Answer #1

[vakkotaur]

Q: What is your attraction to Ren Faire?

A: A mix of things, I think. By now, it's something of a sense of inclusion in addition to the acts and such. For the faires I go to now it's partly to see the acts and partly to see my friends. It doesn't hurt that there's more than a bit of overlap there. Also, the various acts make it a bit like a variety show, but with more than one thing going on, I can "play editor" to my own script and see what I want - or at least try to.

My first faire was the Minnesota Renaissance Festival which is one of the bigger ones. My sister asked if I'd like to go and so I went, mainly just curious. I'm not sure I went the next year, but I did go back to MnRF eventually. It was largely just a diversion after WB stopped making and airing good cartoons. That and I got curious after going a couple weekends one year. Once to check things out, and again for Taurmania - or maybe the Taurmania group went the first weekend. After that, I went to see what all there was and it was something to do. Somewhere in here I decided it was time to dress the part, or at least close to it.

The next year was Taurmania II a bit to my surprise. Another trip to MnRF was planned for that and it was the first year jmaynard and I went in garb. I went the first weekend and it was the hottest in some time - but I found I was surprisingly comfortable, which is unusual. I don't like heat all that much. I went back several times, partly to relay messages for bronxelf_ag001.

I had thought about going to a faire in the Spring that year but didn't check on things until too late. I skipped the Iowa Renaissance Festival that year partly for its distance and also for the message relaying. But there was Wybreg in October. There I first encountered the Washer Well Wenches and JP and also Danza Mystique. It didn't hurt that I also met an Icelandic pony there. Wybreg was small, a "soft site" (no permanent structures, for those wondering) and very different from MnRF. At first I felt I might have wasted a lot of time and money to be there. Then I started to experience it and instead of being just a customer or just a member of an audience, something clicked. I've liked the smaller faires ever since.

I still go to MnRF, and after The Pub web board on At The Faire took off, I began to know a few more folks there as well. I've been to the Texas Renaissance Festival and it is quite impressive. Even there, it was nice how Jay knew a few folks, or they knew him.

But looking it all over, I find I prefer the smaller faires (at least if they're done reasonably well - I have had the misfortune to blunder into one that was a misfire) which seem to be friendlier and more inclusive or have more interaction. Of course, knowing people at the smaller faire I go to helps quite a bit, too. But even Rosenthorne last year where I started out not really knowing anyone holds up to what I've found. There's more "give-a-damn" and not as much of a "gimme-your-money-NEXT!" feeling at the smaller faires.

I should say that generally the performers and most vendors at larger faires act just like those at a smaller faires. The larger faire setting itself seems to throw things off. Then maybe it's that my one big faire is MnRF which might not be the best example.