Tipping Etiquette at Faire

[Merlin the Elder]

Having worked for tips in a restaurant setting before, and having played gigs "for the door" as a musician, I have a tendency to perhaps be overly generous when the hat gets passed, or when the beer wench pours me an ale. No doubt they like to see me drop by... 

What do all of you consider to be the proper tip, say, for a £5 ale?  What do you think is the proper amount to toss in the hat for watching a show? (I would add some to a show I really enjoyed)

[raevyncait]

I tend not to purchase a lot of alcohol at faire, but when i do I usually leave about a buck or so.

As for acts, I try to be sure that I tip enough that the split among everyone on stage is a reasonable share. A dollar tip to a solo act is much more reasonable that a dollar tip to the group of 5, 6, or 7. Now I'm not saying that everyone should tip a dollar per person, but bear in mind that the tips WILL be split among the group. Having worked for a 4-5 person act over several seasons at several different venues, they appreciate both your presence (through the entire show) and whatever you can comfortably drop in the hat/mug/box/whatever.

Also to keep in mind, walking away just as they start to pass the hat is a WHOLE lot more obvious than simply not dropping anything in the hat.

[Merlin the Elder]

Thanks, Raevycait, but I don't ever just walk away unless I had just walked up!  I get the 1 vs 6 distinction.

[Lady Kett]

Hi Merlin! We tip $1 a beer. We tip just about anyone selling food or water or softdrinks. I think Sidekick even tips the water fetchers in the Scarby FOF tents. We too have a soft spot or those working for tips.

At shows, the $1 per performer is a good gauge. We use the "per person attending too" - so if there are 2 of us and 2 of them, probably a minimum of a $4-$5 tip. There are people who leave before the hat is passed because they don't know it's coming and there are those who you can just tell are thinking "Oh crap, the hat's going to come soon, gotta RUN!" - I really hate those. 

We also change our tipping habits by size venue. If we're only going to be there one weekend and it's a smallish faire, we tip larger to show our appreciation of the efforts in a hope they stick around to grow up into a mediumish faire. Also if it's a new act, or not a full season act, we may tip a little more than "normal" too for the same reason - hope they come back and/or stick around. At Scarby, closing weekend, we tip our favorites extra, sort of the equivalent of a small Christmas gift.

[Merlin the Elder]

Looks like in most cases then, I've been right on the money...(arr arr humour, Mindy...tiny, tiny humour). 

[SirRichardBear]

I'm about the same as everyone else here and I always tell the people that sell the soda to keep the coins works out to about the same as leaving a dollar for beer since its normally about half the price of a beer.   

[Ryk Rakham]

I usually try to tip at least a dollar per performer. There are times that we might walk away from a show without tipping, but its only because we go every weekend and I make a mental note to tip double next time. In this economy, it is hard to let go of a dollar. But, the dollars spent at faire seem to feel more worth than most other money that we spend. It feels more like sharing, my small stipend for their art, laughter and memories. That stuff is priceless.

[Merlin]

I tip a dollar per drink... for the acts... I ALWAYS give something. I understand the splitting of the tips between a single performer and a multiple actor venue. I actually bring money for the day just for tips. I usually see the Motley Players multiple times per day...always leave 3-5$ per show. The fire whip guy always gets a 5er from me.

I'm not by any means trying to say that my tips are the standard that everyone should do...but i do think EVERY act deserves a few dollars. If you were offended and just really disliked the show...maybe not.

I appreciate the efforts of any show and I know they appreciate ANY tip.

[Sigundo]

I don't really follow a complex formula, it all depends on the weight of my coin purse (er, european carryall) on the particular day in question. If its heavy, usually $5 per show, $1 for food or drink item (sometimes more for a large meal, or if an act was particularly entertaining). If I'm starting to feel the bottom of the bag, then its whatever I can give (a buck or two). My local faire (Kentucky Highland) has their own currency in $1 and $5 coinage, which I enjoy using as wooden coins work more smoothly than searching through a wallet full of receipts looking for cash, and are accepted everywhere in the faire, unlike Disney Dollars (but I won't go into that rant here  ).

[Tink]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but are the performers and acts paid by the faires, or are they only compensated through tips?

[Jade Sapphire Emerald]

It depends on the faire, their performance/run, and even if the faire does pay them, it's not much. If they pass a hat around, you can guarentee that they are in the same ship as a waiter/waitress when it comes to what they live off of.

It's the same as asking if a waiter get's a pay check. Yes, they do, but it's usually only about ten dollars because of how much they make off of tips.

[raevyncait]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but are the performers and acts paid by the faires, or are they only compensated through tips?

It depends on the festival.  Scarborough is very much a hat faire.  My understanding from friends who perform, however, is that MDRF is NOT (at least for them). That being said, in this case, MDRF pays MUCH more than Scarby does.

[Anna Iram]

I think Christophe has the right idea. He's straight up about it. He tells everyone to throw money into the hat and the more he gets the better show he'll give.

For me, while I think  it's certainly ideal to leave a dollar per performer per person in attendance I think that, along with the gate price and bar and food bills and tips...that's a hefty tally for the day. For myself, it's just me and I do believe in what goes out comes back again..but I would.hate for anyone to feel they can't attend all the shows they'd like or even to not attend faire at all for not being able to be so generous. So my opinion would be to tip genoursly if you can, tip less if you can only manage that...but yes tip something if you've enjoyed the service or the show.

[Rowan MacD]

  I tip 1$ for each person in my spectator group.
 So if it's just me-$1,  Hubby and I-$2, etc.
 We frequently bring nieces and nephews so I distribute the $1 tips among the kids and let them drop the money in the hat.  They will remember that this is expected behavior in the future, and it also shames tip dodging folks when they have to shove by a little fairy with a dollar in her hand waiting to make her contribution ,
Most performers will make a fuss or pay a compliment to the little ones when they come by, so the kids just love it.
 

[Bob of the Lake]

I guess I never really put much thought into it because I've just always tipped $1 for everything. Every food or drink server, and every act or performance gets a dollar. It didn't occur to me that a three-person act should get $3 but after reading everyone's responses, I'll certainly consider that now! 

That said, I go to faire 6 to 8 times a season and catch my favorite acts at least once each visit (and often twice) so if the act has 3 performers, that would add up to quite a bit in tips over the course of the season! Anyone have any thoughts on what would be appropriate in a situation like mine? Is something like a "volume discount" acceptable for regulars?