Entertaining discovery
We went to a new renfaire today, the Silver Kingdom faire out in Charlton. We'd figured that we might as well give it a try, second-tier faire or not, mostly because they were running a boffer tournament with a two-handed weapon division. Good exercise and a chance to show off our quarterstaff skills, plus an opportunity to actually wear our garb. Turns out, it was a great choice-- we haven't had so much fun at a faire in years.
The faire was small, but very clearly run by people who'd thought "We love renfaires, let's run one", rather than the King Richard's-style "Renfaires make lots of money!" The entrance fee was quite affordable, the drinks were *cheap*-- and they'd actually refill your containers with tap water, unlike King Richard's-- and the staff very friendly and outgoing. And they had real bathrooms, never something to sneeze at. The entertainers weren't world-class, but they were enthusiastic and reasonably skilled, and it was nice to be able to sit in the cooler air of the tavern and be entertained while catching your breath and a drink.
Most interesting was that this appeared to be a lightweight teaser for a LARP. Instead of the usual faire plot entertainment involving actors walking around running scenes with each other on schedule for you to watch (which I've always found boring) the plot was open; anyone who felt like it could walk up to someone in the town guard or the court and get involved. I wound up running some information gathering and diplomacy, and got to trigger the plot-relevant war. War, because it was also a boffer LARP with really lightweight rules. Anyone who wanted to fight could carry a boffer weapon and choose to get involved; if you didn't want to, you could stand back and watch or cheer or what have you. People did both. The combats were very intermittent for most of the day, but several waves of bad guys showed up right at the end for the people who'd stuck around and wanted to fight. It worked surprisingly well-- there was no combat I saw that wasn't entirely voluntary, a bunch of kids got involved and had a great time along with the more serious adults, and the plot was actually interesting, rather than the usual rehashing of Robin Hood or King Arthur. (I got the feeling it was a four-day plot to go with the four-day faire, though I'm not positivie of that; they sold multi-day admissions tickets, so clearly were expecting some people to come repeatedly.)
I did feel a little sorry for the vendors, because it *wasnt'* the usual outdoor shopping mall; and if you're looking for that, this isn't the right faire. But we bought a few little things so it was worth their time to come out; it wouldn't be a faire without at least *some* good window-shopping. And the vendors were by far the most kid-friendly set I've seen; pity I don't have any kids nearby to take advantage of it.
So, yes. We had a marvelous time, got plenty of exercise, I nearly got heatstroke, and I came in fourth in the tournament, just missing the prizes. We'll be going back next year.
The faire was small, but very clearly run by people who'd thought "We love renfaires, let's run one", rather than the King Richard's-style "Renfaires make lots of money!" The entrance fee was quite affordable, the drinks were *cheap*-- and they'd actually refill your containers with tap water, unlike King Richard's-- and the staff very friendly and outgoing. And they had real bathrooms, never something to sneeze at. The entertainers weren't world-class, but they were enthusiastic and reasonably skilled, and it was nice to be able to sit in the cooler air of the tavern and be entertained while catching your breath and a drink.
Most interesting was that this appeared to be a lightweight teaser for a LARP. Instead of the usual faire plot entertainment involving actors walking around running scenes with each other on schedule for you to watch (which I've always found boring) the plot was open; anyone who felt like it could walk up to someone in the town guard or the court and get involved. I wound up running some information gathering and diplomacy, and got to trigger the plot-relevant war. War, because it was also a boffer LARP with really lightweight rules. Anyone who wanted to fight could carry a boffer weapon and choose to get involved; if you didn't want to, you could stand back and watch or cheer or what have you. People did both. The combats were very intermittent for most of the day, but several waves of bad guys showed up right at the end for the people who'd stuck around and wanted to fight. It worked surprisingly well-- there was no combat I saw that wasn't entirely voluntary, a bunch of kids got involved and had a great time along with the more serious adults, and the plot was actually interesting, rather than the usual rehashing of Robin Hood or King Arthur. (I got the feeling it was a four-day plot to go with the four-day faire, though I'm not positivie of that; they sold multi-day admissions tickets, so clearly were expecting some people to come repeatedly.)
I did feel a little sorry for the vendors, because it *wasnt'* the usual outdoor shopping mall; and if you're looking for that, this isn't the right faire. But we bought a few little things so it was worth their time to come out; it wouldn't be a faire without at least *some* good window-shopping. And the vendors were by far the most kid-friendly set I've seen; pity I don't have any kids nearby to take advantage of it.
So, yes. We had a marvelous time, got plenty of exercise, I nearly got heatstroke, and I came in fourth in the tournament, just missing the prizes. We'll be going back next year.