The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/txtfiles_misc/faire1.faq

Text File | 1994-03-05 | 9KB | 160 lines

    Fair Information Booth Beginner's Q & A on the "Ren Fair" Community
        - by Jaroduane Preunner from the Renaissance Shopper Nov 93

     I've been involved in faire activities for several years and often
hear the same questions from first time faire goers.  When I started, I was
pretty reserved, even shy, & it took me a couple of seasons of faires to
pick up most of the information in the articles to start in November.  The
contents of these articles are accurate to the best of my knowledge - any
errors, let me know and I'll try to make it right.  There may be fair
amount of redundancy in the answers, and the overall organization is pretty
casual but I'll try to address the most common queries.  So look for my
first column coming in the November issue of the Shopper!

     If you have any questions of a general interest about faires, write to
The Information Booth care of the Renaissance Shopper, either I or someone
else may write a suppliment to this column - if there's interest, it will
become a regular feature.

     The Renaissance Shopper can be reached at the following address:

          Renaissance Shopper
          P.O. Box 422
          Riverside, CA  92502

     For subscriptions:  $7.00 for permanent mailing list at bulk rate
                         $5.00 per year for first class mailing


QUESTION - How long have these been happening?

     Historical re-creation events have a long and venerable history.  At
"Acres of Books" in Long Beach, I came across several copies of a book
called "Pageants".  Written in the 50's it's a How-To book written by a man
who specialized in organizing outdoor pageants recreating historical events
and periods, including Elizabethan, Middle  Ages, etc.  The book addressed
such problems as parking for the event, proper layout of food vendors,
scheduling performances and how to ensure appropriate costuming among the
participants.  Especially interesting was the inclusion of several photos
of Elizabethan-garbed crowds from the turn of the century, when the
author's grandfather had been doing much the same thing.  There were, of
course, differences between these historical pageants and our current "A
day at an old-tyme country faire" events, but the seeds for the basic
notion of enthusiastic folk making period costumes and performing as
historical persons at huge outdoor events for the general public go back
pretty far.  Our "Modern Era" of faire-type events can be traced back at
least 30 years.  The oldest and largest such event still occurring in our
local (California) community is The Living History Centre's Renaissance
Pleasure Faire.  The oldest, the most authentic, and still the grandest - 8
weekends in the spring in Southern California, 6 weekends in the fall in
Northern California.  Many smaller, unrelated events are scheduled
throughout the year by other groups.
     A peek at the calendar section in the back of the Renaissance Shopper
will verify that, wherever & whenever it really started, the original
notion has spread through the country.  I've read of long established fairs
in Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, Arizona, etc.  I've spoken to
members of several groups of "Faire Followers" that make their living by
circulating among the various faires.  Not only performers, but merchants,
food vendors, jousting knights, and even some well-to-do or retired
enthusiasts follow regular year-round schedules from faire to faire.
("Sigh!"  Too bad I have to rely on a "real-world" job.)

QUESTION - Where are "you guys" going from here?

     This question is based on a common misconception - to a lot of
Faire-Goers it seems that a faire is much like an old-fashioned traveling
carnival, existing & traveling as one big enterprise.  Most are surprised
to learn that each faire is comprised of many independent parts.  Generally
speaking every faire is separate and independent from all others.  Some are
fund raisers for charity or needy causes.  Many are held by various
Chambers of Commerce or other civic groups to stimulate tourism and local
interest, some are outright commercial activities organized by a few
friends for fun and profit.

QUESTION - If each faire is made up of many parts, what are they?

     It actually varies from faire to faire, but most faires include:

The Organizer - this is the person, persons, or group that originally
  decided to "put on" a faire - they are responsible for procuring a site,
  providing parking, security, sanitary facilities, advertising &
  promotion, etc.  Most get their "seed money" for this from contributions
  (if a charity), charging "booth fees" to the merchants who wish to
  operate at the faire, soliciting "sponsorships" from companies (beer
  distributors, travel agencies, etc.) who wish to profit from the event,
  profits from previous events, or out of their own pockets.  To the
  Organizer goes the lion's share of the risk, headaches, responsibilities,
  & potential profit of a well run faire.

The Vendors - Sometimes called boothies, tradesmen, merchants, etc. - these
  are all independant businesses or individuals who respond to the
  Organizer's mailings & advertising.  They pay a fee for use of a specific
  area of the faire for their booth, cart, etc.  The amount & type of fee
  varies from faire to faire.  Many faires (especially the larger & older
  ones) in their desire to stage a really authentic & educational event,
  have established stringent requirements as to the type of merchandise
  that may or may not be displayed, how it is displayed, the appearance &
  construction of the booths, clothing & behavior of employees, etc.  Some
  hold educational "Workshops" prior to the event to teach vendors & other
  participants the customes, attitudes, & even speach of the period.  Newer
  & smaller faires are considerably looser & you sometimes see such
  big-faire no-no's as merchants in t-shirts & jeans selling sunblock,
  bumper stickers, & sunglasses under a plastic awning at these.

The Entertainment - Actors, members of the official noble courts, dancers,
  singers, jugglers, etc. - Some are employed by faire to enrich the faire
  experience (noble court, plays, etc.), but many are "Pass-the-hatters".
  These are specialty acts, who often pay a fee similar to the vendors for
  the right to perform & then solicit the crowd for contributions
  (passing-the-hat).  All pass-the-hat acts must obtain permission from the
  faire Organizer.

Encampments - there are many groups of enthusiasts who have formed
  independant theme groups for their own pleasure, these groups often apply
  to faires for plots of ground, generally called encampments, they can use
  for their group activities during a faire.  Usually unpaid, they provide
  their tents, buildings, accessories, garb, etc. at their own expense.
  Many become so well known & popular that they are a real attraction.
  Their activities generally include feasting, skits, processions thru
  faire, sometimes music, dancing, chorreographed battles & skirmishes, &
  whatever else their fertile minds conceive as being appropriate to their
  theme.  I've seen groups built around themes like arabian harems (one of
  my favorites), pirates (very popular), German mercenaries, noble courts,
  Celtic villages, fantasy warriors, gypsies, tartars, Arabian knights,
  Japanese samaurai, & more than I can remember.

Jousts - talented equestrians (almost always paid by the Organizers) who
  enact a knights at tourney.

Parking Control, Security, Ticket takers, Grounds maintenance, etc. - these
  are always direct employees (paid or not) of the faire Organizer.  Often
  volunteers, these are often the least appriciated folk at faire - & the
  most essential for a successful & enjoyable event.  (I can't think of
  anything that I would rather NOT do at a faire than stand for hours in a
  filthy, sweltering parking field, hassling with car after car wanting to
  "just drive up front" to see if there's a spot nearer the entrance.  - it
  salves my conscience to pass out a couple of cold sodas from my cooler to
  these poor souls).

Food Vendors - See Vendors, above.

Ale Stands - usually operated either by the faire Organizers directly,
  manned by employees or volunteers, or by an official faire Sponsor.  Many
  Ale Stand Servers are actually volunteers, helping out for fun, or for
  tips - most tend to enrich the faire experience with their boisterous and
  sometimes bawdy behavior & add enormously to the fun.

Enthusiasts - members of the paying public, these are people who so enjoy
  the faire experience that they provide their own garb (sometimes
  incredibly elaborate garb), travel hundreds of miles (sometimes), rent
  motel rooms to attend both days, & often "work" & play with the crowd
  like professionals just for the love of it.  A few faires I know of have
  official groups of "friends", "boosters", "executive faire patrons", or
  whatever they choose to call thm, to give these folke a semi-official
  faire status, but even there, they pay for their memberships & often
  their admissions just like the public.  (Bravo & 3 Huzzahs to the
  Enthusiasts!  - That's how I started out, & they include some of my best
  friends even now.)

<to be continued>