Ren Faire...

[fajrdrako]

I've been wanting for years to go to a Renaissance Faire.

Does anyone know of one that is in some part of the word that might be reasonably accessible to me - eastern or southern Ontario, New York State, Quebec, maybe even Michigan - ?

Or any information and suggestions at all?

The last such thing I attended was twenty-five years ago, and in England.

Comments

[damned-colonial.livejournal.com]

I believe the Ontario one closed down a couple of years back. much_ado would know, though.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

believe the Ontario one closed down a couple of years back.

How terrifle of them. Hmmph.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

There's one out by me, in late summer/early fall. That's in Michigan, but is probably too far for you. I went this past fall and it rained. :(

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Do you know it's name? Does it have a URL? I suspect it might be one of the closest to me, being at least near the border. Though I heard rumours of one in New York State...

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

http://www.michrenfest.com/ :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Merci beaucoup!

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. If you come, you need to tell me so I can find you! That's only about half hour north of me.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You're in a nice location!

[dargie.livejournal.com]

We have a big one in Chicago for a couple of months each summer.

[dargie.livejournal.com]

Okay, well not technically Chicago. I believe it's actually in Wisconsin, though the entrance is in Illinois.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Funny - "Chicago" doesn't sound so far away, but Wisconson sounds like the ends of the earth.

[dargie.livejournal.com]

I believe that technically, Montana and Wyoming are the ends of the earth, but Wisconsin is close. Chicago is the center of the universe, though.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Remember how medieval maps used to put Jerusalem at the centre of the world, and everything else around it in a circle? Chicago is like that.

All places beginning with "W" are very far away, even Wawa, Ontario.

[dargie.livejournal.com]

And places beginning with "Y" or "Z" are the scrag end of nowhere. LOL

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yukon? Zanzibar? I think you're right...

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Chicago IS the center of the universe. That's not far from me either. Let's both go there, fajrdrako.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'd certainly like to! I wonder if it's possible...?

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

I've been to Chicago twice. :) For me, it's a short plane ride or a long train ride. I just hate traveling alone. I suppose I could force myself to do it someday and then love it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I've been to Chicago... I'm not sure. Five times? And through it a few times. I've been by car, train, and plane. I like the train best, plane next... It's a very long drive, even if you go with someone who drives fast.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

The drive from where I am is faster than the train ride. It's just crossing Michigan by car, on a highway, but by train they stop ALL THE TIME.

My favorite would be plane.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I love planes. Come to think of it, I've been to O'Hare a lot more than I'e been to Chicago.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

A plane ride from Detroit to Chicago is like twenty minutes and you basically take off, level off, and then land. :)

I've actually never done it before, but I've heard that and I think that's neat!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Any idea where I can find info? Is there a URL?

[dargie.livejournal.com]

Your wish is, of course, my command: http://www.renfair.com/bristol/

It's a very old fair, with its roots in a one-day event which took place in Grant Park, on the lakefront, back in the early 70s.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

OOh, thank you. It looks wonderful. I wonder if there's any way I can get there....?

[dargie.livejournal.com]

Ah,there's the rub. You really can't get there unless you drive. No local transportation that I know of.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Faugh. This is often the case. Not just with Ren Faires, but with real medieval castles. Maybe I could rent a horse.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Wow, I want to go to that!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too!

[hamadryad11.livejournal.com]

This is a Ren fest in Michigan: http://www.michrenfest.com

I couldn't find a website for the one in Milton so I suspect that it has been closed down. But I did find a website for a Ren fest in Hamilton that I'd never heard of. I wonder if they moved it there. They don't list any faire dates for 2006, so that might be out of date as well, but there's an e-mail if you want to contact them to ask:

http://www.ontariorenaissancefaire.ca

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you so much for the links! It gives me something to work with, at least... Perhaps I could go to the Hamilton one, and sneak in a visit to Stratford? (Ahh, happy fantasies!)

[grlnamedlucifer.livejournal.com]

Well, if NY's okay, I know there's one in upstate NY that I went to a couple years ago. I think it was Sterling Forest? But I'll have to check when I get home from work. It was rather cool, plus it usually has Empty Hats playing there, which is my favorite renn faire kinda band *ever*. I think there's also one on Long Island sometimes, but I can't remember where or what that one's called.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I have the notion (though I'm not sure where I got it) that the closest Ren Faire is in upstate New York, so that may be it. On the other hand, 'closest' may not turn out to mean 'most accessible' - it depends whether I have a friend with a car who wants to go, or what the bus/plane costs are. And so on.

But it's sure fun to think about.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you went to the one in Michigan you'd have to find me first to get a ride and I don't know how you'd get to me... everyone drives in Michigan (though perhaps that will change one day with gas prices?!).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'd probably have to walk. I know the (reasonably) good transit system in Ottawa has me spoiled; it's generally hard to get around American cities. But European cities are even beter - at least, the ones I've been in are.

In London, you can go anywhere.

But getting to castles in the countryside was sometimes hard.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

I liked that I could walk anyone in Edinburgh with no problem, and then hop a train to get anywhere else. I loved it and wish America would turn that way, especially considering how expensive it is to support such a wide scale car system.

I wish I could walk to more places where I live but things are SO spread out in this area, it's just not plausible.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think things will change - we can't go on living in a car-driven economy forver. What will replace it, I'm not sure - I'd like to think it would matter-transmitters. Maybe just some kind of really efficient rail system?

I like city centres, where it's easy to get around. Most of the cities I've been in hav been very walkable - but that's no coincidence: I tend not to go to places I can't get to, and I can't usually get to places that are only accessible by car.

[laitosto.livejournal.com]

There is a big one here in Maryland for a month (I think October...)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

For a month? A whole month?? I thought those things lasted, like, a weekend. How do they keep going that long?

[laitosto.livejournal.com]

Merchandising...

Actually it will go 9 straight weekends this year!

see:
http://www.rennfest.com/

We also feature the Maryland state sport: Jousting!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Whoo - I love jousting! Thank you so much for the info!

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

I thought most go for a month or more! The Mich one goes from August to October, but then... I'm not sure how long per day they are open? I want to say it's just weekends.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's quite possible they are just on weekends. Obviously I was unaware of the scale.