I just got back from the Georgia Renaissance Festival, which was, after reflecting on it for a moment, probably not worth the long drive. The Ren Fest was fun, and was made even better by the fine company we kept, but it was a long drive to spend the day mostly among pirates.
The first time I went to a Ren Faire, there were no pirates -- they hadn't become trendy. Last year, the ubiquity of pirate stuff was a little annoying, but I have nothing particularly against pirates, so I tended to ignore it.
This year, however, the pirate stuff seems to be pushing the medieval stuff out of the Faire. For example, last year our kids bought Robin Hood-style hats. This year, no such hats were available. I looked around for a T-shaped tunic for myself (I had even saved up a bunch of money for it), but this year no shop carried them at all. I don't mean they didn't have one I liked, or one in my size, or whatever. They just plumb didn't have medieval clothing anymore.
There are still some medieval things -- for example, they still have jousting, and swords and fairy-related items are still available -- but I would say that the Faire is now dominated by pirates. Nothing wrong with pirates, but not my scene.
After a year to think about it, I might change my mind, but for the moment, I think I won't be returning to a Ren Faire until this pirate trend gives its dying whimper.
Hmmmm ... I wonder what the SCA is doing this summer?
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The last SCA war I went to (which admittedly I only spent a day and evenings at, since I was at the ACMRS conference during the day) had its fair share of pirates too. That said, it doesn't seem to have reached the point that you're describing. I haven't been to the Renn Faire out here in CA lately (and I'm moving to do my doctoral work, so I won't be for a long time), but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same thing.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the SCA will be fighting off pirate attacks but will emerge triumphant. I have to wonder where this pirate stuff comes from, it has been building up for a number of years and I would guess it comes from the non-geek parts of popular culture into the geek world and not vice versa. Do you mind if I post your comment to a local SCA list to see what they say?
ReplyDeleteI would suggest extended time at a war. Two options would be the War of the Lilies near Kansas City in mid-June and Pennsic near Pittsburgh in July-August.
ReplyDeleteLilies is much truer to SCA standards, while Pennsic is the biggest and most inclusive SCA event.
Rob Howell
rob@kotn.org
Aha! The very question I asked in class one day, exactly what is the deal with pirates and ren fairs? I love fairies though and I will fight to death to prevent some stinking pirate from killing off the fairies. Blame it on Johnny Depp. That's my philosophy anyway.
ReplyDeletei guess you won't be giving it as extra credit ;-)
ReplyDelete