Six days of fun may be missing from the 2001 festival schedule, but this is only to allow those same six days to be even more fun in 2002. Support the Foundation October 13-14th for their mini-event and help ensure the full festival happens next year.

WYBREG POSTPONED
by John-Paul, ATF Staff Writer

The news went out on August 11th, 2001. This year there will be no Wybreg Village Renaissance Festival. Instead, Renaissance Foundation will participate in the annual Van Buren County Forest Crafts Festival by taking over the Bonaparte City Park and filling it with merchants and entertainers. This event, being called the "Wybreg Beer Garden" to avoid confusion with the full renaissance festival, promises to be two days of great Wybreg fun ... just not at the (now legendary?) festival location.

Those of us who attended the previous Wybreg events are saddened by this news. There is just something very special about this little event "in the middle of nowhere". Perhaps it is the amazing view from the top of the hill, or the fact that the festival has attracted talent from as far away as Africa, as well as the Queen from Bristol? Maybe it has something to do with the "Wybreg Villagers" and how they have always gone out of their way to interact with virtually every person who passes through the gate? Whatever it is, it is something special that will be missed this year...

...but there is always the weekend of October 13th and 14th for the relocated and abridged version of the gathering. Please come join us there and keep checking the official Renaissance Foundation web site for more information. Admission will be free and there will be entertainers and merchants and many other things going on in the surrounding towns. Consider it "Wybreg-lite"...

So what happened?

It was a tough call. Should Renaissance Foundation put the Wybreg Village Renaissance Festival on vacation for 2001 and focus on making it an even bigger event for the following year? Or was it better to have "yet another" small (but incredibly fun) renaissance festival and hope the crowds show up? This question loomed in the minds of all those involved. Meetings were held, discussions we had, and consultants were consulted. John Mills, the professional event organizer responsible for what is today known as the Bristol Renaissance Festival, was convinced a quality event could not be done without more money.

Money. This one simple word strikes fear into not-for-profit organizations around the country. Without a product, store, or service, a nonprofit entity can only survive through grants and donations. Renaissance Foundation is one such entity, and this is their story... as interpreted by AtTheFaire.com.

The future from the past...

As the updated Foundation web page stated:

Renaissance Foundation and Wybreg Village has postponed the Wybreg Village Renaissance Festival 2001 to Oct 2002. The Festival has been the gathering of the renaissance historical era performers, artists, and artisans from throughout the United States to further the mission established in 1997: "To give to the culture, philosophy, arts & society of the renaissance historical era an established community in which to explore the past present & future of humanity." In order to present this gift to both the participants and the public at large, we believe that by a postponement to 2002, Wybreg Village will be able to further enhance and grow their festival beyond any event they have presented thus far.

• conceptual organization tested in participation with the Salisbury Faire, Des Moines, Iowa; benefiting the Salisbury House Foundation, 1996. This event, gifted to the Salisbury House Foundation's Board of Directors in 1996 has grown to be a premier renaissance faire event in central Iowa.
• with the establishment of Renaissance Foundation and Wybreg Village in 1997, permanently relocated to Bonaparte from Des Moines, Iowa in 1999; three Wybreg Village Renaissance Festivals have been held, one in 1999, two in 2000.
• in the next 14 months, Wybreg Village is to grow as its nonprofit mission of Renaissance Foundation extends its national outreach, creating an event greater in scope than ever presented to the renaissance community and the public to date.

Anyone who has attended the Salisbury Faire in Des Moines will see what a large and wonderful event it has become. Attendance records are broken every year! Salisbury was originally put together by the same minds behind Renaissance Foundation and Wybreg, but Wybreg Village is not supposed to be a renaissance festival. Wybreg Village is supposed to be a real community of artisans and artists where people live and work from day to day. There are many "planned communities" in the world, but few (if any?) based on the historical culture of the renaissance era. The festival is merely an event to raise funds and awareness for the true mission of the Foundation.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on previous Wybreg festivals. All of this funding has come from donations, grants, and the pockets of the founders. Unlike "commercial" festivals, no one is stuffing their bank account from Wybreg. The Foundation president isn't even taking a salary! It's a mission, not a job.

In 1999, Wybreg Village was a first-time event held on farmland in Southeast Iowa. It was a one weekend gathering in the summer and the heat was so bad that the paramedics kept busy with heatstroke cases. In spite of the location, temperatures, and lack of event history, thousands of people made the journey to Van Buren County for this event. Walking through the parking lot revealed a large portion of the license plates were from out of state. The festival was voted the top event in Van Buren County. Huzzah!

For 2000, the event needed to move to a cooler time of the year. Which is better? Spring or Fall? The Foundation decided to have a two weekend Spring event, and a two weekend Fall event. The Spring event brought back the four knight Hanlon-Lees jousting tournament (the same ones you see at Bristol), and the weather was nice enough that no one dropped of heat stroke. Still, crowds were small. Afterwards, it was said that this was a "very expensive private party" thrown by the Foundation. (This specific festival is my all-time favorite renaissance event, ever! -- JP)

Undaunted, the Fall festival continued as planned. John Mills was brought in as general manager and he shifted the focus to just "one" big event each Fall. The jousters were back (though with only two knights), and top of the line entertainment was brought in, including the actor who portrays the Queen at Bristol. Unfortunately, the Fall weather was poor. It was so cold on the first weekend that a few snow flurries dropped from the sky! Other days were hit with rain. One morning the event was almost called off but, fortunately, the show went on and some of the best crowds appeared. Still, it was felt that this time of year was far better suited for a festival than Spring time.

Overall attendance in 2000 was greater than 1999, but it still wasn't enough to turn this expensive event into something that made sense financially. Some were suggesting that the Foundation should consider dropping the festival until after the Great Hall was built. (For those who want to read about this, please look at this article.) Indeed, once "Castle Wybreg" is constructed, this will become one of the must-see renaissance events of the year.

But that can't happen without funding, which brings us back to money.

What happens next?

If you don't have an extra million laying around to donate, why not show your support for Wybreg 2002 by joining the Foundation the weekend of October 13 and 14 in Bonaparte, Iowa? As of this writing, about half of the merchants originally confirmed for the festival have agreed to participate in the city park event. There should be enough entertainers present to have ongoing performances from open to close each day. The event will be free to the public and the Foundation will be running a drink stand (including adult beverages) to help raise funds. There is even a children's area planned!

The Van Buren Forest Crafts Festival normally draws 12,000-14,000 people during this weekend. Most of the surrounding towns will be having craft sales and other events going on so there will be much to see and do. Bring the family. Bring the friends. Take the tour of Bonaparte Pottery, or dine at the Bonaparte Retreat. Heck, you can't beat the grill at Pump 'N Pizza for a good burger! Let's just see what we can do to ensure there are no more "postponements"...

See you there?

-- John-Paul

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