Activities 2008!!!!!!
Ok so the start of August happily ushers in the Renaissance faire season. In the past two years, many of you have attended the faire with me, and since this year I’ll be going more than ever I wanted to give those of you that are interested a run down of what will be going on. The faire runs from August 9th up until October 26th. Tickets are $28.95 and are best purchased online with your Debit or Credit card as the price at the door is higher. For those of you crazy like me who also might want to consider going a lot the season pass is $90. Each weekend has a theme and so you can think on what sounds good to you, here they are:
- August 9-10 The Grande Arrival
- August 16-17 Chivalry & Romance
- August 23-24 Swashbuckler Adventure*
- August 30-31 Children’s Fantasy
- September 6-7 Olde World Fest
- September 13 - 14 Music, dance, & Make-A-Wish
- September 20-21 A Scottish Fling
- September 27-28 Oktoberfest
- October 4-5 Wine Harvest*
- October 11-12 Pyrate Invasion*
- October 18-19 & 25-26 Halloween Days and Spooky Knights*
* Days Phil and I are interested in and will probably go to
For those of you who have never been to the Renaissance Faire, let me give you a bit of information. The faire is located on the grounds of the Mt. Hope Estate Winery in Pennsylvania. Since this is the largest and most popular faire there is in Pennsylvania, the grounds are normally permanently transformed into an old world village with tons of shops, eateries, entertainment, and rides. Costumes are not required and people do go without them but they are the minority, so if you are thinking of trying to dress up I encourage you to do so! The popularity of these events has pushed Halloween costume sellers to offer a variety of Renaissance appropriate attire for a reasonable price. Those who know how to sew and are interested may also want to schedule a night to make a costume, because I just bought a ton of sewing patterns for the occasion. Depending on if I get my dress done I may even have costumes you can borrow. Merchandise ranges from the reasonable to the very expensive so plan accordingly (food is much the same). Pirate weekends are easier to dress up for and even easier to buy and/or put together.
The other Renaissance Faire we have heard good things about is the one in Maryland. I looked up ticket prices and they are $18. I have never been to this one so my information is limited, but here are the themed weekends:
- August 23-24 Children’s Weekend
- August 30-31 & September 1 Magic Weekend
- September 6-7 Irish Celebration*
- September 13-14 Scottish Celebration *
- September 27-28 Pirate Adventure Weekend*
- October 4-5 Oktoberfest
- October 18-19 Chivalry Weekend
For more info, both of these faires have websites online. In October, for those of you interested in the fantasy realm, Philadelphia is holding Faerie Con 2008. I didn’t get a chance to go to the actual convention last year but I had a friend who went and said it was amazing. There will be many artists there this year, including the main guy who did the art for The Lord of the Rings. Not only do you get a chance to speak with them, but many fantasy related items will be on sale. Kim and I did get a chance to go to the Good Faeries Masquerade Ball, and it was a wonderful experience. Costumes are mandatory but they ranged from the very simple to the very ornate, and despite the fact it is a masquerade, masks are optional. The music is very airy and new age, so don’t expect to come and jam to any club beats. Dancing is downstairs and the liquor lounge is in the theater. Speaking of the theater, they hold it every year in the Trocadero Theater in Philly, which used to be a brothel at one point and has an amazing atmosphere. A masquerade in an old theater? You can’t get much better than that! Here are the dates:
- Friday October 10th: Daytime Convention runs from 1-6pm and the Good Faerie Masquerade Ball runs from 8-12am. Tickets are $20 for the convention and $25 for the ball.
- Saturday October 11th: Daytime Convention runs from 10am-5pm and the Bad Faerie Masquerade Ball runs 8pm-12am. Tickets are $25 for the convention and $25 for the ball.
- Sunday October 12th : Convention runs from 10am-5pm. Tickets are $25
*On both Friday and Saturday, included in the ball admission price, they have two movies starting right after the ball. Last year they were the Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth, both introduced by Brian Froud (who designed all the puppets in case the reference is lost on you).
Also coming up in October, as promised, I am actively looking into throwing a masquerade ball for all those nearest and dearest to my heart. It will be a formal occasion that you can be as fancy as you want to be for. For those interested I need dates in October for the weekends that you CANNOT attend. Due to cost and venue I am also going to need a pretty definite list by the middle of August so I can be sure to book in advance and be able to give them an estimate. I would also like to know who will be interested in hayrides, ghost tours, and possibly Fright Fest in October. You may be asking yourself at this point, has Mary totally flipped and let her activity coordinating work life spill over into her free time? There is a distinct possibility…but I don’t mind being the event planner if people are interested! Feel free to take what I have typed up and pass it around to those I may not know who might be interested. Doing these things in massive groups is always a riot. Thanks ahead of time to those kind enough to leave some sort of response. :)
- August 9-10 The Grande Arrival
- August 16-17 Chivalry & Romance
- August 23-24 Swashbuckler Adventure*
- August 30-31 Children’s Fantasy
- September 6-7 Olde World Fest
- September 13 - 14 Music, dance, & Make-A-Wish
- September 20-21 A Scottish Fling
- September 27-28 Oktoberfest
- October 4-5 Wine Harvest*
- October 11-12 Pyrate Invasion*
- October 18-19 & 25-26 Halloween Days and Spooky Knights*
* Days Phil and I are interested in and will probably go to
For those of you who have never been to the Renaissance Faire, let me give you a bit of information. The faire is located on the grounds of the Mt. Hope Estate Winery in Pennsylvania. Since this is the largest and most popular faire there is in Pennsylvania, the grounds are normally permanently transformed into an old world village with tons of shops, eateries, entertainment, and rides. Costumes are not required and people do go without them but they are the minority, so if you are thinking of trying to dress up I encourage you to do so! The popularity of these events has pushed Halloween costume sellers to offer a variety of Renaissance appropriate attire for a reasonable price. Those who know how to sew and are interested may also want to schedule a night to make a costume, because I just bought a ton of sewing patterns for the occasion. Depending on if I get my dress done I may even have costumes you can borrow. Merchandise ranges from the reasonable to the very expensive so plan accordingly (food is much the same). Pirate weekends are easier to dress up for and even easier to buy and/or put together.
The other Renaissance Faire we have heard good things about is the one in Maryland. I looked up ticket prices and they are $18. I have never been to this one so my information is limited, but here are the themed weekends:
- August 23-24 Children’s Weekend
- August 30-31 & September 1 Magic Weekend
- September 6-7 Irish Celebration*
- September 13-14 Scottish Celebration *
- September 27-28 Pirate Adventure Weekend*
- October 4-5 Oktoberfest
- October 18-19 Chivalry Weekend
For more info, both of these faires have websites online. In October, for those of you interested in the fantasy realm, Philadelphia is holding Faerie Con 2008. I didn’t get a chance to go to the actual convention last year but I had a friend who went and said it was amazing. There will be many artists there this year, including the main guy who did the art for The Lord of the Rings. Not only do you get a chance to speak with them, but many fantasy related items will be on sale. Kim and I did get a chance to go to the Good Faeries Masquerade Ball, and it was a wonderful experience. Costumes are mandatory but they ranged from the very simple to the very ornate, and despite the fact it is a masquerade, masks are optional. The music is very airy and new age, so don’t expect to come and jam to any club beats. Dancing is downstairs and the liquor lounge is in the theater. Speaking of the theater, they hold it every year in the Trocadero Theater in Philly, which used to be a brothel at one point and has an amazing atmosphere. A masquerade in an old theater? You can’t get much better than that! Here are the dates:
- Friday October 10th: Daytime Convention runs from 1-6pm and the Good Faerie Masquerade Ball runs from 8-12am. Tickets are $20 for the convention and $25 for the ball.
- Saturday October 11th: Daytime Convention runs from 10am-5pm and the Bad Faerie Masquerade Ball runs 8pm-12am. Tickets are $25 for the convention and $25 for the ball.
- Sunday October 12th : Convention runs from 10am-5pm. Tickets are $25
*On both Friday and Saturday, included in the ball admission price, they have two movies starting right after the ball. Last year they were the Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth, both introduced by Brian Froud (who designed all the puppets in case the reference is lost on you).
Also coming up in October, as promised, I am actively looking into throwing a masquerade ball for all those nearest and dearest to my heart. It will be a formal occasion that you can be as fancy as you want to be for. For those interested I need dates in October for the weekends that you CANNOT attend. Due to cost and venue I am also going to need a pretty definite list by the middle of August so I can be sure to book in advance and be able to give them an estimate. I would also like to know who will be interested in hayrides, ghost tours, and possibly Fright Fest in October. You may be asking yourself at this point, has Mary totally flipped and let her activity coordinating work life spill over into her free time? There is a distinct possibility…but I don’t mind being the event planner if people are interested! Feel free to take what I have typed up and pass it around to those I may not know who might be interested. Doing these things in massive groups is always a riot. Thanks ahead of time to those kind enough to leave some sort of response. :)