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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2010 21:27:33 GMT
Hey guys, I'm going to my first Ren Fairse some weekend in may. Curious to know what to take? how is it best to dress? what should i expect? open discussion
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Post by shadowhowler on May 1, 2010 21:35:18 GMT
Hey guys, I'm going to my first Ren Fairse some weekend in may. Curious to know what to take? how is it best to dress? what should i expect? open discussion Well... if you want you can just go in there in a t-shirt and jeans... you don't have to dress up... although thats most of the fun for me! Typically costs between 10-20 dollars for most RenFaire entry fees... where are you going? If you do decide to dress up... 16th-18th century attire is most approprate... although people show up where anything from full suits of armor and total fantasy outfits, to old Roman clothes, Viking attire, sometimes even as cavemen!
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ecovolo
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Post by ecovolo on May 1, 2010 21:50:54 GMT
Well, here's one opinion from a guy who's worked fairs for eighteen years in CA, Nevada, and Oregon: 1) Re: What to take-- Bring $40 to spend on food and drinks, and make *sure* you have water! I can't tell you how many times I've seen people taken to the EMT's on fair site because they drank nothing but beer/ale/ booze all day. If you must drink, my recommendation is this: match your beer for water (ie. one beer, one water). That way, at least you'll be mostly hydrated all day. If you're intent on bringing water and/or food, make sure you take it in a backpack or something that allows you to leave your hands free. Carrying stuff around all day in-hand gets old, fast. 2) Re: Dressing: Are you going to dress up? If so, did you want to go the fantasy route, or historically accurate? If you want to go historically accurate, a good outfit will cost between $100 (low-end peasant) to $800 (low-end noble). A good outfit takes a few months to make and/or commission. No matter how you dress, consider the weather the day you go. If you want to go the historical route, prepare a cloak in the event of rain, or hell, even an umbrella . But by all means, dress *comfortably*. Make sure your footwear has padded insoles. If not, buy some-- That rough ground is hell on your feet. 3) Bring sunscreen. Period. 4) $$ for parking. 5) Re: What to expect-- A *lot* of Ren Fair entertainment is quite bawdy and risque'. If you have certain sensibilities regarding bawdy humor, you might want to think twice about going. Likewise, in my experience a lot of people from 'alternative lifestyles' (read: BDSM, etc.) come out in-costume which barely runs the risk of public decency laws. If that freaks you out, be prepared for it. 6) Bring $$ to buy trinkets, and definitely grab the business cards of vendors you see there. A lot of vendors will sell more cheaply online than at fair site, due to the costs of maintaining a booth. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. . --Edward
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2010 23:49:04 GMT
Don't go anywhere alone with a faire gypsy/carnie. Don't get pressured into buying overpriced junk you can find on eBay for 70% less. Don't eat the turkey legs. They are not really turkey, they are farm-raised emu.
That is all...
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Post by shadowhowler on May 1, 2010 23:50:14 GMT
Don't eat the turkey legs. They are not really turkey, they are farm-raised emu. Emu? Really? I've never eaten the turkey legs...
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 0:02:17 GMT
Don't eat the turkey legs. They are not really turkey, they are farm-raised emu. Emu? Really? I've never eaten the turkey legs... Truthfully, I don't know with 100% certianty. I've heard that time and time again at the faire for the last 20 or so years. I've never seen a turkey leg that large, so who freaking knows. Just another mystery meat people gorge themselves on.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 0:16:18 GMT
Well, here's one opinion from a guy who's worked fairs for eighteen years in CA, Nevada, and Oregon: 1) Re: What to take-- Bring $40 to spend on food and drinks, and make *sure* you have water! I can't tell you how many times I've seen people taken to the EMT's on fair site because they drank nothing but beer/ale/ booze all day. If you must drink, my recommendation is this: match your beer for water (ie. one beer, one water). That way, at least you'll be mostly hydrated all day. If you're intent on bringing water and/or food, make sure you take it in a backpack or something that allows you to leave your hands free. Carrying stuff around all day in-hand gets old, fast. 2) Re: Dressing: Are you going to dress up? If so, did you want to go the fantasy route, or historically accurate? If you want to go historically accurate, a good outfit will cost between $100 (low-end peasant) to $800 (low-end noble). A good outfit takes a few months to make and/or commission. No matter how you dress, consider the weather the day you go. If you want to go the historical route, prepare a cloak in the event of rain, or hell, even an umbrella . But by all means, dress *comfortably*. Make sure your footwear has padded insoles. If not, buy some-- That rough ground is hell on your feet. 3) Bring sunscreen. Period. 4) $$ for parking. 5) Re: What to expect-- A *lot* of Ren Fair entertainment is quite bawdy and risque'. If you have certain sensibilities regarding bawdy humor, you might want to think twice about going. Likewise, in my experience a lot of people from 'alternative lifestyles' (read: BDSM, etc.) come out in-costume which barely runs the risk of public decency laws. If that freaks you out, be prepared for it. 6) Bring $$ to buy trinkets, and definitely grab the business cards of vendors you see there. A lot of vendors will sell more cheaply online than at fair site, due to the costs of maintaining a booth. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. . --Edward great list. +1
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Post by shadowhowler on May 2, 2010 0:17:35 GMT
Truthfully, I don't know with 100% certianty. I've heard that time and time again at the faire for the last 20 or so years. I've never seen a turkey leg that large, so who freaking knows. Just another mystery meat people gorge themselves on. Indeed... some of the 'Turkey Legs' I have seen at the RenFaires have been very, VERY large... such that the size of the Turkey they would have had to come from would be VERY imposing indeed.
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 2, 2010 0:31:08 GMT
Just wondering, you ever seen someone at a ren faire in a chinese get-up? Think I'd do that if I ever go to one. Do the whole... juxtaposition thing. Ooooh, maybe if I ever get a super sweet set of chinese armor....
I remember going to a faire as a kid. And yeah, one of the few things I remember are the giant turkey legs. That, and the little wooden sword my mum bought me. Don't remember any weird 'alt life-style' people from then. Would think seeing something like that would be scarring. Must've been a tame one lol.
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Post by shadowhowler on May 2, 2010 0:33:25 GMT
I have seen Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, polynisian.... all sorts of various time periods and cultures show up to RenFaire. My big hope is to go to one some day dressed up as 'Ash' from Army of Darkness. ;D
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 0:48:18 GMT
heheh, I raised emus and still have them as pets. An adolescent to adult emu will have a drumstick about 16 to 18 inches long, about 18 to 20 inches around , and weight in at over 8 pounds ( Adult emu weigh 100 to 120 pounds typically ). Emu meat is very dark with a fine grain and is usually sliced like steak to cook and eat. It tastes like a cross between beef and wild duck with that slight gamey taste. If what you are getting at the ren fair looks, feels and tastes like turkey, it isn't emu. Just FYI.
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on May 2, 2010 1:08:14 GMT
My big hope is to go to one some day dressed up as 'Ash' from Army of Darkness. ;D LOL, that I'd have to see. Reason I said Chinese is 'cause... well I quite frankly think it'd be strange to see a hobbit sized Asian guy wearing full plate, or a poofy renaissance era sort of shirt. It's like whatever Chris Tucker said to that French-speaking Asian guy in Rush Hour 3, lol. "NO! You're Asian, stop humiliating yourself!" Because I brought it up: And those turkey have got to be on steroids or something. Either that or we've been eating some friggin' small turkeys for Thanksgivin'.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 1:11:11 GMT
My wife and I are planning on going next year to the one held a couple hours from us in Michigan and we want to pull out all the stops and go for several days, stay in a motel room and really make a trip out of it. For garb, though, we're both more interested in medieval costume than true Renaissance clothing. I've been concerned about this but I take it no one will point and laugh?
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Post by shadowhowler on May 2, 2010 1:31:26 GMT
My wife and I are planning on going next year to the one held a couple hours from us in Michigan and we want to pull out all the stops and go for several days, stay in a motel room and really make a trip out of it. For garb, though, we're both more interested in medieval costume than true Renaissance clothing. I've been concerned about this but I take it no one will point and laugh? Well, you MAY bump into a time-period Nazi who gives you crap, but I'd say 99% likely that no, no one will notice and you will see others dress as you do. I have many tunics and medieval style clothes and I often go as someone from that time, or even earlier, I do Vikings a lot. When I do do the right time 16th-18th century its almost always as some sort of pirate. I always see people dressed as knights... hell, almost all RenFaires have Jousts!
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 1:47:45 GMT
heheh, I raised emus and still have them as pets. An adolescent to adult emu will have a drumstick about 16 to 18 inches long, about 18 to 20 inches around , and weight in at over 8 pounds ( Adult emu weigh 100 to 120 pounds typically ). Emu meat is very dark with a fine grain and is usually sliced like steak to cook and eat. It tastes like a cross between beef and wild duck with that slight gamey taste. If what you are getting at the ren fair looks, feels and tastes like turkey, it isn't emu. Just FYI. I caught a Emu in the desert of Arizona. A farm had closed down, let go a bunch, killed others and dumped them next to our property. A few weeks later another Emu with a damaged ankle showed up and was caught. I spotted an Ostridge on the opposite mesa thinking it was another Emu went after it, but after getting closer and seeing it was an Ostridge who wanted nothing to do with me, I left it wild. Ostrich can be quite mean when they want to be. We did eat the Emu eventually when realizing the cost for keeping them was too prohibitive. It tastes quite good, and is very healthy. There was a big fad to raise Emu and Ostrich thinking they could be sold at the high prices the meat is worth. The problem is the demand is not so high. So Emu and Ostrich farms go belly up and release or kill off their livestock. I would not be surprised in 20-30 years to find out that there are now wild Emu and Ostrich in the Southwest USA. Ren Fairs are great fun, BTW. You should really try to costume up a bit, it helps grant you access to fun and experiences that normally are not as open to the casual dress tourist. There are many fairs that do have the alt lifestyle involvement, I would say much of that has to do with the Gor books, though not all. Yes there is some bawdiness at fairs too. Most of this tends to congregate in one or two areas, and stays out of the casual tourists view. Sometimes it can spill over though, especially with some of the heavy drinkers. Over all Ren fairs are great fun, of course as with all festivals you get what you put in. Take a good attitude and go for what you want, don't worry about what you don't like and have fun with what you do like. Enjoy, and let us all know your experiences when you get back.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 2:06:54 GMT
Well, you MAY bump into a time-period Nazi who gives you crap, but I'd say 99% likely that no, no one will notice and you will see others dress as you do. I have many tunics and medieval style clothes and I often go as someone from that time, or even earlier, I do Vikings a lot. When I do do the right time 16th-18th century its almost always as some sort of pirate. I always see people dressed as knights... hell, almost all RenFaires have Jousts! Thanks, We're working on personas and the whole deal. We really just want to have fun and enjoy ourselves and the people there with us without getting all hung up on historical accuracy.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 10:20:24 GMT
Just wondering, you ever seen someone at a ren faire in a chinese get-up? Think I'd do that if I ever go to one. Do the whole... juxtaposition thing. Ooooh, maybe if I ever get a super sweet set of chinese armor.... I remember going to a faire as a kid. And yeah, one of the few things I remember are the giant turkey legs. That, and the little wooden sword my mum bought me. Don't remember any weird 'alt life-style' people from then. Would think seeing something like that would be scarring. Must've been a tame one lol. The last 2 years I've been going as Chinese. I wear my SCA garb. And I Have seen turkeys that large. A live 30 Lb turkey IS quite imposing.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 15:14:37 GMT
Thanks for all the responses, everyone, i can tell they are a big deal here.
And thanks for the list to remember too, haha. I'm under-age, so no drinking for me, but I will remember water.
at this point, I think I'll go to this one in casual dress, and if it was great fun I'll custume up for the next on that passes through the southern-CA area.
And as for the..."Turkey"... legs.. not sure. having emu might be pretty interesting. but I'll keep that description to note and see if they look anything like that.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 15:57:36 GMT
My first ren faire was the Kansas City on back in 1998. I just went in Jeans and a T-shirt, but I was in almost full garb by the time I left that day. (Swordsman's shirt, plain black leggings, plain boots - just real basic stuff.) I also learned I'm a much better shot with a crossbow than I am with a rifle.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 16:31:45 GMT
And as for the..."Turkey"... legs.. not sure. having emu might be pretty interesting. but I'll keep that description to note and see if they look anything like that. Turkey LegsI know for a fact that the Charlotte and Atlanta faire both serve emu rather than turkey. There's really nothing wrong with that unless you specifically dislike emu. The primary reason why Odingaard and I don't eat them is because they are messy and it looks rather barbaric — our faire personae are generally upperclass or royalty so we generally like to keep a more neat and sophisticated look. The easiest way to tell that it's "not turkey" is because the meat will not break the same way that the drumstick from a chicken or turkey will. That said, a know plenty of folks who love going to the faire simply to have the emu legs (even if they believe them to be turkey). ClothingDressing up is fun, but if you're not used to the culture of the particular faire you will be attending then plain clothes would be best. That way, you can get an idea of the sorts of outfits you might consider saving for. If you still want to get dressed up, then here's what I'd recommend: - Big off-white "poet's shirt" ($40, Hot Topic)
- Brown or natural colored linen (or pajama) pants OR a pair of BDU cargo pants ($20, Army Surplus store)
- Moccasin-style boots ($50, online) with thick insoles added OR (if you can afford them) I highly recommend checking out scaboots.com — $120 will get you an AWESOME pair!
- Hemp rope belt ($cheap)
Wear the pants tucked into the boots, keep the shirt untucked with the rope worn around your waist as a belt. Instant peasant outfit that should be appropriate for a wide range of eras. Plus, it's a good base from which to upgrade. Why? ALL of those pieces will be easily incorporated into more advanced looks. With the possible exception of the inexpensive belt, there's nothing there that you'd be discarding. This way, you simply add a long leather belt, buy a couple pouches, purchase a dagger, buy a vest, etc. but the original shirt, pants, and boots you bought are still serving you well and were not wasted money. Other Advice- Don't act like an idiot if you see someone using a cell phone.
- If the person you are talking to tries to stay in character and roleplay then roleplay. If they are speaking plainly, then speak plainly.
- Not everyone who is in costume works there so be polite and don't assume that they do.
- Don't get charmed by any of the female shopkeepers. You aren't impressing them, you're just another customer.
- Never touch another person or their costume or weaponry without asking.
- Keep in mind that most faires do not allow you to unsheathe weapons and in many states it is illegal for you to even carry one unless you are 18 or older. If you botch this one and end up getting weapons banned from that particular faire, expect to make a lot of enemies really fast.
- BRING HAND SANITIZER! Most faires have only porta-potties for restrooms and there are very few folks who work at the faire who know what the word "hygiene" means (much less care about it).
- The roasted almonds are REALLY good!
- Don't buy weapons at a faire. Unless you recognize the smith from these boards, you'll almost assuredly end up with either a sword-like-object, or end up paying 2-3× what it's worth. Don't be that guy.
- Stay away from the sodas and drink lots of water even if you don't think you need it. Even when not sweating, I've found it's possible to go thru several bottles of water at the Atlanta faire and somehow never need to use the restroom. Trust me, keep hydrated.
- Bread bowls are freakin' awesome!
- Don't let the kissing wench get lipstick all over your face. You don't know where she's been.
- If your Mom takes you (or if she wanted to go but can't) then make sure you buy her a flower. Make sure to get one for your GF too.
- If you are allergic to bees then bring benedryl — yellow jackets love the faires.
- Make sure everyone's cellphones are completely charged. Many faires have poor coverage and will go thru juice faster than normal. Turn the ringer to max volume upon arriving to hear it over the crowd.
- If you get lost and it's the end of the day, just remember that EVERYONE who doesn't work there MUST exit thru the same gate. That's where you'll find your folks if you can't get a call thru on your cell.
Have fun and let us know how it goes!
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