Posted by Richard Pumpkin King of Events on 3rd May 2024
So you've never been to renaissance faire
- General outdoor event stuff: wear shoes you can stand and walk in for hours, drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen, and eat your usual amount of breakfast before arriving. Don't be a heat exhaustion casualty— if you pass out or die, how will you see all the amazing things like me, the Pumpkin King of Events.
- Bring cash: at least enough to cover food and drink. Many vendors take card these days, but payment networks can get extremely bogged down with thirty thousand people and cell phones in a single area. Don't go through the hassle of having to put that really cool thing back just in case.
- Set a budget beforehand: lots of people like to shop at the awesome vendors, but high-quality handiwork comes at an appropriately high cost. An idea is have cash in hand for normal budget and save card for big special purchases.
- Dressing up: If you're dressing up (very fun and highly recommended, but definitely not required): wear your garb for an hour or two before you go, to make sure it's comfortable and you can sit/stand/bend over/disassemble to use the restroom. Think about whether you'll be comfortable in the weather, and plan to add/remove layers during the day if needed. Let us not reenact that Elizabeth Swan Scene as the likely hood of cute pirates AND conveniently placed rock free pool of water to fall into is quite small.
- Check the fair's rules online: different ones have different rules about prop weapons, bringing your own beverages, and so on. It'd be a shame to get all the way to the gate with that new sword and have to trudge back to the car to put it away.
- Get there early: enough to not be stuck in a car line. If it's at all like the ones I attend, getting there around noon means sitting in my car for an hour.
- Hands free ways of carrying things: There will be music, activities all sorts of fun things and you don't wanna be juggling food, drink, phone, wallet ect. Some sort of small backpack or waist bag is probably best cause they you don't even have to constantly adjust an over the shoulder purse. I may be biased but I'm rather fond of the Gunslinger stash in Black and Dragonseye.
