Are these things any fun? I have never been to one.

Do you like food on a stick?
Do you like to see attractive females in Rennaisance garb?
Do you like a good Joust?
Do you like Bladed Weapons?
Do you like British Accents?
Do you like Entertainment from Minstrels, Jugglers (fire), Traveling Comedians?
Do you Like the Fact that 90% of everyone there has a weapon?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, go, they are fun.

Ahhhhh, BULLSHIT !!!! [BS]

I bet not only have you been, you probably have dressed the part and enjoyed it !!
I'll bet you go to trekkie conventions....dressed in full star fleet garb.
I picture you as the "comic book guy" strolling yon cobbled medieval street with a turkey leg in your grill and a 10/22 over your shoulder.
[nana] [banana]

I have worked at Renn Faires years ago, and they are wonderful, surreal anachronisms.
Kinda like Shakespearean carney.
Go, you will enjoy the ambience!

Some are excellent, others are not, and a lot has to do with the attitude you bring in.

Most of the actors are performing fairly tongue in cheek.  The humor is usually ribald and crass (think Shakespearean innuendo).  The beggars will usually do fairly disgusting things.  There will often be pirates, gypsies, corrupt nobles and churchmen, etc. and scandals that need to be figured out.

Swordplay is in the Erol Flynn, swashbuckling style rather than authentic.

Jousting is di rigeur.  It's usually fairly fun.

Be willing to put aside your personal inhibitions a bit and get into the crowd interaction.  

Food is usually frighteningly expensive, as are drinks and souveniers.

Music will usually be along the lines of Elizabethan Madrigals or Irish and Scottish folk songs. This is almost always worth your time.

Many regular Faire goers will constume up and go in a persona. This can get REALLY expensive, as proper kit is generally handmade.  A good sword (as opposed to a POS wallhanger that looks like a real sword) will run you 300 dollars to several thousand for a true work of art that is also as combat capable as any sword ever made. There are high quality, combat capable swords available for less, but they will also be less pretty.  Angus Trim makes very good swords at affordable prices, but they are plain, workmanlike swords (much like what would actually have been used in war). If you have the spare change, you can buy an Angus Trim sword through Christian Fletcher and then have him spruce it up with custom hilts, pommels, grips, sheaths, etc. The prices of these lovely and functional aftermarket products is stunning, they'll easily double or triple the cost of the sword.

There are other makers who actually sell at the Faires, such as Starfire Swords.  Starfire also sells a lot of the tournament swords.  They are fine for make-believe, but they are generally WAAAY overweight and come with rebated points and edges (about a 1/16th flat on the edge and point to prevent actual cutting. )   Modifying a Starfire to lighten it to closer to real specs is an ordeal requiring a lot of grinding and re-heat treating. (Ask me how I know).

Just go and have fun.  Don't worry about costumes or any of that (I got over bothering years and years ago...I keep swords for their original purpose only anymore, as a defensive weapon. )

If you're not bothered by drama club students sporting fake accents and tube socks stuffed into the crotch of their Danskins....

Just imagine a national convention for [b]'street people'![/b]

If you are inexplicably fascinated by the folks living under the nearest interstate bridge, by all means go to a renaissance fair in your neighborhood.

Whenever I go to one, which isn't often, I always think to myself, 'Damn, but it's good to be living in the modern age.'

If the Renaissance was truly as they portray it, it's amazing that we are still walking around on our hind legs!

Eric The(JustCountTheNumberOfTimesYouHearThePhrase-'SaucyWench')Hun[>]:)]

So, how many times have you been called that? Did you offer backrubs? Or were you wearing the camo pattern that shall not be named?

It's OK, if you feel that way, you don't have to justify yourself.

And btw, [b]Imbroglio[/b], I'd watch out if I were you: These places are just crawling with  [s]Feds[/s] The King's Men ;)

i go for thing like this... [url=http://www.outdoorsmensweb.com/images/Faire02.JPG]chain maile bikini type thing picture[/url]

ren faires are also what i call... "cleavage festivals"  no, its not the only reason i go.

or you can take it to the next level and join [url5½ü‘™.sca.org[/url] the society for creative anacronism.

Actually, I've never been called a 'saucy wench', [b]Kar98[/b], have [u]you[/u]?

I wouldn't frequent places where gender confusion is rampant, if I were you, [b]Kar[/b]!

Eric The(IMean,UnlessThat'sYourBag,Man)Hun[>]:)]

That lady would look much nicer if not for the belly flap hanging over the mail.[puke]

Plus, I hate the damned bodypaint crap.

was the fastest example i could find with yahoo images.  sorry i couldnt find a porn star wearing it.

They are pretty fun. Ive gone one in Minnesota twice now and its a blast. Lots of great stuff to do.


Also lots of cleavage. And attractive women in gypsy clothing (the girl in the chain mail not being a typical example)

Do you like fat shakespeare dorks who have a problem with deoderant?  If so, I highly recommend fencing clubs, renaissance fairs, etc.

Hey Marge look at the nerd


t

There's a huge one by me every year for several months in Sterling Forest, I think it is...down in Rockland County, NY. I think. I know it's in Sterling Forest :) Just by Tuxedo, NY.

It's worth the daytrip. Lots of food (expensive), lots of trinkets (expensive)...a live chess match (human players)...

Bring a woman there (or a girl, if its your daughter/etc), have some fun. It's worth the trip. I haven't been to one in years [:(]

And as someone else mentioned...I've been to trek conventions. They aren't half as fun (Although, hearing Brent Spiner was worth the ticket price alone; he's freaking hilarious)...

Imb...most of the Faires are a lot of fun. Eat a hearty breakfast b4 you leave, food is pricey.

Go in costume...really enjoy it...and check out the wimmins! There is a Faire in Long Beach yearly near the Queen Mary, Ojai,  etc.Not just the huge fair...

Gwen in L.A.

{Burnt out ex museum professional mode on}

Its all about the way people today think that life back then should have been, it bears little or nothing to the way it really was.  

[Burnt out ex museum professional mode off}

Man, at first glance I thought the Topic title said:
Rennaisance Fair[b]i[/b]es

I was thinkin', NOW WHAT the hell is he going to ask? [;)]

Well damnit man, try harder next time![:D]

Ya, I do like corn dogs.



I did like that womenz at the strip club that had a medeival costume.



I could never get the hang of that video game.



I only got that one knife from eth during the gift exchange. It is aight.



The devil always has a brit accent so I guess it is ok.



I dunno. Do they have anything to do with those weird parades in San Francisco?



That sounds dangerous.



I need a sponsor!

Man, that was the lamest come-back I've ever read on this side. Even below your admittedly low standards.

A fanciful recreation of the plauge-ridden middle ages. Get drunk, crawl into a tent with somebody's drunk wife. Suck up to people who take it more seriously than their real lives. Do business with vendors who are slimier than gunshow dealers. Get your stuff ripped off by friends and aquaintenances.....have fun. I'd love to do it again, but only as a leper.

Ahh, I have been to a few here and there.

Usually pretty fun, but some people take it way too seriously.

I was in the SCA way way back too, back when it was pretty much nothing more than college guys getting together and hitting each other with sticks.  Everybody would have fun, and go to a tourney every so often, They were GREAT, fight all day, drink all night, suffer the next week.  But then came the Women, dont get me wrong not all the 'women' were women, some were geeks who werent there for the fun.  Guys started graduating, getting REAL jobs, getting wives/girlfriends to come to the things, next thing you know the Society for Creative Anachrony (aka 'Society for Consuming Alcohol') became the 'Society for Compulsive Accuracy', which ruined it for me.

Damn! Why do the guys dress up like that?

..... and you thought stinky people only attended funshows.

I used to go to a Ren Faire in Pa that was at a winery estate.  It was fantastic.  Every year was the continuation of the storyline.

The jousting events throughout the day were wonderful as were the shows put on by others.

Steak on a stake, overpriced clothes, random people to interact with, it was a blast.  I would get harassed over my sunglasses.  The women were on the ramparts hollering down at the "masked" man who didn't want his lady friend know that he was hiding his face so he could leer at the wenches.