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Latest ATF News: 11/23/2023 - Two Renaissance festivals in Ames, Iowa?
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In the future it is hoped that AtTheFaire will offer an index of faire reviews done in a similar manner and allow our readers to submit their own rankings. Once in place, this system will let you get summaries of events based on criteria such as entertainment, ambiance, and merchants.

Since many of us go to festivals for different reasons, this method should allow you to find all the faires ranked high by people who like the same things you like.

WILLA'S FAIRE RECAP
by Willa, ATF Staff Writer

For an explanation on just what this review article is about, first read John-Paul's. He might be long-winded, but he's entertaining...and he's just plain cute.

Ratings Guide: 1=Bad, 2=Lacking, 3=Good, 4=Great

Salisbury Faire (2001) - Des Moines, Iowa
Location: 3 I agree with JP's rating. It's on the outskirts of town (with frequent airplanes flying overhead because it's so near the airport), and we never can find the location without first thinking we're lost. But we do that a lot ;)
Ambiance: 3 This would have easily received a 5 (off the chart!) if not for the airplanes overhead. You can only do the "DRAGONS!" joke so many times without it getting old. However, the surroundings are gorgeous and no other signs of modern-day life can be seen. Once you cross that bridge, you're in a whole other world.
Food/Drink: 3 I would give this event a 2, but they have the free water. After suffering through other events that didn't have this, I realize what an asset it is. However, it's a dry event (and I do enjoy a glass of wine at faire), and the food court has never been a real selling point to me. They have Mexican food, which is really good, but how period is that? The German American Society's food was fantastic though. I was too dern busy at this event to really try much food.
Merchants: 4 Merchants galore! And the whole event is pretty well laid-out. You could go all day and still not see all of the merchants. Quite a few were demonstrating and also quite a few unique shops.
Entertainment: 3+ Coming from the Entertainer standpoint on this event this year, I do have to say that there were quite a few good shows to see. And I didn't get to see hardly any of them! However, the Hanlon-Lees (jousting troupe) are my absolute favourites and Shattock was there this year!
Streetmosphere: 2 Yeah, Rufus was there, as was Sauboo. However, I don't recall anyone else being around. There were entertainers at the front bridge trying to get you to see their shows, but other than that, I think the Wenches did a bunch more interactions than most!
After Hours: 3 There was great fun to be had after hours! These two fabulously good-looking people organized a dinner at a local eatery and...wait...that was myself and John-Paul. It was fun anyway :)

Waterloo Renaissance Festival (2001) - Waterloo, Iowa

Location: 3 I give it a 3 simply because of the time it took RST to find the park on a map. Of course, they were looking for the wrong park, but hey. And I didn't drive to this event, nor did I have to remember how to get there. So I just sat there looking pretty :)
Ambiance: 3- The grounds were quite pretty, but there was little shade and everyone whom I knew at the event was tricked by the nice weather and was whomped by sunburn. This event got the minus because it was so close to a stadium that was having some sort of game going on and you could hear the announcers and the music. And there was no definite front gate.
Food/Drink: 2 It didn't get a 1 simply because there was alcohol! Otherwise, the food was all carnival-ish, with what my dear friend called "medieval neon" signs and huge lightbulbs. Oh, and the pizza by the slice. But after your second beer, you didn't really care ;)
Merchants: 2 I know that poor Doc had a lot going against him on this one, but there were only about 5 or 6 merchants there and almost all of them were jewelry vendors. I realize that it was mostly because this was a one day, six hour event. If he can get it to two days, I am most assured that this number will increase significantly. JP sold out of roses! However, they wouldn't give him a wandering merchant rate so the booth fee caused him to loose all "profit".
Entertainment: 3 Gotta give a faire at least a 3 for having RST and Shattock there! Of course, I was too busy BEING an entertainer to actually get to see their shows. And they had TRMs Queen Verity and King Thomas who are my favourites as well as Wild Mountain Thyme and Orckes and Trolles! However, from an entertainer's point of view I must say that there were too MANY entertainers there. The stages were far too close together and they were always full so no matter where or when you were performing you were stepping on someone else's show. I felt really bad about that.
Streetmosphere: 3 The Wenches did their part in interacting with the men in the crowd ;) and Rufus was working overtime with that fish. JP was there with his roses but I think the biggest thrill for the kids was when the police showed up on horseback.
After Hours: 1 There was no after hours! We scarfed food at Old Country Buffet and hit the road. If the event had been on a Saturday we could have planned something. That would have been quite a fun time, too. Lots of quality after hours people were there.

Renaissance Faire of the Midlands - Council Bluffs, Iowa

Location: 4 The event location is very easy to find and very well marked with signs. Even finding the dorms was easy.
Ambiance: 2 I give this event a two only because they did try so hard on stage backdrops and they had hay bales and benches for patrons to sit on rather than chairs. That's a big plus. However, there was NO shade and because of those huge buildings in the background everywhere there was no breeze. The fact that the moved the front gate way off to no-man's-land just torked my gourd.
Food/Drink: 2 The food here is vast and plenty...lots of choices. However, it's all really expensive and grease-laden. I did hear that the ice cream was superb, though. I am forever disappointed in this event because they offer no way to get any type of free drink (water, anyone?) even though it's always really hot and has no shade. The drinks that they do sell are WAY too expensive. $4 for a lemonade? Shyeah right. Luckily, the pop vendors took pity on those of us in garb and would let us walk by their troughs and dip our mugs into their ice (which quickly turned to water) so that we could ice ourselves down. Ahhh the power of frozen liquid.
Merchants: 4 Lots and lots and lots and lots of merchants. Not quite as many as I remembered last year, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe fewer people were able to make slides? ;) I've always though of RFotM as a craft faire ambiance but it was all really good stuff this year.
Entertainment: 3 The entertainment was amazing! SAK Theatre (all the way from Florida) is one of my favourites and having the Jollies there didn't hurt a bit (I squeezed in two of their shows). However, again from an entertainer's point of view, I have to complain again. The stages that they do have that are not the main stage basically suck. The Tower Stage is about 3'x3' and doesn't have any seating. The Grove Stage (where the majority of our performances took place) was RIGHT NEXT TO Drench the Wench so we were always competing with them noise-wise. Add in the big bang from the drop hammer that was making pendants and the ever-lovin' jingly people who sounded like reindeer prancing around (and had a lovely period saxophone for accompaniment) and we were lucky to hear anything we were yelling to each other while standing side by side on the stage. And don't EVEN get me started on how professional their signs were for performers. Twice we were the "Washer Well Winches" and once we were the "Well Washer Wenches". *grumble*
Streetmosphere: 2 I didn't see much. Rigor Mortis was there, but he was walking around with sunglasses on and only laid in his coffin (I don't blame him one bit) and Rufus was there (as he always is), but Sauboo was only there for a short time on Sunday. The muddy guys weren't there at all. The trolls that they did have just made me miss Sauboo. This is another of those corporate events that lacks the personal interaction.
After Hours: 1 There is very little that happens after hours at this event. The faire starts at 11am and doesn't get over until 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights. That leaves everyone really beat and not wanting to do much other than shower and sleep. However, we snuck out after our last performance and went to a shindig thrown by my father's band, so we had a blast :) We are our own after hours party.

Jubilee College Olde World Faire (2001) - Brimfield, Illinois

Location: 2 You would think that with an event this far into a park that has been going on for so long, they'd at least have sprung for some QuikSign action. But, alas, they had handwritten signs that looked to have been done by High Schoolers. The odd thing was that they were placed in spots that didn't need them. You come to a fork in the road: Left or right? No idea. But golly, when you're driving down long that tree-lined lane, you know that you should keep going forward.
Ambiance: 3 The grounds themselves were absolutely gorgeous. Lots of shade and not too many potholes. However, the ambiance was killed right away when we got to the festival from the parking lot and heard a country music station blaring from speakers. The joust had a P.A. system as well that was WAY too loud. I can forgive Owain Phyfe for his amplification. If you had to go against the jousters, you'd want one too.
Food/Drink: 4 We didn't find the stew and bakery tent until the second day because they had it tucked so far back on the fairegrounds that we didn't know it was there. However, on Saturday I got to partake of the BEST hot dog I've had in a long while. Actually BBQ'd! And the drinks were cheap. And they had ice cream! Doesn't take much to make me happy food-wise. Their stew was downright amazing.
Merchants: 4 Lots of goodies! I love those merchants that show up and have a bit of everything. There was one tent that sold medieval locks along with fans and shoes and swords and combs and just about any other trinket you could think of.
Entertainment: 4 Shattock and Renaissance Sword Theatre were there and I got to see ALL of their shows! Huzzah! Life is good. Of course, life is even better when you get to discover Owain Phyfe. If you EVER EVER EVER get a chance to see this man (who is from Michigan and does that faire), you must. He has a voice that comes from the heavens. And he's a very nice guy, too. Owain himself made up for the floundering jousters. Above all else, I love a faire that has good music. And there was enough here to satisfy me.
Streetmosphere: 1 We will not discuss the SCA parade. I made my comment in JP's review. Other than that, I think I saw one guy interacting with the patrons. He was on stilts and had a very ugly mask on. Were there any others?
After Hours: 4 I'm still trying to rehinge my jaw from this event. The camping parties held afterward are truly awe-inspiring. Hundreds upon hundreds of people all camping and all having a good time. And only one shower ;) However, we had our little corner in the back with Shattock and we had fun with the spigot. Lots of after hours fun at this event.

A Renaissance Affair (TBA) - Osceola, Iowa

Location: 4 The site is extremely easy to get to, as it is right off the interstate. And it's right across the highway from a huge Casino!
Ambiance: 2 It's a very small festival, but there was so much more they could have done to make it more "fest-ish". For one, stop allowing cars on the property during faire hours. And take down the non-period tents during operating hours? There was just too much "present day" in there.
Food/Drink: 2 I believe there was one vendor (Hy-Vee) to provide food (pork sandwiches and turkey legs) and soda. The only other thing to eat was the amazing sugarcoated popcorn from Jester's Treat. I craved something other than soda with a passion.
Merchants: 3 A very good selection for such a small faire! And I hear everyone was doing pretty good in sales...
Entertainment: 1 While the entertainment that WAS there was superb (Danza Mystique, Minstrosity, Orckes & Trolles and McFarlan Live Steel), there were only four shows to watch throughout the day. More entertainment is desperately needed.
Streetmosphere: 2 For it being such a small festival, I didn't see much interaction with any patrons. No street characters at all. There were three sets of royalty, though.
After Hours: 3 We all ate at the Casino, which was rather yummy, and a few of us stayed there for a while to play nickel slots (we came out ahead $1.80!). We swung by the fairegrounds before we headed home (45 minute drive, and we needed to do laundry) and it looked like a lot of relaxed fun was abounding. They had some drumming and a bonfire going on.


The following events are scheduled for the fall of 2001 but I wanted to include something about them in this article. Here are quick entries taken from the festivals last year.

Iowa Renaissance Festival (2000) - Amana Colonies, Iowa

Location: 3 Once you discover that it's in Middle Amana, it's a lot easier to find. They do need more/better/bigger signs though.
Ambiance: 3 Gorgeous location for a faire, even if there is a rather large metal barn-type unit on grounds. The trees were beautiful and we parked right next to a corn field. How Iowa can you get?
Food/Drink: 3 Yay! Wine! And good wine, too. There were a few food vendors, but not enough diversity. Why is there a new trend to get Gyro's at faires? Someone clue me in. I'm missing something.
Merchants: 4 Quite a few quality merchants. Good pickin's.
Entertainment: 3 Shattock was there, as was Dean Franzen (the Dean of Juggling), Rigor Mortis, royalty and Marco the Magnificent. The only thing that was sorely missing was MORE MUSIC. I love a faire that is filled with the sounds of the time period...it helps with the fantasy of being there. There was one lute player and perhaps one harpist. MUCH more needed.
Streetmosphere: 3 Rigor was out in full-swing, as was John-Paul (and his helpful wenches) and a few others. I really enjoyed that. Wherever the rennies gathered (on the picnic tables mostly), there was a lot of patron interaction. Very well done.
After Hours: 2 We didn't stay after hours for any festivities, as we had to drive back to Des Moines. But from what I understand, everyone was staying pretty far away from the site. But whenever Clann Tartan is there, you can be sure there is some form of after hours that would have been a blast...

Kansas City Renaissance Festival (2000) - Bonner Springs, Kansas

Location: 4 Fairly easy location to find. Again, I've only been a passenger to this event, but it's pretty close to a Waffle House, so there's little more John-Paul would ever ask for.
Ambiance: 3 While the painted walls are absolutely beautiful and the lanes are quaint and many, there are so many modern-day things poking out everywhere (like the blatant ATM) that it somehow takes away from the magic. I do love the different structures, though. However, the whole festival feels very impersonal because it's so large. Everytime I go, I miss the smaller events where everyone seems to know everyone else. Here, I'm just another face in a huge crowd of strangers.
Food/Drink: 4 You have got to love a festival that not only sells beer and wine, but also cappuccino. The food is great and they have honey sticks. Yay!
Merchants: 4 Each shop has its own permanent structure, so you have the feel of a small town (which it is the size of, too). There is naught that you could want that cannot be found at KCRF.
Entertainment: 4 Very good performances from a variety of performers (who change from weekend to weekend). Very well done.
Streetmosphere: 4 For such a large festival, there is a huge amount of patron interaction going on. My favourites are the muddy beggars ;)
After Hours: 1 Too many rules and regulations to have any sort of decent after hours event on site. There were security guards everywhere, just ready for a rennie to step out of line. I'd recommend any after hours stuff happening off site.

Wybreg Village Renaissance Festival (Fall 2000) - Bonaparte, Iowa

Location: 2 The huge drawback to Wybreg is that it's in the middle of nowhere. That also happens to be a huge plus for them. Once you know where Bonaparte is, you have basically found the grounds. And once you find out why that ground was chosen as the site, it all becomes clear and perfect.
Ambiance: 4 Once you have stood at the top of the hill for the first time and gazed down at the perfect spot to hold a faire (nevermind that it's in the middle of nowhere), you will be a changed person. This is the singlemost beautiful spot on earth, surrounded by trees and a creek. Granted, there is very little shade from trees, but the Foundation puts up quite a few tents. And the event is held in October, so the sun is a welcome addition. Be-a-u-ti-ful.
Food/Drink: 2 I'd love to give it a higher number, but I don't think I can. The tavern that was there ran out of food one weekend and the only other thing to eat were the overpriced pork sandwiches and turkey legs. But there was beer and champagne. We're hoping to see a more diverse selection of food this year.
Merchants: 2 There simply were not enough merchants to keep everyone's attention. Those who were there were really good, but I hope (for the sake of my job!) that the selection is even greater this year.
Entertainment: 3 I have to say that it was amazing to have the queen from Bristol there. As well as Fetuccini the clown and David Roe (musician) and a few other goodies. The volunteers were great, too. However, the event needed more music. The spring event had an AMAZING assortment of musical talents (including Ethan James), so to not have that again at the fall event was a sad thing. Hanlon-Lees (jousting) were stupendous as usual.
Streetmosphere: 4 Lots of local volunteers helped out a lot with the Streetmosphere, as did John-Paul and his roses. I do have to also say that the Washer Well Wenches did a lot of schmoozing (yeah, that's what we call it these days). All in all, there was very little left wanting in this category.
After Hours: 4 Four words: Pump 'N Pizza Invasion. I *love* the after hours stuff at this event! Everyone hangs out and just has a blast. Friendships always form for me at this festival. I hope that continues in the future.


Willa's Ranking Profile:

1=Don't Care, 2=Not Really Important, 3=Somewhat Important, 4=Very Important

Location: 1 I'm not all that picky about remote faires. It's really the only way to get sufficiently away from civilization sometimes. I just require very good signage to help us get there.
Ambiance: 4 Extremely important! What is a festival without the *feel* of the festival? It's a craft fair...that's what. And I've been to a few like that. I've never actually been to Europe, so I like my fantasy world. Willa has no idea what a powerline is. I would like to keep it that way.
Food/Drink: 3 I do like my faire food, but oftentimes I'm too busy to eat! I do require somewhere very good to provide drinks (be it homemade rootbeer or lemonade or just plain water) because in the heat, you dehydrate rather quickly. Food that is easy to carry around and eat is a huge plus, but it's not really needed. I eat breakfast before faire and a nice dinner afterwards with my friends. My enjoyment of a faire doesn't revolve around food (and that makes me SO happy to say!).
Merchants: 3 I love merchants. They make me happy :) I love trinkets and baubles and shiny stuff to carry around with me. I live to hang even more crap off my belt. The more eclectic the choice of vendors, the happier the wench is. But of course, I'm normally broke, so not having them all around is okay with me, too.
Entertainment: 4 The difference between a renaissance faire and a craft fair? Craft fairs don't have entertainers. The only reason why I would ever spend $12 to get into an event is if I was promised some really good shows to see. I think of it as a cover charge so that you can be entertained and shop in between shows. And I love faire musicians of all kinds...even the bagpipes.
Streetmosphere: 4 GOTTA HAVE IT! I sincerely believe that each patron at faire should be interacted with at least once at each event. It helps bring them into the fantasy and makes their experience all the more memorable.
After Hours: 3 When I go to faire these days, I normally already know quite a few people there. After 6 years of doing this, I should hope I've made a friend or two. And in my years of working faire, I have found that this is the time when the merchants and entertainers, who have been busy all day keeping the patrons happy, get to mingle and have their fun. This is when we all get to bond and b*tch and celebrate the festival. Without after hours, no one who worked faire would know one another!

There you go. Just a lot of hot air? Probably. But now you know where I'm coming from...

 

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