Evolution of the Iowa Faire Scene

[vakkotaur]

This is, of course, quite subjective as I really only have my own experience to go by. While I am aware of how some others feel, I cannot speak as to exactly why they feel that way.

First, a bit of history. My first faire was the Minnesota Renaissance Festival which is a big hard-site (real buildings rather than just tents) corporate faire. My first Iowa faire was the last full Wybreg faire in southeast Iowa. When I arrived I was disappointed in how small it was. I thought, "That's it?!" But after a while I found I was having fun and things were fairly open and inclusive. One of the members of Danza Mystique saw me watching her dance solo and motioned for me to join in, and I did. The Washer Well Wenches kept inviting people to join them in the well - I surprised them by actually doing so (after removing my boots, of course). A magician/juggler/rope-walker had a bunch of folks hold his rope up, along with other bits of participation. I found I was talked to by or could talk with pretty much anyone there. And I was invited to join an after hours gathering at a not too far away restaurant Saturday night. This was the spirit and feel that I thought I'd heard about but hadn't really experienced.

The next year I went to the Salisbury faire in Des Moines and the small Waterloo faire. I met up with the Washer Well Wenches again, as well as Minstrosity, Orckes and Trolles, and the group formerly known as Wild Mountain Thyme. And all the while I was pretty much unaware of any drama in the background. I recall at the little after-hours gathering Saturday evening of Salisbury that someone remarked how impressive it was that if there were any politics, they were well hidden and not intruding on things.

A couple other faires eventually appeared, A Renaissance Affaire in Osceola, IA and the Nishna River faire. I have never been to the Midlands (Council Bluffs) faire and I am carefully excluding IRF from this list.

In all these faires the money-making effort of the faire itself was not overtly visible except perhaps at the exit from Salisbury where mugs and T-shirts were sold. The overall feel was largely of a themed party with enough sub-themes that a person wasn't likely to be bored or think "Is this all there is?" even at a small show. The overall atmosphere felt good and the after-hours stuff only helped.

Things went downhill some when Nishna ceased, though I certainly understand the reasoning. When a show operates at a loss it can't keep on going without some external support. Then Waterloo was cancelled due to flooding, and the next year as the organizer and prime mover for it had found a job in another state and nobody else was willing to do what he did. Add to that the city of Osceola changing things at almost the last minute making ARA prohibitive to the point where the organizer had to cancel or go broke. Salisbury also ceased as the folks who ran that faire had achieved their objective and wanted out of the faire business.

This left only Midlands, IRF, a new Des Moines faire by the same organizer as IRF, and the relatively new Nodaway faire for Iowa.

Also during this time, the Washer Well Wenches group fell apart as each member lived well away from the others and had lives that didn't mesh well, Orckes and Trolles changed its make up some, Minstrosity was seen less often for budgetary reasons, and other groups had changes as well. It's largely the same people, but not entirely.

Add to that mix, the problems of politics getting a bit public, especially on one web-board where there were a couple blow-ups. That resulted in a competing web-board being advertised, and a significant rift or two in the 'rennie-community' of the region.

Overall result is that it's not "one big happy family." Even if it never was, the charade or facade was there for a while. With several of the faires in Iowa now run by one organizer with "this is about money, maybe there'll be some entertainment" attitude rather than the "this is about making people happy, that way they'll spend money" attitude the overall result is that the atmosphere is stale. It's not just that the polish has worn off from familiarity or such, but the whole atmosphere has changed.

Fortunately for me there is Siouxland, and for others Sioux City and (I hear) Nodaway. What was interesting last year was seeing Jubilee in Illinois. Jubilee doesn't permit asking for tips (they can be accepted, I believe) - but is able to pay acts enough that there is no need to ask for tips. It was clear at Siouxland (despite the lousy weather) and at Jubilee that people were having fun. Not just patrons, but the people putting on the show(s) were having fun and it was not just another appearance to get paid for. That is the thing the earlier small Iowa faires had and it was infectious in the best way.

Watching and being around people who aren't having that much fun is not much fun. Watching and being around people who are having fun is fun. It's the key to the magic. Identifying that key is fairly easy. Generating it might not be. It seems to come down to the attitude of the organizer(s) but that's a fairly fine line. It's very easy to be too ambitious and have a non-event or end up with a fun event that doesn't last. It's also quite possible to be so oriented upon maximizing the bottom line that it feels like someone ought to get a visit from a few ghosts some night. I think of the time I saw the royalty at a faire do a bit at opening gate and telling how not everyone is paid (or paid well?) so please tip generously. When the royalty must beg on behalf of the acts, something is wrong. The royalty ought to be saying how wonderful everything is and so please partake of all, not revealing that their Kingdom is in a Depression so Brother, canst thou spare a pound?

Can things recover? Of course. They won't be exactly the same as before, but things never are. It won't be all the same people, due to the rifts and some turnover in acts and members of acts.

The new Amana Colonies Renaissance Festival, Sioux City, and Nodaway give me some hope. Nodaway sounds like it's something like what Waterloo was. Sioux City sounds like it took some lessons from Siouxland (a Very Good Move, in my biased opinion), and ACRF is being organized by the fellow who had organized ARA - only this time he's not making the critical error that caused him to need to shut down ARA in a hurry. I wonder, as IRF is moving in time to the Spring, but not in location, if the folks in the Amanas will compare and decide of two faires which is the better. My expectation is that some will be in for a pleasant surprise, and someone might be in for a nasty but deserved shock.

Comments

[foolscap001.livejournal.com]

I'm hopeful about the new Amana Colonies fair, but when the organizer starts out by announcing that, by gum, he will sue people he perceives as slandering or libeling him, I must confess to having some doubts about how well it will do.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

That bit is rather extreme but it's not where he started. The initial announcement (http://www.therentable.com/smf/index.php?topic=710.0) (at least initial as far as I know) only pointed out past problems with ARA that were being avoided this time: contracts from the very start. Considering what happened with ARA and the front-page slamming he got from At The Faire I am not at all surprised he said that as a warning to JP or perhaps 'QC' that he's not going to let such things go unchallenged. Excessive? Almost certainly. Surprising? Not at all.

[foolscap001.livejournal.com]

Ah. I haven't been following the Ren Table as I should have.

[melissasutton.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

As always, thank you so much for kind words towards Siouxland, it is my baby and to hear it praised just gives me a maternal glow (grin)

I am really intersted in seeing Riverssance grow up and hope to continue to help it through its growing pains =)

And as for the one organizer "tis all about money" - sad to say, when he's the biggest game in town, sometimes performers have to play, if they want to play at all! But I'm hoping to get Rosaleen Dhu hired for Midlands this year, we're in the process of applying!