Renaissance Faires (with a shout-out to Genna)

[The Unknown Gomer]

Anyone else like to go to Ren Faires? They had a great one in Novato, CA, that I finally got to the year before I moved to NC, which I thought was great, the way it was set up in amongst an actual forest, it really added to the atmosphere.

Hadn't found anything like that in Raleigh yet. I went to one that was held behind a church just after I moved here, and found it severely lacking. And they have one at the Fairgrounds every year, but I can just imagine how GREAT that one would be, taking place where they have the state fair every year. Doh! :P

There's been one advertised every year in another part of the state that looked kind of interesting, but I looked up directions on it several years ago, and pretty much determined that it was much too far to drive for something like that, so have never gone.

They just started running the ads for it again this year, so on a whim, since I'm used to driving longer distances for concerts now, thought I'd take a look at the directions again and see exactly where it was.

:eek: Would you believe that it is actually off the same exit that I take when I go to see Doug? Five miles off the exit in the opposite direction. What are the odds?! :cool:

Since our Panthers game is coming up the end of next month, it looks like I may be making a whole weekend out of the trip south for the game: go down Friday, do the Ren Faire on Saturday and the Panthers game on Sunday.

Now if I can just get D. to agree with the plan. :D

Genna, take a look at the link for the Ren Faire, not only do they have one in NC, they also have one that they hold in AZ. I vaguely remember you saying something about going to a Ren Faire not long after you signed up here on the boards, it wasn't this one, was it?

http://www.royalfaires.com/

[Genna14]

A thread with my name in it!!! I feel so special! I know that site VERY well, I always get on there before the one here in AZ. My sis and I download maps and schedules and plan our ENTIRE day out before we leave so we get to see every show we want to.

I still have tons of pictures from the 2008 one!!! I should go look up to see if they have any in Pennsylvania, as of next year I'll be a Pennsylvanian!!!

[Genna14]

Oh and if you guys ever do get a chance to go, you MUST see Cast in Bronze, Hey Nunni Nunni, Tartanic, aw heck just go see all of them!!! Oh the Tortuga Twins are awesome too!

[Genna14]

Ohhhh LOOKIE!!! http://www.parenfaire.com/

Happy is I!


Its a little far from where I'll be but who cares!!! :D

[cheewiee]

Anyone else like to go to Ren Faires? They had a great one in Novato, CA, that I finally got to the year before I moved to NC, which I thought was great, the way it was set up in amongst an actual forest, it really added to the atmosphere.

Hadn't found anything like that in Raleigh yet. I went to one that was held behind a church just after I moved here, and found it severely lacking. And they have one at the Fairgrounds every year, but I can just imagine how GREAT that one would be, taking place where they have the state fair every year. Doh! :P

There's been one advertised every year in another part of the state that looked kind of interesting, but I looked up directions on it several years ago, and pretty much determined that it was much too far to drive for something like that, so have never gone.

They just started running the ads for it again this year, so on a whim, since I'm used to driving longer distances for concerts now, thought I'd take a look at the directions again and see exactly where it was.

:eek: Would you believe that it is actually off the same exit that I take when I go to see Doug? Five miles off the exit in the opposite direction. What are the odds?! :cool:

Since our Panthers game is coming up the end of next month, it looks like I may be making a whole weekend out of the trip south for the game: go down Friday, do the Ren Faire on Saturday and the Panthers game on Sunday.

Now if I can just get D. to agree with the plan. :D

Genna, take a look at the link for the Ren Faire, not only do they have one in NC, they also have one that they hold in AZ. I vaguely remember you saying something about going to a Ren Faire not long after you signed up here on the boards, it wasn't this one, was it?

http://www.royalfaires.com/

Michelle and I went last year, and will probibly go again this year with some friends.

This was the first time I went, and the only thing I have to compare it to is Midevil times.... which is great too...

[NurseBettyLu]

I used to do the SCA thing until it got to be too much like real work. Now I go to the occasional faire or SCA event as a spectator.

[Greyshades]

Huge turkey legs rock.


Boy that sounds weird.

[NurseBettyLu]

Yup, something not right about that. But I agree.

[Pixie Wildflower]

Our church hosted a Medieval festival every year for a long time, but this year, we are in process of building a new sancutuary and parking lot, etc. Also, the lady that was responsible for so much of it passed away, so someone else would have to be interested in taking that on, but with the building and what not, it'll not be this year.

Click here (http://picasaweb.google.com/pixiewildflower/HolyCrossMedievalFestival 2007#slideshow/5124212772210032354) for a photo slideshow.

[The Unknown Gomer]

Looks like fun! :) I liked "Ye Olde Ticket Booth". Did they accept payments by both Master Card as well as Lady Visa? LOL I remember seeing that sign at the booths at the one in CA, and I've never forgotten it. "Lady Visa". Heh. :P

So my Ren Faire is by the same folks who do YOUR Ren Faire then, Genna? Cool.

Looks like it's a definite, it's going to be a Ren Faire/Panthers football long weekend the end of October. Doug's happy now, just the little pickmeup he needed after the Mets got the boot from the playoffs over the weekend.

I had pictures of the Ren Faire that I went to back in CA, but I think the Mayflower folks must have lost a box when they moved us cross country, and I've not seen them since before I moved out here. :(

Can't wait. :) This'll make up for the fact that I told D. I didn't really want to do the State Fair again this year. Didn't really want to cough up the bucks for the same fair we went to the last two years, but coughing up the bucks for the Ren Faire is a little different.

And for the record, I've never actually eaten one of those huge turkey legs. Torn apart chicken parts with my hands at Medieval Times in Vegas the one time we went (yes, I LOVED going there. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! :D ) but never had a turkey leg.

[cheewiee]

Huge turkey legs rock.


Boy that sounds weird.

They are best at Disney...

[cheewiee]

Speaking of Ren Fairs... did anyone watch Big Bang theory last night... where the gang went, and Sheldon dressed up like Spock...

PRICELESS...

[The Unknown Gomer]

I was watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles, but did tape Big Bang Theory, I LOVE that show, never miss an episode. Saw that they were doing a Ren Faire kind of thing, what was the line from the previews "I got my chain mail stuck in my underwear!" or something like that? :D What great timing. Can't wait to watch it.

[Pixie Wildflower]

Looks like fun! :) I liked "Ye Olde Ticket Booth". Did they accept payments by both Master Card as well as Lady Visa? LOL I remember seeing that sign at the booths at the one in CA, and I've never forgotten it. "Lady Visa". Heh. :P

LOL! Not really sure!

[Pixie Wildflower]

Speaking of Ren Fairs... did anyone watch Big Bang theory last night... where the gang went, and Sheldon dressed up like Spock...

PRICELESS...

I saw that...real cute!

[Pixie Wildflower]

I was watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles, but did tape Big Bang Theory, I LOVE that show, never miss an episode. Saw that they were doing a Ren Faire kind of thing, what was the line from the previews "I got my chain mail stuck in my underwear!" or something like that? :D What great timing. Can't wait to watch it.

We did right the opposite. Since hubby was on the computer, we taped SCC and I watched TBBT while hubby was checking his mail.

[Genna14]

Looks like fun! :) I liked "Ye Olde Ticket Booth". Did they accept payments by both Master Card as well as Lady Visa? LOL I remember seeing that sign at the booths at the one in CA, and I've never forgotten it. "Lady Visa". Heh. :P

So my Ren Faire is by the same folks who do YOUR Ren Faire then, Genna? Cool.

Looks like it's a definite, it's going to be a Ren Faire/Panthers football long weekend the end of October. Doug's happy now, just the little pickmeup he needed after the Mets got the boot from the playoffs over the weekend.

I had pictures of the Ren Faire that I went to back in CA, but I think the Mayflower folks must have lost a box when they moved us cross country, and I've not seen them since before I moved out here. :(

Can't wait. :) This'll make up for the fact that I told D. I didn't really want to do the State Fair again this year. Didn't really want to cough up the bucks for the same fair we went to the last two years, but coughing up the bucks for the Ren Faire is a little different.

And for the record, I've never actually eaten one of those huge turkey legs. Torn apart chicken parts with my hands at Medieval Times in Vegas the one time we went (yes, I LOVED going there. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! :D ) but never had a turkey leg.
That's awesome! Check out the acts I mentioned, also Don Juan and Miguel.

Turkey legs are great, but whats even better BREAD BOWLS! Ohhhh I love those bread bowls soooooo much!

I like the "Privvy's" ha! Privvy. Ohhh go see Three Guys and a Bunch of Drums!!! Gahhh I so wish I could go with you! I love going!!

[Jason]

I should try to go next time. After all, I am a renaissance man.

[Light Hearted]

We have an awesome Renaissance Festival here in MN that runs from Aug thru Sept. It's always in the same location and they have some really cool buildings set up. I haven't been there in years but, it's hard for me to do this kinda stuff since Jordan was born.

[The Unknown Gomer]

...yes, I LOVED going there. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! :D ...

Speaking of Ren Fairs... did anyone watch Big Bang theory last night... where the gang went, and Sheldon dressed up like Spock...

PRICELESS...

I watched Big Bang Theory last night, hilarious. Thank you for not mentioning about Sheldon going "They wouldn't say Howdy, they'd say 'Huzzah!'", I almost fell over in my chair when he said that! :D

I love that show. I recorded most of the shows to DVD last season, but may just have to break down and buy the box set for season 1 anyway.

[The Unknown Gomer]

Oh, my! I just took a look at the foods available at the Ren Faire. :eek: Guess we can kiss my newly started diet goodbye THAT day! :D

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! My motto HAS always been that "Food is the Most Important Meal of the Day" :P

Food Purveyors

Cappuccino Inn

Coffee
Hot Teas
Chai
Espresso
Café Latte
Cappuccino
Cafe Mocha
Frozen Lemonade
Frozen Italian Soda
French Soda
Iced Coffee
Iced Cappuccino
Iced Mocha


The King's Nuts

Cinnamon Crunch Almonds
Cashews
Pecans
Nut Logs


The Monk's Bakery

Cheesecake
Layer Cakes
Tiramisu
Pastries
Pies
Cookies
Brownies
Cinnamon Rolls
Scones
Croissants
Muffins
Bagels
Breads


Stone Hearth

Beef Jerky
Smoked Turkey Jerky
Cajun Smoked Sausage Sticks


The Chocolate Shoppe

Fudge
Truffles
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate Covered Bananas
Chocolate Fudge Apples
Cashew Turtles
Pecan Turtles
Rice Krispy Chocolate Bars
Toffee Bars
Smores Bars
Haystacks


Tudor Rose

Beer
Wine
Soda
Champagne
Mimosa’s


King's Kitchen

Bread Bowls (Broccoli Cheese Soup, Beef Stew, Crab & Corn Chowder, Chili & Spinach Artichoke Dip)
Turkey Legs
Sausage on a Stick
Steak on a Stake
Corn on the Cob
Fish & Chips
Shrimp & Chips
Chicken & Chips
Scotch Eggs
Chicken Wrap
Steak Wrap
Herb-Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
BBQ Pork Wings with Mashed Potatoes
Cheese Pizza
Vegie Pizza
Pepperoni Pizza
Royal Pizza
Taco Salad


Dragon Inn

Portabella Mushroom Sandwich
Baked Potato w/ Toppings
Roasted Chicken Skewer
Pesto Pasta Salad
Chicken/Mac-n-Cheese
Fried Mac-n-Cheese


Crown Pub

Beer
Wine
Soda
Water
Champagne
Mimosa’s


Lancer's

Bread Bowls (Broccoli Cheese Soup, Beef Stew, Crab & Corn Chowder, Chili & Spinach Artichoke Dip)
Turkey Legs
Steak on a Stake
Sausage on a Stick
Corn on the Cob
Root Beer Floats
Brownie Sundaes
Apple Dumplings
Strawberry Shortcake
Beer
Wine
Soda


Woodlands Beer Garden

Brats
Sausage on a Stick
Beer
Wine
Soda


Carts

Pretzel
Pickle
Champagne

Joust Beer Cart

[Genna14]

Ohhhhh bread bowls *drools* Gah sorryl. The Broccolie & Cheese and Chili are the BEST.. Ohhh so is the Beef Stew...yum yum.

[The Unknown Gomer]

The Crab and Corn chowder looks good too, except *sigh* I'm allergic to shellfish. :(

I am a sucker for those scotch eggs though, if those are what I'm thinking they are. Yum.

Forget about watching any of the performances, I'll just wander from food booth to food booth all day! With a little shopping thrown in for good measure, they've got some neat sounding moichandising booths too. :P

I did just print out the map and the schedule, since we're only going to have one day at this (although I may tell Doug "the heck with the panthers game, we're going back to the Ren Faire on Sunday!" :D ;) ) , I want to make sure we don't miss anything important. I've already highlighted your suggestions. :)

[NurseBettyLu]

Food good. Scotch eggs very good, could eat my weight in them. And that's a lotta eggs, folks! (Scotch eggs = hard boiled eggs peeled, coated in some sort of ground meat, usually sausage, breaded and fried. Mmmmmmm...)

[Genna14]

The Crab and Corn chowder looks good too, except *sigh* I'm allergic to shellfish. :(

I am a sucker for those scotch eggs though, if those are what I'm thinking they are. Yum.

Forget about watching any of the performances, I'll just wander from food booth to food booth all day! With a little shopping thrown in for good measure, they've got some neat sounding moichandising booths too. :P

I did just print out the map and the schedule, since we're only going to have one day at this (although I may tell Doug "the heck with the panthers game, we're going back to the Ren Faire on Sunday!" :D ;) ) , I want to make sure we don't miss anything important. I've already highlighted your suggestions. :)
I'm not allergic to shellfish, I just refuse to eat crab *shudders* If you skip the performances I'll never speak to you!!! Ok maybe I will, but you really have GOT to see some of them especially Tartanic and Cast in Bronze!!!


Here are some photos.....

Me with the "Six fingered man" *Don Juan and Miguel, left pic*, Me and Adrian *Tartanic*
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/gen_6fingers.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/gen_adrian.jpg


Cast in Bronze; the Goose Lady

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/cib3.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/gen_ducky.jpg


And the rest in the next post.......

[Genna14]

Tartanic; Sarah Marie Mullen *wonderful harpist*

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/tartanic1.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/sara1.jpg


Me and my sister *old time picture place*; Me and my sister with the Bell Man *from Cast in Bronze, Ashley left, me right*

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/rennasiance.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/allstarunitedrocks/cib2.jpg


I have one of the Tortuga Twins but its from a......rather obscene angle. hehehe Completely unintentional too.

[The Unknown Gomer]

Trip to the Ren Faire was postponed this weekend, due to the threat of some serious rain the day we were supposed to go. It turned into minimal rain just in the AM, just enough to probably muddy up the walking areas for the rest of the day, so we held off on going on Saturday. :(

It runs for another three weekends, so one of the three I'll be driving back down to Doug's and we'll catch it then. I'd like to wait until the last weekend (11/16), the new James Bond flick is coming out the 14th, we could do both while I'm down there that weekend.

But almost hate to count on the weather being good that weekend, it would be tragic to skip a good weather weekend the weekend before to wait for the last weekend, only to have it be another rainy one.

Definitely want to go, though. They had a special on PBS called North Carolina Today this past Saturday morning, and their first segment was about that very Ren Faire, it looks GREAT! Just like the one I went to in Novato in CA.

I like the slogan of the Huntersville Faire: "All of the Past, without the Plague" :D

[Salome]

I went to a Ren. Faire when I was in jr. high (read a loooooong time ago). i loved it. i'm surprised i've never been back to one ...... although you really do need to find someone to go with who enjoys that kind of thing too. My sister and i attempted to go to a Highland Scottish Fair a couple of years ago, but when we drove there, we discovered we'd come on the wrong day ....... :rolleyes: :D der.

[The Unknown Gomer]

Carolina Ren Faire = A good tyme was had by all! :cool:

Kinda wild to have actually seen some of the folks in Genna's pics yesterday. The Goose Lady was just inside the front gates, and the harpist was about halfway to the back of the faire grounds.

94031

Should have taken my shades off for this, doesn't get much more out of place than that. But King Doug looked good. :)
94032

Too many shows to catch all in one day, I'll have to pick up some of the ones we missed this year when we go next year. In October, not November. Brrrr. It was a bit chilly. Not TOO bad, unless you were in the shade for lengthy time.

First show we caught was this guy, Jolly James or some such thing. He suckered us in by playing with fire first, and then switched to some rather cool juggling tricks.

94033

94034

[The Unknown Gomer]

The next show we made sure to catch in full was Hey Nunnie Nunnie. By the time they started singing about the fourth constipated man in the Bible, I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Needless to say, the clip I was shooting at the time is very jiggly. :P

94035

Then we caught several partial shows as we were trying to make our way to the end of the 22 acres of fairegrounds before 5:30 got there. (Also useful for bailing out on having to tip the folks, if you've not sat there an entire show. Do they really NOT pay their performers anything, or was that just a line they fed us to try to get us to pay up? Seems like there oughta be a better way to handle things, you already pay $18 to get in the door, and then they hit you up for money after each show or for each additional activity, like the maze or the tower climb. The food was actually reasonably priced though...)

Anyway, I digress...

I thought the Ded Bob show was funny, would like to sit for all of his show next year...
94036

Then there was this flaming guy, whose name escapes me at the moment...;)
94037

And Dexter Trippe, the rope walker, he was cool. we caught him right at the end of the day on our way out...
94038

Aaaaaand... the performer I liked so much I bought a Christmas CD AND the DVD...

[The Unknown Gomer]

... Cast in Bronze!

VERY impressed with that one, that was the show that we made a special point to make sure we got back to that stage in time to see it all.

His set up looked MUCH different from Genna's though (although the guy's mask was the same...). I shot a LOT of clips during his set, before I realized they were selling the CDs and DVDs. :) Probably why he was the only guy who didn't ask for money at the end...

94039

94040

I went up for a closer look afterwards. Very cool bit of hardware, like a big pipe organ only instead of pipes, he had all the bells.

94041

And then of course, I shopped. And shopped. And shopped. Lady Visa got a workout. Got my sister's Christmas present out of the way though, so it wasn't all just for ME! :P

[Genna14]

OMGGGG!! OMG THAT'S THE NEW CARILLON!!! I soooo want to see that!! I recently got an e-mail from his fan club saying that he'd got a new carillon and another guy to tour so that there will be two CiB players!

Ohhh my its sooo beautiful!!!

[Genna14]

The next show we made sure to catch in full was Hey Nunnie Nunnie. By the time they started singing about the fourth constipated man in the Bible, I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Needless to say, the clip I was shooting at the time is very jiggly. :P


Heheheh!!! Omg!!! "There was one, one constipated woman in the Bible, in the Bible. There was one, one constipated woman her name was Eve, she passed the apple" *giggles* Those ladies are soo hilarious!

Sounds like you had an amazing tyme! ;)