE your dream!! It's too bad we don't have a super rich rennie out there willing to make Scarby even more awesome... But actually onsite camping really is still better cause you don't have to use your car all weekend long...
tis safer to stumble back to a tent than to drunk drive to a tent.
Perhaps if everyone picked the same camp site, we could run a shuttle at the end of faire with volunteers from the group.
plus we could have the fun of a central campsite for meet and greet.
unfortunatly there is NO CAMPING in Waxahachie that i can find... i'm still looking though
Quote from: Doublet on November 30, 2008, 12:50:10 AM
unfortunatly there is NO CAMPING in Waxahachie that i can find... i'm still looking though
There is no camping in Waxahachie. In fact, from what I remember the twins telling me, they had to camp all the way out at Lake Bardwell which is at least 30 mins away.
Lake Bardwell is the rennie camp of choice as I know it.
I have been there a few times, and as beautiful as it is it doesn't compare to camping onsite at the faire.
I now camp at the super 8 lol
Quite honestly it is a nice change of pace to do that. We usually try to find a group who wants to go in on a block of rooms and get a better rate. If done that way it isn't so horrible. And the fun part there is hanging out by the pool after a hot day at faire... that is just plain good!
If you want to meet anyone at Bardwell, I highly recommend camping as near to the party pavillion as possible. For the most part one ren-group or another rents that thing each weekend and I have never been turned away from it yet.
*and most of those groups have had rum... Bonus!*
I generally tow my hotel room behind my truck. (all of those black light expose's of the stuff in motel rooms got to me) - It looks like there are two or three different camp sites at Bardwell - any idea which of those is preferred by festival goers?
I vote hotel for scarby, bardwell was nice but I like camping when I can walk to faire
i wonder if hotels in waxahachie have some kind of "scarborough package discount"
As of last season, there were no hotel discounts, at least that I was aware of. Hampton Inn (I believe) used to offer a FoF rate but they discontinued it last year. Short answer, book early or you will end up paying rack rate. If you are planning to attend the same weekend Nascar has their race at Texas Motor Speedway, you should make a reservation now as every hotel within 50 miles of Dallas will be booked solid.
Hampton Inn still has a F of F discount. If the person who you are talking to doesn't know about it, ask for someone else. We are working to get more discounts but the hotels pretty much figure that they don't have to.
Has anyone done a cost analysis on insurance and security if you get 100-150 campers at $10.00 a car load. Seems to me that $1000.00 a weekend would cover the increase in ins and if need be hire security for the weekend.
As far as insurance goes, from my experience with companies I consult for, I doubt they could get coverage for less than $50k. You also have to take into consideration the deductible for any claims which they would most certainly have, plus legal fees to defend a claim or for insurance disputes. In addition, they would have to factor in the cost of any site improvements the insurance company might require such as removing hazards, leveling the site, etc. If they are required to make site improvements, then it also means an increase in property value and higher taxes.
Another issue is the weather. Severe weather has hit the Waxahachie area the last two years during faire, with tornadoes hitting very close to the faire site. Last year, one touched down around the I-35/FM66 intersection and destroyed a motel, I believe it was the Knight's Inn. I doubt they want to worry about a 150 people in tents and RVs when a tornado warning is issued.
Yes, it was the Knights Inn that had its roof torn off in the tornado last year. I never stayed in that hotel, but I heard it was not the nicest of places.
Thought it was called the Texas Inn? Was there another one that got hit?
I could be wrong on the name. Whatever hotel is off the same exit as the Faire, but on the opposite side of the hwy.
It was Texas Inn that lost its roof, and believe me, having stayed there once, no roof is an improvement.
The Texas Inn had a fire before the tornado hit so it was no great loss at the flea bag motel. Also if before camping Scarby has the campers sign a hold harmless statement saying if something happens to them scarby is not liable, that should hold ins rates down.
Quote from: SandrineDeLaTombe on December 29, 2008, 10:56:06 AM
Yes, it was the Knights Inn that had its roof torn off in the tornado last year. I never stayed in that hotel, but I heard it was not the nicest of places.
The Knight's Inn did take some damage but the Texas Inn lost its whole roof. We went past there on our way to relative's for Christmas and there were some men with trucks and equipment doing some work out there. I may be wrong but it looks like they were preparing it for demolition.
Quote from: x0x_teach_x0x on December 01, 2008, 06:46:24 AM
Lake Bardwell is the rennie camp of choice as I know it.
I have been there a few times, and as beautiful as it is it doesn't compare to camping onsite at the faire.
I now camp at the super 8 lol
Quite honestly it is a nice change of pace to do that. We usually try to find a group who wants to go in on a block of rooms and get a better rate. If done that way it isn't so horrible. And the fun part there is hanging out by the pool after a hot day at faire... that is just plain good!
If you want to meet anyone at Bardwell, I highly recommend camping as near to the party pavillion as possible. For the most part one ren-group or another rents that thing each weekend and I have never been turned away from it yet.
*and most of those groups have had rum... Bonus!*
We also "camped" at Super 8 last year. Didn't get there to hang out by the pool, but will this year. It was cool seeing all of the rennies heading out in the morning. We'd be glad to go in on a block of rooms if others are interested.
As for the Texas Inn, as of yesterday, it looks like they are actually building a new roof on the place.
i just don't understand all the legal issues with camping... the is camping at TRF, Four Winds and even at Middlefaire... whay not Scarby. I live in Waxahachie, and I haven't found ANY camping grounds close by (it must be some city ordinance or something... not for sure).
just wondering how they get away with the Vendors, Entertainers, etc. camping in the back lot
As much as I would love camping, people have to realize, we're not the first playtrons to fight this.
There is someone up in the higher ups that just doesn't want camping. It's a real sad fact, because that's such a great part of faire.
They likely just don't want drunken riff-raff camping. The vendors, entertainers and such have to think about paychecks the next day, so they're "typically" relatively tame at night.
I wouldn't be surprised if TRF's issues with the fire pit and local gansta wanna bes hasn't influenced that somewhat.
I think that the bottom line is that they just do not want to deal with all of the hassles and who can blame them. They would probably have to take money away from the faire budget in order to fund the campground setup and, after all expenses are paid, I just don't think it would be a financially viable option. Scarby is my favorite faire and the cast and management do a top notch job putting it on. I would hate to see them mess around trying to set up a campground and possibly lose focus on the faire. It's also important to remember that Scarby management made a hard decision a few years back and actually decreased the size of the faire in order to save money and preserve the character of the faire.
I will be coming up early Friday April 3 and checking out the campgrounds at the lake before checking into the Super 8 motel, in case I want to bring up the travel trailer for future weekends.
Anyone have hints on the camping at the Lake? Such as trailer limits, space availability, etc?
Check out their website at: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/bardwell/, they have info on sites, hours, etc. I would recommend you monitor the weather in the Ennis County area and check their website for its status before driving up, if you plan to stay there. The lake is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and its primary purpose is to provide flood control. In the event of heavy rain, the lake level rises and floods out many of the campsites. Two years ago during the Memorial Day Weekend deluge, much of the area was closed off due to flooding.
well i have never been to scarby, i was planning on it this year. now im not so sure, or at lest my whole plan will change due to the camping issue.
its a sad fact, but an all too common fact that lawsuits prevent lots of fun things from hapining. honestly after camping at TRF i cant beielve they allow it! the liabilty is astronomical! if i was a betting man id bet that camping there wont be around much longer either.
it would be nice if a renny owned some land and would alow slected people to camp.
Thanks Dave, That was my idea that it would be wonderful if we as Rennies could buy some land close to the faire (which I have located 30 acres 1 mile down the road)... but I know it's just a pipedream... but it's still nice to think about, I live in Waxahachie and I would love a place to hang out and camp with other rennies.
Quote from: cigar dave on January 19, 2009, 08:54:35 AM
...
it would be nice if a renny owned some land and would alow slected people to camp.
If you want to be
selective about it, having a Private Membership Club (with rules about how many guests per member are allowed in the campground at a time - to keep from one membership filling several campsites with guests) would make it easier to
control who has access to the property and campsites.
Take Care,
David Baldock