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Welcome to AtTheFaire version 2.0 (beta)...

Always Under Construction...

If you would like to be one of the lucky ones to get notified before everyone else of significant changes on ATF, join our ListBot by going here!

What's New AtTheFaire?
From this page you can keep up-to-date with any changes or announcements we feel are significant enough to list here. (08/05/2008 - some link updating.)

Read More Recent Announcements

7/16/2001 - We are now using an automated process to post news updates. Use our new News Archive section from this point forward.

6/28/2001 - A flurry of updates! You'd think we were busy or something! Now we're on to our next project and we need your help. Is there anyone out there who can cast pewter pins? We have a graphic that we need to turn into something similar to the rogue and wench pin (but less 3D, I think). Oh, and we need them done before October. Anyone out there who can help us out? E-mail Willa at once!

6/27/2001 - All these updates are getting silly. Have you heard of the new rennie documentary, Keepers of the Kingdom? A private screening was held in Texas a month or so ago, and AtTheFaire.com has received a copy of the film for us to review. John-Paul's review is now available. Check it out, and if you've been lucky enough to see this film, please consider contributing your own review!

6/27/2001 - New Nebraska Renaissance Faire! A new one-day event will be held in Freemont, Nebraska on Sunday, September 9th. Read the full news submission by clicking here.

6/27/2001 - Huzzah! After a flurry of activity on Willa's part, there have been over 30 new merchants, entertainers and rennies added to our Faire Folke section (and added two new states to our Rennie listings!) just from our past two festivals. Are you listed? Don't you think you should be?

6/26/2001 - Wow! We have gotten a ton of response from our latest newsletter! Thank you so much for taking the time to write in. Perhaps we'll publish some reader mail in a future issue? A few quick things: full reviews of the faires will be forthcoming. Would you like to write one? The summary/ratings we posted are just that: summary/ratings. We will soon open up a section of the site for every one of you to submit your own! A database of dozens of reviews for a festival is much more useful than just John-Paul and Willa's opinions, right? Keep those cards and letters comin', gang! -- John-Paul

6/25/2001 - New photos are being processed from Jubilee and Osceola. I've been working on them all day and it takes (literally) hours to regenerate the entire photo archive. This is required to keep all the albums "linked" together. After a few hours of crunching I find a problem and have to start all over. Grumble. At least it is ten times faster and easier on my new computer than it was on the old PC... I hope to have them available on Tuesday or Wednesday. -- John-Paul

6/19/2001 - Southern Illinois Ren Faire held in Edwardsville was cancelled in 2000 after the event organizer, Dixie, suffered a heart attack. He has recovered and we recently ran into him at the Jubilee Olde World Faire in Brimfield, Illinois. Dixie was at his Ramshead Armoury booth doing business as usual and we were told... [more...]

6/24/2001 (Sunday) - Whew, for as few patrons as there was, the first (annual) A Renaissance Affaire in Osceola was quite busy. Hopefully we will have a newsletter up tonight or Monday with full details. Watch for over 350 pictures and dozens of new MPEG video clips...

6/23/2001 (Saturday) - A Renaissance Affaire in Osceola, Iowa is underway. The turnout was very small on Saturday (a few hundred) but the event shows much promise. Several of the dozen or so merchants reported decent sales and HyVee ran out of turkey legs early on (one case). Entertainment included the Danza Mystique belly dancers, Minstrosity, Orckes & Trolles lite, and McFarland Live Steel. We knew almost everyone there except a few booths—neat! AtTheFaire plans to be there for all of Sunday.

6/18/2001 - We're back from a hectic trip to the Jubilee Olde English Faire. Watch for a trip report/review and over 350 photos to be posted within the next two weeks.

6/16/2001 - After much debate, we have decided to make the four+ hour trek to the 29th Annual Jubilee College Old English Faire in Brimfield, IL.

6/14/2001 - We've added over 380 photos from the Renaissance Faire of the Midlands into our Faire Photos section (which brings us up to a total of 5738 faire photos!) and quite a few new merchants and performers in our Faire Folke section as well! The newsletter should be up soon...we're waiting on one more article before uploading. And we're still debating whether to attend Hamlet of Mid-Missouri, Jubilee or the local psychic faire here in Des Moines this weekend. We'll keep you informed!

6/11/2001 - We had a great but VERY hot weekend at RFotM. Look for a review to come soon. I got to finally buy the double CD by Jolly Rogers and we are also the proud owners of the new CD by the Orkes & Trolles! Today is "Work on Newsletter Day", but first let me ask you all if anyone owns the Simplicity pattern 8750. If you do and would be willing to sell it or give it away, please e-mail me. I got a very nice e-mail over the weekend from a gentleman who is looking for this discontinued pattern for his friend, and I'd like to help out if I can.

6/11/2001 - Willa will post an update later today, but I wanted to say that we survived the Faire of the Midlands without getting rained out on Sunday. It was very, very hot, though. Look for over 350 hi-rez photos to be posted later this week as well as a substantial expansion to our Faire Folke indexes. -- John-Paul

6/8/2001 - Come find John-Paul and the Washer Well Wenches this weekend at the Faire of the Midlands in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Remember, the more you tip the wenches, the happier they will be on the long drive home Sunday evening. Also... Be sure to visit our message board and introduce yourself, and if you haven't already done so, please sign our (newly expanded) guestbook.

6/7/2001 - The Faire Photos are back! AtTheFaire is proud to present our all-new photo gallery layout which should be much easier to navigate (once everyone gets used to it). We now have over 5,500 photos in including new ones from the recent Salisbury Faire in Des Moines, Iowa and the Waterloo Renaissance Festival in Waterloo, Iowa. Click on Faire Photos and take a look.

6/6/2001 - Huzzah! Thanks to the awesome people at Apple, Mistress Willa's happy power cord was sent to her overnight and was magically on the doorstep when she looked outside this morning! She's back, she's bad, she's wenchy. (Wow. Toshiba and Compaq were never that fast! And they didn't even charge her anything. Thanks, Mr. Jobs... -- John-Paul)

6/5/2001 - Mistress Willa's laptop has a broken power cable at the moment, so she may be a bit slow responding to e-mail until a replacement arrives. -- John-Paul

6/4/2001 - Huzzah! Another festival has successfully come and gone. Even though the Waterloo Renaissance Faire was only a six hour event, it was a packed day with far too much going on to get to—great job, Doc! We will post pictures and reviews soon. Meanwhile, it is time to get ready for the Faire of the Midlands this coming weekend in Council Bluffs, Iowa (just outside of Omaha, Nebraska).

5/31/2001 - Read Nell Gavin's review of Keepers of the Kingdom, a rennie documentary, that was recently previewed by invitation only in Texas. The review can be found here. Thanks, Nell! I'm just waiting for your book to be released on Amazon so I can buy it and write the review!

6/2/2001 - AtTheFaire will be at the Waterloo Renaissance Festival this Sunday. Come find John-Paul selling roses, or see Willa performing with the Washer Well Wenches!

5/30/2001 - Rainy days really bite, don't they? Waterloo Faire is forecasted to be rainy, too, but we're hoping! I mean, last weekend's International May Festival was supposed to be rained out and we didn't even get a sprinkle once we were there. So perhaps we'll take our rain-barring dome with us to Waterloo and hope for the best. In the meantime, Willa picked a few of her favourite photos from Salisbury and put them on the Washer Well Wenches' site. Let the sun shine in.

5/26/2001 - Even though it is not a renaissance festival, John-Paul and Willa will be vending roses this weekend at the International May Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa. We have even seen a few familiar faces (Clann Tartan, the pottery guy, our favorite face painters, and a jewely shop and garb shop both of which were at Salisbury last weekend). Rumor has it our friend Paul even stopped by on Saturday. May the rain stay away for the rest of the weekend! -- John-Paul

5/25/2001 - Is this a busy time or what? "In 1536, a woman dies and the story begins..." King Henry VIII? A reincarnation "love story" is about to be published. Check out the buzz on this interesting novel by visiting one of our banner exchange members at www.nellgavin.com. I know we may not be as big as Slashdot, but help us show the power of our readership and everyone go hit her site and check it out ;-) We'll fill her log with entries referred by AtTheFaire.com! (The "Slashdot Effect" is what they call the billions of hits a site gets when it is mentioned on Slashdot. This usually results in bringing some unsuspecting server to it's knees as tons of folks flood it with hits. Maybe we can eventually work up to an ATF Effect?) See ya there...! -- John-Paul

5/24/2001 - GUESS WHAT? A special sneak preview of the all new photo archives is now available. Now, be aware that this link will change in a day or so when everything gets moved to where it belongs. Do you want to take a look? Well, I won't tell you how to get there directly, but I did hide a link on one of the main section pages that will take you there. All of those who signed up to our mailing list received early notification about the photos, but the rest of you will have to wait a bit... If you feel left out, why not sign up yourself? -- John-Paul

5/24/2001 - Huzzah! Thanks to the wonderful contacts we made at Salisbury Faire, our Merchant Index now has 100 entries!

5/24/2001 - The photos should be returning soon including over 300 taken last weekend at Salisbury Faire in Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, be sure to check our our latest newsletter and also browse through the Faire Folke section for new additions. (More will be coming as Willa gets the time to update the rest!) Lastly, a new (more informative) counter script has been installed. It will be a few days before I can migrate the old values over to the new counter. Thanks for all the support! -- John-Paul

5/16/2001 - I just have to share something that's completely non-faire related. I do the web site for my dad's band, Twelve Two, and they have some new mp3's online that I just think are amazing. So I had to share it with you all.

5/16/2001 - We just got a flyer from the Salisbury House to let us know directions and performers and all that good stuff about the faire, so I thought I would share it with you all... [more...]

5/12/2001 - Salisbury Faire...a Wash or a Go? — Apparently, everyone's worried about the fact that Des Moines not only had a record-breaking amount of snow this past winter that melted rather quickly, but we're also having lots of rain this spring. They're worried that Water Works Park (where the faire is held) will be just that...very watery. So John-Paul and I decided to make a trek to the park to see just what was going on. [more...]

5/12/2001 - It is with ultimate sadness and a sudden void in our hearts that we mourn the loss of Douglas Adams, a man who has touched our lives in so many warped and wonderful ways. Raise a cup of mead to this man as soon as you can...

5/11/2001 - We just got back from seeing A Knight's Tale on opening night. My advice is to go see this movie as soon as you possibly can! HOWEVER, don't go to see this movie if you are looking for historical accuracies (face it...no one is ever going to be historically accurate *and* this entertaining). [more...]

5/10/2001 - Welcome to our newest addition to the web hosting family, The Mailer's Guild! No, they're not obsessed with sending each other letters...they do chainmail! Silly rennies...

5/09/2001 - For those who are curious to see right away, here's a link to where Willa was quoted in last week's Cityview! In the paper version, there is also a photo of her. We plan to take snapshots of this soon and write up an article. Many thanks to Billie and James for the additional copies of the paper!

5/07/2001 - We'd like to remind you that our AtTheFaire Shoppe is now open with a variety of goodies you can buy to help support our site. We have recently dropped prices, so have another look-see and show us just how much you love us :)5/10/2001 - Welcome to our newest addition to the web hosting family, The Mailer's Guild! No, they're not obsessed with sending each other letters...they do chainmail! Silly rennies...

5/09/2001 - For those who are curious to see right away, here's a link to where Willa was quoted in last week's Cityview! In the paper version, there is also a photo of her. We plan to take snapshots of this soon and write up an article. Many thanks to Billie and James for the additional copies of the paper!

5/07/2001 - We'd like to remind you that our AtTheFaire Shoppe is now open with a variety of goodies you can buy to help support our site. We have recently dropped prices, so have another look-see and show us just how much you love us :)

4/27/2001 - Representative Ed Fallon is asking for garbed rennies to attend his public flogging on Sunday, April 29 in Nollen Plaza in Des Moines, Iowa, from 1pm to 3pm. Rep. Fallon was named in a recent CityView (a free weekly Des Moines-based magazine) poll as the politician most people wanted to flog. He has contacted Saboo the War Troll to do the honors and has turned it into a musical event with bluegrass and folk musicians and also a fundraiser for the Democrats and his next campaign. Saboo is performing for free because he said, "I never charge for flogging public officials". (taken with permission from an e-mail)

4/23/2001 - After a very long weekend and lots of contemplation, we have taken down our entire photo gallery pending a lawsuit that might be brought against us. For the full details, read this. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but we feel it is in our best interest to do this. Contact us if you have any further comments or questions. We thank you for your patience.

4/20/2001 - I swiped this nifty poll idea from RenRadio.com and have decided to include a new poll in each newsletter. However, since a new newsletter isn't coming out til next weekend, let's just see how good of a response we can get with this one, shall we?

4/19/2001 - Paging Bishop Josh! Does anyone know how to get in touch with this elusive man of God whose e-mail address no longer seems to work? SCRIBE lists his event, Bishop's Castle Tournament, as happening this year (but, oddly, the Osceola faire isn't listed there) and we want to talk to Bishop Josh about BCT. Thanks for any information you can pass along to us.

AtTheFaire.com First Anniversary Edition 4/18/2001 - Happy First Anniversary to AtTheFaire.com! Yes, that's right...today we're a whole year old! In celebration of our anniversary, we have a bit of a surprise for you. Our shoppe is finally up and ready to peruse! We have three designs to choose from, so go browse our shoppe and see our handiwork! All proceeds from purchases go directly toward keeping AtTheFaire running and improving. It will also help keep our free banner exchange free! Hope you like everything!

4/02/2001 -It was 11pm on March 31st as I sat across from Lindsy and asked "Hey, isn't tomorrow April Fools days?" This, of course, led to a mad dash to create the bogus "@T THE FAIR" page which greeted site visitors for approximately 24 hours on that prankful day. The idea was not very original, I admit, but it did get quite a bit of attention...[more...]

3/31/2001 - Lately we've received quite a few e-mails asking for more information on the upcoming festival, A Renaissance Affair that is happening in Osceola, Iowa, this June. I'm sorry that we don't have more information to give you, but [more...]

3/30/2001 - In the spirit of April Fool's Day, we've decided to drop the fools of AT&T's @Home mail server. You can still reach us via johnpaul@atthefaire_REMOVE_THIS.com and webwench@atthefaire_REMOVE_THIS.com, but if you use our primary e-mail addresses to reach us, we won't be getting it anymore. E-mail us at the above addresses to get our new ones. Thanks!

DeliDishes.com 3/27/2001 - Join us for supper after Salisbury Faire on May 19! We have reserved the conference room at DeliDishes, which is a new homestyle cookin' restaurant here in Des Moines. It's like a Subway that serves casseroles and soups instead of foot long sandwiches. We LOVE the food, so we wanted to share this bit of heaven with you poor rennies who never get "good" food outside of faire. [more...]

3/26/2001 - What happens when the Washer Well Wenches (with JP) meet up at the mall in Iowa City with Shattock Schoole of Defence? Check out the photos and see! We met up with them this past weekend to hang out and get pumped for the upcoming season...and it worked! We're so completely ready to perform!

3/23/2001 - Because we're going to invade Cedar Rapids again this weekend in hopes of getting more skit practice in for the Washer Well Wenches, the newest version of In The News AtTheFaire has been uploaded early! Check it out, and for goodness sake, submit some articles! I'm tired of reading articles written by me... Also, AtTheFaire would love to pass along huzzah-licious birthday greetings to Keirra of the Washer Well Wenches (3/22) and Brock Wommack, President of the Renaissance Foundation (3/23)

3/15/2001 - This is completely unrelated to faire, but does anyone out there use AT&T @Home as an internet provider? We've been having constant problems with their e-mail server and have been getting no help whatsoever from them. We got so fed up that we've started this site: members.home.net/mailsucks/. If you're a customer, go visit and sign the guestbook with your complaints. We're hoping there might be power in numbers...

3/12/2001 - TheScotsDragon.com now has content! While they're working hard at getting their actual site together, Willa volunteered her skills and put together a few pages of photos and information to keep the masses at bay! We HIGHLY recommend them for your garb needs. Milady Joanna is one of the most talented women on earth, and she makes a faboo bodice! Go check out their stuff...

3/9/2001 - We're pleading with all of you to check out RenRadio.com (the internet radio station for rennies!) moreso than you already do! Between March 10th and March 19th, the server host they use for their music (Live365.com) is having a St. Patrick's Day contest for all the stations that play Irish music. The station with the most sustained listeners wins $100 and some free promotions from Live365. Since ATF sponsors the hosting of RenRadio.com itself, we really want to see Rengeek do well! So show your support and hog that bandwidth!

3/9/2001 - We're pleading with all of you to check out RenRadio.com (the internet radio station for rennies!) moreso than you already do! Between March 10th and March 19th, the server host they use for their music (Live365.com) is having a St. Patrick's Day contest for all the stations that play Irish music. The station with the most sustained listeners wins $100 and some free promotions from Live365. Since ATF sponsors the hosting of RenRadio.com itself, we really want to see Rengeek do well! So show your support and hog that bandwidth!

3/5/2001 - The Washer Well Wenches are at it again! Since Willa is the head wench of the troupe, we thought you'd all like to know that there have been quite a few updates to their site — including new photos, new skits, their 2001 faire schedule and a Quicktime movie! Go get your fix and let us know what you think...

2/28/2001 - John-Paul and Willa have become a piece of art! To see the piece and get more details, click here.

2/27/2001 - Okay, so we're late! We're still recovering from our blissfully perfect vacation. However, we did manage to put together a rather spiffy newsletter finally, including an article about our visit to Disneyland. Go read it! That reminds me...does anyone actually read our newsletter? If so, give us feedback

2/6/2001 - Server stats from January 2001 are now in.

2/4/2001 - Festivals International, sponsor of the upcoming 10th Annual Iowa Renaissance Festival and Harvest Faire, now has an official website. Please drop by and take a look.

1/31/2001 - The Missouri Renaissance Faire now has an official website. This event, which started last year, is operated by the Mansfield House Bed and Breakfast. (NOTE: As of 1/31, their front page is over 1-megabyte of data and took over 8 minutes to load on a 31200 baud connection—if you have a cable modem or DSL it should be fine, though.) Please check out their site!

1/28/2001 - Health researcher and motivational speaker Greg Schmidt's audiobook Your Life - Beyond 2000 is available to rennies who use AtTheFaire.com for $6 just by calling (641) 357-5177. (Retail $17.95) Greg and his wife, Bonnie, own Festivals International which runs the Iowa Renaissance Festival and Harvest Faire (among other events).

1/22/2001 - The Jolly Rogers perform in Kansas City to raise funds for their trip to Poland. [Read More]

1/22/2001 - Willa joins the Renaissance Foundation as Wybreg Village Renaissance Festival Merchant Coordinator. [Read More]

1/13/2001 - We've survived our first two weeks with the new version of AtTheFaire.com! Since the launch we have added a search engine and a free renaissance banner exchange. Willa has also expanded the (surprisingly popular) puzzle feature. Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions. -- John-Paul and Willa

1/1/2001 - AtTheFaire version 2.0 opens to the public!


Here are some of the things that were going on while 2.0 was being constructed. Special thanks to all of those who helped us beta test the new site!

12/23/2000 - Tons of work since last update including a message board, search engine, and banner exchange. Top and end nav graphics have been redone to format on WebTV. The Pub has been added.
12/09/2000 - Faire Folke now pretty much done, too.
12/05/2000 - Faire Virgins now pretty much done.
12/03/2000 - Templates for all sections completed.
11/26/2000 - Version 2.0 framework now in place.
11/25/2000 - Version 2.0 began.

To see pre-2.0 updates going all the way back to opening day, click here.

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AtTheFaire.com Community Members as of 3/12/16 :
Festivals: Merchants: Performers: Everything Else:
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  2. Iowa Ren Festival (IA)
  3. Iowa-Minnesota Pirate Fest (IA)
  4. Greater Quad Cities Ren Faire (IL)
  5. Midlands Pirate Festival (NE)
  6. Nebraska Ren Faire (NE)
  7. Ren Faire at Sleepy Hollow (IA)
  1. thescotsdragon.com
  2. threegryphons.com
  1. danzamystique.com
  2. gypsycomedyshow.com
  3. mydragonstories
  4. phoenixswords.atthefaire.com
  5. piratecomedyshow.com
  6. queenbea.atthefaire.com
  7. revelers.atthefaire.com
  8. wenchville.com
  1. anothercrappypodcast.com
  2. atthefaire.com
  3. crocolyle.atthefaire.com
  4. perin.atthefaire.com
  5. renbanner.net
  6. renreporter.com
  7. sirclisto.com

Host your site with ATF and be listed here! $50/year (and the publicity is free!)

Permanent festivals in our area: Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bristol Renaissance Faire, Des Moines Renaissance Faire and Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Other ATF sites: DisneyFans.com DMHauntedHouses.com