My sister and I will be coming to your lovely faire for the first time for closing weekend. We have both been involved with our faire up here in Colorado (I've worked at CoRF for 6 years now), but as we have never visited Scarborough. So, I was hoping you could give us a little information:
We have never been to this faire before, so what do you recommend?
What should we look for?
Where are the good places to eat?
Anything else we need to know?
Thanks!
Welcome. Drive safely here. To properly answer your questions, it would be helpful to know how much time you will have to visit our fair faire.
Will you be here all three days (Sat, Sun, and Monday Memorial Day)?
Will you be able to be here from opening (10AM) to closing (7PM)?
There is much to see and do, far too much for just one day, but if you can provide some guidance on how long you are available, some great suggestions can be made.
Either print out the list of shows and schedule and a map on the www.scarboroughrenfest.com website or better yet, buy a program when you first enter the land or at a gift shoppe. The largest gift shoppe is just inside the main gate to the left. Several lane sellers will be just inside the gate hawking programs. There are several "you are here" signs and two other gift shoppes/kiosks around the faire grounds.
If you can, please try to time your arrival so you can be parked, in costume if you are changing, and have walked up to the gate at least 5 minutes before opening. The opening is a show unto itself. And always plan on staying for the final closing where the entire cast assembles and sings "The Parting Glass" to patrons and the King & Queen make pronouncements before final cannon and the faire's daily closing. The last opening and closing ceremonies on Memorial Day are also not to be missed.
Most everyone will tell you not to miss The Grand Parade which takes place at 1PM every day. The thrice daily joust, The Human Chess Match, and the Royal Court functions in the afternoon to include the dance.
Some activities of the cast are at one end of the village whilst at the other end are other shows of the cast. Best to have at least two days to see. The childrens knighting ceremonies of the children present to become Lords and Ladies of the court is always a delight. The pub sing starts at about 5:45 and goes until approximately 6:30. The King and QA make an appearance and help with the dance & sing and it lasts until good QA does her "traditional" "to the gate" dance. Turkey legs at the vendors usually go on sale 2 for 1 about then and SRF is known for its turkey legs...lol.
The shows are all wonderful, and I would not suppose to pick one over the other to see, but if I had but one day, I would be sure not to miss The Rogues, Cast in Bronze (the only traveling carillon bells...not to be missed), The Royal Falconer, The Star Dancers, Thomas Wood the Pyrojuggler, Don Juan and Miguel, The Highland Games, The German Twins and Daniel the Duke of Danger. There are many, many lane performers, some of which are familiar to you from CORF. As will be Iris & Rose. But whilst I&R are great and I always enjoy their shows at SRF, TRF, and CORF, your time is limited and some of their shows will conflict with the
"must see Scarborough" shows. If in your touring the charming village of Scarborough you do see our lovely, gracious, and talented Queen Margaret, (our Scottish Queen and sister to our good King Henry), our Kingly Majestic and talented King Henry (his screen name is VIII on this board) and his lovely, gracious, and talented Queen Ann, stop to say hello and introduce yourself and that you are from CO. I am sure they will be most pleased to meet you. If you are a subscriber to Renaissance Magazine, bring your copy of Volume 14, #2, Issue #66 from Jan-Apr2009. Our King Henry VIII is the cover! I'm sure he would be happy to autograph it for you. Also, many of the cast are pictured in the main cover article about "The Scarborough Renaissance Festival" and I am sure you would be able to get their autographs if you desired. If you have the issue Volume 6, #3, Issue #23 from 2001 you will see a picture of our Queen Ann Boleyn, the love of King Henry's life, on the cover. I'm sure she too would be happy to autography a copy. If you don't have either of these, take a short walk down the lane to The Book Faire, booth #37 to buy a copy of each.
As far as food...the faire has so much to offer it is impossible to pick. The Kitchens all offer different cuisine for each part of faire. Buy a program to find out which kitchens, pubs and lane sellers offer what.
Good luck and drive safe to our faire.
Best wishes.
Thanks for coming to see us.
As a member of cast I am a bit biased about what shows I would recommend on the whole, I am sure you understand. The living Chess Match, the Pub Sing at King's Pub, morning Country Dance, and evening Court Dance are the cast shows I would put near the top of the list. If you are a history fan we have a History Customs and Manners show, and we have King's Lunch. Both are interactive shows where the patrons are encouraged to take part and ask questions. Dr. Kaboom, Cast in Bronze and Don Henley are all one of a kind shows, and well worth truding from one end of the festival to the other.
Food - The beef ribs at the Fat Friars are always a treat. Whatever Victor is serving at the Pasta Palace is always devine. I am currently a fan of the pasta salad.
As for timing? Our morning gate show starts at 9:40 and our closing gate (if we have pipers to play for us) goes til about 7:20. Bring your rain day gear, we have had a lot of rain this year.
Since you are from Colorado I'll try & list things I know you won't see in CO (We were there last year)
-Wine & Alchemy (If you can, make it the 5:30 show)
-Chess Match (Definitely one of the highlights)
-Glassblowing (Peter Anders & his partner Chris Chapman are very knowledgable & make beautiful pieces in front of your eyes)
-Rogues & the Stardancers bellydancers (they share a stage so you can see them back to back)
-Queen Anne's Lace (If you are Christian, their first show on Sundays is all church music songs. So beautiful!)
AFA where to shop, check out the Legendary Candles. If you wait until after the parade you might get a coupon for a free votive!! They smell WONDERFUL!! There's also a chain maille shop right by there that I buy a piece of jewelry from every year. Great prices & great pieces.
For food I echo a PP to recommend the Palace of Pasta Pleasure. If they have the roses, get those. My kids beg for them any time we eat lunch at Faire. DH & I visited the sit down restaurant yesterday for the first time & it was very good & nice sized portions.
Several of the acts here are also at your faire. You have the same jousting troupe I think. There are some things that will be different here you may want to see:
Parade is a little different at every faire. Ours is very good. 1:00 just about everywhere, but near the Eagle Crossing bridge is a good place to see it.
Scottish Court is not well advertised and usually worth seeing. Lot's of cast/playtron interaction that is mostly improve. I haven't seen anything like this at any other faire. 3:30 near the maypole.
Victor's Palace of Pasta Pleasures is the place to eat most days. The menu changes every day with desserts changing every weekend. On the days they don't have something I want I go 2 doors down to the German place run by Victor's brother. Victors's is the place you see lots of the people who work at the faire eat. They even stay open long after faire is over to serve them. I also eat at the bakery and the rib place.
Everyone will have a different opinion of which acts to see. My advice is to see as many as you can.
I also recommend getting there early and wandering over to the Friends of Faire/Season pass gates. Look for the RF pins and let us know who you are.
If you or anyone in your group are veterans and are at Faire monday be sure to come by the villiage armoury (the occuplied Scottish cottage) and get a yellow ribbon to wear for memorial day. Also any veteran in grab or not is welcome to march in parade on memorial day.
If you are in grab and wish to do parade see one of the playtron groups.
Oain Phyfe will be making his appearance at Scarby for this coming weekend only. You should probably catch at least one set.
Wine Tasting at the Cat & Fiddle is fun f they have any seats left.
Something a little different is Donnal Hinely and his glass harmonica. Not many fairs have this type of performer.
The fish and chips booth next to Doktor Kaboom's stage is a winner with me. Fresh and hot cod.
And of course the good Doktor is funny too.
And if you're early enough, there is the pre-cannon meet & greet on row 12 of the parking lot, complete with libations. Row 12 is almost the furthest row away from the road.
Also, make sure to stop by the Cat 'n Fiddle, our newest pub, which is out near the joust. I also enjoy meandering from the White Horse, to see people, and then taken the hidden path down to the Courtesans Coiterie, tucked away down near the river bed. She's always a delight to stop and talk to and has a variety of songs and poems for you to pick from!
There's so much to do and see, I always just recommend meandering the entire length of the faire and seeing where your fancy (or your stomach) takes you!
Looking foward to meeting you!
We go every weekend and can't do it all! Come and enjoy, you will want to return again and catch what you didn't this time.
And another shameless plug for my Company
And don't miss the Royal Jousts at 11am, 2pm, and 6pm!!
Granted.....you'll see them in Colorado....but each show is different in it's own way and they're ALWAYS hilarious!
Our Non early meet and greet is after the parade by the coin press across from Friends of faire! Do introduce yourselves! We have a lovely group- hopefully lots of R/F ers this final weekend!!
Wow, just peeked in on this thread (trying to get ideas for this weekend myself)...Can't wait to meet everyone!
Quote from: eloquentXI on May 18, 2009, 05:24:49 PMI also enjoy meandering from the White Horse, to see people, and then taken the hidden path down to the Courtesans Coiterie, tucked away down near the river bed.
*SHHH* No one is supposed to know about Archangel Crossing, Eloquent, it's a secret! ;)
"The first rule of Archangel Crossing is you do not talk about Archangel Crossing!" 8)
Quote from: VIII on June 09, 2009, 10:25:29 AM
[*SHHH* No one is supposed to know about Archangel Crossing, Eloquent, it's a secret! ;)
"The first rule of Archangel Crossing is you do not talk about Archangel Crossing!" 8)
My lips are sealed your Majesty. Even if it is my favorite place in all of Scarborough.
Quote from: VIII on June 09, 2009, 10:25:29 AM
Quote from: eloquentXI on May 18, 2009, 05:24:49 PMI also enjoy meandering from the White Horse, to see people, and then taken the hidden path down to the Courtesans Coiterie, tucked away down near the river bed.
*SHHH* No one is supposed to know about Archangel Crossing, Eloquent, it's a secret! ;)
"The first rule of Archangel Crossing is you do not talk about Archangel Crossing!" 8)
Hmmm!!! Methinks HRM, Henry VIII, has seen 'FIGHT CLUB' one too many times! ;)
Quote from: Lady Kathleen of Olmsted on June 12, 2009, 02:17:14 PM
Quote from: VIII on June 09, 2009, 10:25:29 AM
Quote from: eloquentXI on May 18, 2009, 05:24:49 PMI also enjoy meandering from the White Horse, to see people, and then taken the hidden path down to the Courtesans Coiterie, tucked away down near the river bed.
*SHHH* No one is supposed to know about Archangel Crossing, Eloquent, it's a secret! ;)
"The first rule of Archangel Crossing is you do not talk about Archangel Crossing!" 8)
Hmmm!!! Methinks HRM, Henry VIII, has seen 'FIGHT CLUB' one too many times! ;)
La la la! If I stopped quoting movies, I would be silent 4/5ths of the time!